Training

See also: Landscape-level conservation planning, Habitat Restoration

Paul Beier, of Northern Arizona University, Dan Majka, and Jeff Jenness will release Corridor Designer, an ArcGIS toolbox for designing wildlife corridors for multiple focal species, in 2007. This workshop, co-sponsored by the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve's Coastal Training Program and the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve's Coastal Training Program, is an opportunity to learn and interact with the software developers. The goal of this workshop is to transfer everything they have learned about designing wildlife corridors to the general public to facilitate better conservation, science, and dialogue. The workshop will provide an overview of current ecological knowledge and practice regarding corridor design, and provide attendees hands-on experience designing corridors for real species in real landscapes using ArcGIS tools. After presenting reviews of major corridor design efforts to date and reviewing the results of empirical studies which evaluate the attributes of successful wildlife corridors, the presenters will present in-depth advice on how to make defensible and honest choices at 14 critical decision points in GIS-based corridor design, and illustrate these choices with CorridorDesigner. Important decisions we will discuss include defining the analysis area, selection of focal species, selection of GIS variables & metrics, how to model habitat for a range of species, how to model corridors, and how to evaluate whether a corridor or linkage design serves focal species. The workshop is designed for a GIS analyst working for a county planning office, conservation organization, biological consultant, academic researcher, or state, tribal, or federal management agency. You can find more information about the workshop at: www.corridordesign.org/ The workshop will be held at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in northern Monterey County. If this location is a problem for interested parties, please let us know and we will consider holding a repeat workshop at another location in the San Francisco Bay Area. Registration is $170, but five seats will be reserved as scholarships for small NGOs. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship, please contact us. Please mail registration fees to: Grant Lyon Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training Program 1700 Elkhorn Road Watsonville, CA 95076 *You will not receive final confirmation of registration until payment has been received.