Workshops

Theme: "Headwaters of Conservation"

For information contact:  Jody Ogg at 
(515) 289-2331, extension 17 or events@swcs.org

WORKSHOPS 

Workshops are designed to enhance professional skills through training and education in selected topics.  Workshops will be offered on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, July 24, 25, and 28.  While registration for the SWCS annual conference is encouraged, those attending the following workshops need not be registered for the annual conference.  Participation in the annual conference requires registration.

WEPP training
Saturday, July 24; 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The objective of the workshop is to train professional conservationists, erosion control workers, federal, state and private business employees, consultants, and specialists in the use of WEPP for application to various natural resource problems.  The instructors will be J.M. Laflen, USDA-ARS (retired) and W.J. Elliott, U.S. Forest Service, Moscow, ID.  Topics to be covered include an introduction to WEPP and GeoWEPP, WEPP windows interface, WEPP interfaces on the WWW, and GIS applications of WEPP.  There will be considerable hands-on use of WEPP with Hillslope and Watershed Applications for cropland, rangeland, forestland, urban land and construction areas.  At the conclusion of the workshop, attendees should be able to install and run WEPP, and build and modify input data files for various applications.  They should also be able to select and interpret the available outputs, and be able to apply WEPP to their specific problem areas.

Attendees should bring a notebook computer running Windows 98 or newer.  The hard drive should have a minimum of 250 mb of free space and 250 mb of RAM.  A WEPP CD and a training manual will be provided.  In order to run GeoWEPP for GIS applications on your own computer, you must have the commercially available ESRI GIS software ArcView 3.x and ArcView Spatial Analyst Extension installed.  Please indicate on your registration if you have these ESRI software already installed.

Audience: Conservationists, researchers, foresters, DOT personnel, natural resource planners, land management planners/consultants

Presenters: John Laflen, USDA-ARS (retired); William Elliot, U.S. Forest Service
15 participants minimum, 25 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $50 early, $70 late
           Non-member - $70 early, $90 late

ESRI authorized training
Science Museum of Minnesota (three blocks from the Radisson Riverfront Hotel)
Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25; 8:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

• Have you ever had the need to create site-specific maps in a quick and efficient way, using remote sensed images as a backdrop?

• Have you wondered how to digitize field boundaries and calculate acreages?

• Have you ever needed to spatially integrate conservation plans, hydrographic, soil and slope data to produce nutrient management plans?

• Have you ever wondered how to relate table (database) data to spatial features?

ArcView GIS 3.x is one of the most widely utilized desktop GIS software applications, with an easy-to-use, point-and-click graphical user interface that lets the user load spatial and tabular data, and easily display, query, analyze, summarize, and communicate cartographic, image and tabular data, and to produce presentation quality output. 

This two-day, 14 contact hour course will enable participants to become familiar with the software, and basic techniques for the retrieval, storage, manipulation and analysis of geospatial information, and the utilization of Internet and WWW data sources.  Students will receive the book “Introduction to ArcView GIS,” which includes a CD with exercises and data. 

The instructor, Demetrio Zourarakis, PhD, is an ESRI authorized instructor for Introduction to ArcView GIS.  His everyday tasks are centered on utilizing GIS and remote sensed data for geospatial data analysis in natural resources, agricultural and environmental programs at the Kentucky Division of Conservation – Department of Natural Resources.  His background in agronomy, soils and plant physiology adds an essential and relevant real world component to this ESRI’s Introduction to ArcView GIS3.x, two-day course.

This workshop is limited to 10 participants, minimum and maximum.  Those who wish to park a vehicle at the Science Museum will have a parking fee of $10 per day.

Audience: This course is a deal for those who use the USDA-NRCS’s Customer Service Toolkit (CST) and Soil Data Viewer (SDV), which use ArcView as its geospatial interface.  This course is especially recommended for those CST and SDV users with a need to intensify their knowledge of the ArcView interface and functionality.  A basic to intermediate working knowledge of the MS Windows operating system is required.

