State fish and wildlife agencies (SFWAs) constitute the largest class of conservation agency in the United States employing the most biologists, collecting the most data, and having a unique legal standing in their respective states. Although most, if not all, SFWAs currently use GIS, the typical scenario consists of a centralized GIS support unit at each agency and very limited integration into the rest of the agency. This has limited the usefulness of GIS both for the state and for their federal agency partners such as the FWS. Data collected for GIS applications by SFWAs is highly transportable and useful for many applications. The FWS has used data such as this nationwide for many years to support endangered species conservation, refuge management, environmental planning and permit review, migratory bird management, and other important missions. Encouraging the use of GIS by SFWAs will both support the mission of fish, wildlife, and plant conservation directly by making the SFWAs more effective, and indirectly by enabling SFWAs to digitize data that will support FWS operations in the future. CMI offers this course using curriculum established by the U.S. FWS National Conservation Training Center.

The Conservation Management Institute realizes that many professionals rely on conferences and continuing education sessions to sharpen their skills and keep professional knowledge current. These conferences and training sessions quickly become expensive for organizations, which may prohibit employers from providing opportunities to all employees. To help your organization keep cost down we provide the training at your location eliminating the travel cost often associated with training. The Conservation Management Institute's Outreach and Education Division was created to provide high quality continuing education opportunities for natural resource professionals. We strive for flexibility in course offerings, and a customized approach for each session to make the learning experience as effective and inexpensive as possible.

Objectives