Professional Development Calendar

Full instructor support

Spring early bird course fee (ends February 5): $600 professional / $500 student

Spring regular course fee (after February 5): $650 professional / $550 student

No instructor support

Winter regular course fee: $400 professional / $300 student

Spring early bird course fee: (ends February 5): $350 professional / $250 student

Explore techniques and procedures required for spatially explicit data analysis in forest resources, wildlife, and natural resources applications. The course will cover methods in image interpretation, land cover mapping, forest monitoring (change detection), landscape metrics and integration of raster and vector data using QGIS. The first two modules are an introduction to remote sensing and will explore methods for finding the right satellite image, downloading, and processing an image from the internet. The second half of the course explores methods for classifying a multispectral image into land use classes and then assessing the accuracy of that classification. Techniques in image interpretation such as vegetation indices and change detection will also be covered.
You have two options when enrolling in this course:
(1)  Instructor support. Reach out to your instructor over a 1-month period to get help as you work through prerecorded lectures, problem sets, and your own personal work. Instructor support includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, and scheduling one-on-one appointments (Zoom or phone) about course material, your research, datasets from work, etc. You MUST select this option if you want to take the course for academic credit at your home institution. It is highly RECOMMENDED that you select this option if you would like to work with an instructor on a dataset from school or work.
DATES: March 6-31, 2023 (with access to course through May 28, 2023)

Early bird course fee (ends Feb 5): $550 professional / $450 student
Regular course fee (after Feb 5): $600 professional / $500 student

(2)  NO instructor support. Sign up anytime and learn at your own pace through the fall as you work through prerecorded lectures and problem sets. Be aware that at any time during the first month, you may upgrade to receive Instructor support.
DATES: Access course from March 6 – May 28, 2023

Early bird course fee (ends Feb 5): $400 professional / $300 student
Regular course fee (after Feb 5): $450 professional / $350 student

Dates: March 1 – May 31, 2023

Research and management questions often focus on obtaining robust (i.e., unbiased and precise) estimates of various demographic parameters about wildlife populations. Estimates of abundance, density, population growth, state transition rates, and vital rates can provide valuable insights into changes to population status as well as their drivers. Among the most popular and diverse approaches to estimating such parameters includes a suite of sampling and analytical methods known as capture-mark-recapture (or several similar terms). This class will focus on providing a solid foundation to using these techniques to answer a broad range of ecological and management-related questions. We emphasize asking good questions, identifying appropriate sampling methods rooted in animal behavior and ecology, and choosing the right analytical techniques. With these in mind, we will analyze example datasets using both ‘canned’ (MARK) and command-line software (R) during online lectures and practical exercises.
You have two options when enrolling in this course:
(1) Instructor support. Reach out to your instructor over a 1-month period to get help as you work through prerecorded lectures, problem sets, and your own personal work. You then have access to the course for an additional 2 months. Instructor support includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, and scheduling one-on-one appointments (Zoom or phone) about course material, your research, datasets from work, etc. You MUST select this option if you want to take the course for academic credit at your home institution or you would like to work with an instructor on a dataset from school or work.

Early bird course fee (ends February 5): $500 professional / $400 student
Regular course fee (after February 5): $550 professional / $450 student

(2) No instructor support. Sign up anytime over a 3-month period and learn at your own pace as you work through prerecorded lectures and problem sets. Be aware that at any time during the first month, you may upgrade to receive Instructor support.

Early bird course fee (ends February 5): $375 professional / $275 student
Regular course fee (after February 5): $400 professional / $300 student

Dates: March 6 – April 14, 2023 (live meetings on Wednesdays at 1:00 EST)

Effective science communication has long held the power to reshape our world by driving changes in policy and public opinion. As society struggles with pandemic effects, anthropogenic climate change, and dwindling biodiversity, there is an acute need for scientist–communicators who can effectively convey the spectacular power of research to address these obstacles. In this course, early-career researchers will learn skills for high-impact, immediate engagement with readers, including decision-makers, colleagues, and members of the lay public. Unlike traditional writing courses, this course is focused on capturing audience attention in concrete ways that compel action, using common professional formats such as op-eds, memoranda, press releases, one-pagers, and blog entries. The workshop-driven program also includes instruction on publishing mechanics, covering topics such as pitching your work to editors, establishing an online presence, and achieving proficiency with graphic design fundamentals.

This online course consists of pre-recorded lectures, each of which has an associated short writing assignment. Students will meet live each week with the instructor for a small-group workshop in which they will share and critique each other’s work.

Early bird course fee (ends February 5): $500 professional / $400 student

Regular course fee (after February 5): $550 professional / $450 student

NO instructor support. Sign up anytime over a 3-month period and learn at your own pace as you work through prerecorded lectures and problem sets. Be aware that at any time during the first month, you may upgrade to receive Instructor support.

Dec 5 – Feb 24: $400 professional / $300 student
March 6 – May 26 (Early bird ends Feb 5, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student
June 5 – Aug 25 (Early bird ends May 1, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student
Sept 5 – Nov 22 (Early bird ends August 6, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student

Instructor support

Spring early bird course fee (ends Feb 5): $500 professional / $400 student
Spring regular course fee (after Feb 5): $550 professional / $450 student

No instructor support

Winter course fee: $400 professional / $300 student
Spring early bird course fee (ends Feb 5): $350 professional / $250 student

NO instructor support. Sign up anytime over a 3-month period and learn at your own pace as you work through prerecorded lectures and problem sets. Be aware that at any time during the first month, you may upgrade to receive Instructor support.

Dec 5 – Feb 24: $400 professional / $300 student
March 6 – May 26 (Early bird ends Feb 5, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student
June 5 – Aug 25 (Early bird ends May 1, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student
Sept 5 – Nov 22 (Early bird ends August 6, 2023): $350 professional / $250 student

Instructor support

Course fee: $550 professional / $450 student

No instructor support

Spring early bird course fee (ends Feb 5): $400 professional / $350 student

Full instructor support

Early bird course fee (ends February 5): $500 professional / $400 student

Regular course fee (after February 5): $550 professional / $450 student

  NO instructor support. Sign up anytime over a 3-month period and learn at your own pace as you work through prerecorded lectures and problem sets. Be aware that at any time during the first month, you may upgrade to receive Instructor support.
DATES: Access course from February 6 – April 30, 2023
 

Dates: February 6 – March 1, 2023 (with access to course through April 30, 2023)

This course is for students and professionals interested in learning about all aspects of capturing and immobilizing wild animals using a variety of techniques and drugs. This course is also the prerequisite for a 4-day FIELD COURSE designed to provide students a one-of-a-kind, hands-on learning experience capturing and chemically immobilizing elk, black bears, wolves, mountain lions, and several species of mesocarnivores at the Wildlife Science Center (WSC) in Stacy, MN. March field course will be offered at WSC March 6-9, 2023.

Participants will learn at their own pace over four weeks by watching prerecorded lectures, working on problem sets, and reading Dr. Kreeger’s handbook and peer-reviewed journal articles. Once a week, participants will have the option to participate in a live Q&A with Dr. Kreeger about the materials presented in each module. An exam will be administered to those seeking a certification of completion from the Center for Wildlife Studies.

EFI and the ESA Statistical Ecology Section are hosting this virtual seminar series that demonstrates a variety of quantitative methods applied within Ecology and Environmental Science in the R programming language. Attendees will gain valuable insight into methods that they may or may not be familiar with from experts on a given topic.