Training

See also: Protected Lands Management, Habitat Restoration

We explore the connection between protected areas management and biodiversity in the old growth coast redwood system at California's first State Park.  Presentations by and participant interview of State Parks Ecologist Portia Halbert reveals management-biodiversity connections with an endangered sea bird- marbled murrelet.  We build on course material about reserve design and threats to natural resources to answer such questions as:  

Is Big Basin State Park well designed to support the biological diversity targeted with its original acquisition?

What are conservation targets within Big Basin State Park?

What are the threats to these targets?

Is natural resource management targeting the root causes of the threats?

The class will explore new ground in this class by exploring monitoring and policy.  Two questions pertain to this:

How does State Parks monitor the success of their management practices?

What policies compel State Parks to expend resources on natural resource management?