The curriculum offered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Services Center is as varied as the coastal resource management community. Three new courses were recently added to the curriculum. To get additional information or see a full course listing, please visit www.csc.noaa.gov/training/.
Understanding Marine Protected Areas
From coral reefs to kelp forests, the territorial waters of the U.S. contain a number of amazing resources and diverse habitats. A recent executive order encourages the private sector and federal, state, local, and tribal governments to work together to protect these important marine areas.
While the marine protected areas (MPAs) concept has been used around the world for generations, the MPA Executive Order reignited interest in MPAs in this country. This interest often comes with numerous questions as stakeholders look to make sense of the sometimes confusing policies and programs related to this effort.
A new Center training program, "Understanding Marine Protected Areas," was designed for MPA stakeholders. This course is a little different from most Center programs because the target audience is the general public, not resource managers. This politically neutral workshop provides information on the fundamental principles and general issues surrounding MPAs, including history, basic concepts and definitions, and types and uses, as well as a number of different ways to get involved with MPAs.
If your organization is interested in being a local host for this full-day workshop, please contact Heidi Recksiek at (843) 740-1194. The workshop is offered by the National MPA Center's Training and Technical Institute, which is housed at the NOAA Coastal Services Center.
Negotiating for Coastal Resources
When lines are drawn in the sand, coastal resource professionals need strong negotiation skills. "Negotiating for Coastal Resources" helps coastal managers determine when to negotiate, what to negotiate, and how to negotiate in regard to interagency relationships and coastal and land-use issues.
The first part of the course helps participants understand the role of advocacy, negotiation, facilitation, education, and outreach. The interactive course also gives participants the opportunity to practice their new negotiation skills using coastal management and land-use case studies. Participants say the techniques offered to help people overcome common barriers to negotiations are particularly helpful.
"Negotiating for Coastal Resources" is a one-and-a-half-day course that is available by request. Local hosts are responsible for workshop logistics and for ensuring that a minimum of 15 (maximum of 30) coastal professionals are registered. Contact Lynne Hinkey at (843) 740-1191 for course details.
GIS Training for Coastal Resource Professionals
Geographic information systems (GIS) continue to be one of those tools that state coastal programs are finding it hard to live without. In fact, the Center's recent state coastal resource management survey found that 92 percent of the respondents use GIS in their offices.
The Center is determined to help state programs use GIS to their fullest advantage. Several GIS-related courses are offered, and the Center works with state programs and the software industry to keep on top of the coastal management community's GIS-related needs and opportunities.
This research has resulted in the Center's newest technology course devoted to ArcGIS 8.3. The three-day course provides students with opportunities to address a variety of coastal issues using ArcGIS 8.3.
Taught at the Center's training lab, the advanced course is always paired with a two-day Introduction to ArcGIS 8.3 for those who first need the more basic training.
Please visit the Center's training Web site (www.csc.noaa.gov/training/) to see a course schedule and get additional information. Questions can be directed to James Lewis Free at (843) 740-1185.
