GIS for Policy & Decision-Makers in Conservation=20 June 14-15, 2006 at Smithsonian's Conservation & Research Center in Front Royal, VA
Registration Deadline: May 28, 2006 Course Description Researchers at Smithsonian's National Zoo have developed a new training course tailored to the needs of senior staff working in leading positions in local, state, and national government or in environmental organizations. CEOs, policymakers and decision-makers often rely on maps and spatial data created with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for their analysis and decision making. While leaders don't have to be GIS specialists, they do need a good understanding of the strengths and limitations of the technology and what it can do for their respective agencies or organizations. =20 =20 Our course allows policy- and decision-makers to: =20 * gain a comprehensive overview of the current state of GIS, satellite and aerial monitoring technology; =20 * learn how these basic but powerful tools allow us to address resource issues across different scales ranging from local to global;=20 =20 * understand basic mapping and GIS concepts required to read GIS data correctly; =20 * learn how to ask the "right" questions with GIS to get the most out of these tools;=20 =20 * find out how maps can lie, and how to avoid being fooled by "lying" maps;=20 =20 * learn about the strengths and limitations of these technologies to assess, monitor, and model resource distribution and use. =20 For a full description and complete course curriculum, please visit: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/ConservationGIS/GIS_tra ining/Policy/ =20 Tuition Tuition for the course is $800, and includes instruction, a training manual, use of the laboratory and equipment. =20 =20 For inquiries write to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] =20