Presenter: Demetrio Zourarakis, GIS and Remote Sensing Coordinator, Kentucky Division of Conservation 10 participants minimum and maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $300 early, $350 late
           Non-member - $350 early, $400 late

ESRI certificates will be awarded upon successful completion of the course.  Additional continuing education units (CEUs) may be awarded to Certified Crop Advisors, landscape architects, etc.

ABCs of TMDLs
Sunday, July 25, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This workshop is intended to provide attendees with a fundamental understanding of TMDLs and how the TMDL program may influence water quality and agricultural and other land management activities in the U.S.  A TMDL or Total Maximum Daily Load is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant’s sources.  TMDLs are mandated by the Clean Water Act and laws in many states.  The TMDLs are requiring states to systematically assess and address water quality problems caused by non-point source pollution and particularly agriculture.  This workshop will provide participants with a basic understanding of 1) the TMDL program history and requirements; 2) how TMDLs are developed; 3) challenges associated with TMDL development; and 4) recent regulatory changes to the TMDL program and how they may affect TMDL developers and stakeholders. 

Audience: NRCS and SWCD personnel and other conservationists who are or may become involved in the TMDL process or who need to know more about the program to better advise their clientele.

Presenters: Theo Dillaha, Brian Benham, Kevin Brannan, and Gene Yagow, Virginia Tech; William Painter, U.S. EPA 20 participants minimum, 50 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $100 early, $120 late
           Non-member - $120 early, $140 late

Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS)
Sunday, July 25; 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
In response to customer requests for improved wind erosion prediction technology, USDA, cooperating with other agencies, developed the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS).  WEPS is a process-based continuous daily time-step model.  It represents the most current technology for predicting soil erosion by wind.  As the USDA-NRCS nears implementation of WEPS, the purpose of this half-day workshop is to give participants an overview of WEPS and its utility for conservation planning and policy development.  The workshop will include 1) soil, water, and air quality as influenced by wind erosion; 2) development of wind erosion technology; 3) overview and demonstration of WEPS; 4) use of WEPS for conservation planning; 5) soil erosion by wind and its control (video); and 6) discussion. 

Audience: NRCS personnel, technical and administrative; ARS scientists; personnel from state and federal agencies; scientists and conservationists from the U.S. and other countries

Presenters: Ed Skidmore, Larry Wagner, and John Tatarko, USDA-ARS; Gary Tibke, USDA-NRCS 15 participants minimum, 30 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $45 early, $65 late
           Non-member - $65 early, $85 late

Communicate your ideas visually – presentation graphics for conservation planning
Sunday, July 25, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
In today’s fast-paced world, it is critical to be able to communicate and market conservation strategies quickly and concisely.  Many decision makers do not have the knowledge or experience to interpret technical jargon and engineering drawings used in planning and design.  Effective graphics help people visualize and better understand technical proposals, which speeds up the planning process and encourages participation in planning.

Whether you are artistic or not, this workshop will give you some practical skills for communicating with clients.  The first part of the workshop will focus on how to use illustrations to better communicate conservation plans.  Demonstrations and simple exercises will be used to develop and improve your ability to draw plan views and sections that can be easily understood by clients.  Techniques will range from quick free-hand drawing to using Microsoft PowerPoint to create effective presentation graphics.  The second part of the workshop will teach you how to alter photographs to illustrate proposed alternatives.  A Microsoft Windows compatible image editing program will be handed out and used during the workshop.  You will learn how to use this software to create accurate and realistic looking simulations.

To gain the most from the workshop, participants are encouraged to bring a laptop computer equipped with a CD reader, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft PowerPoint, mouse, and charged battery.  If you do not have a laptop, the computer applications will be documented in the workshop notebook so you can use them when returning home.  Photo image editing software, digital image library, and workshop notebook are included in the registration fee.

Audience: Natural resource planners and technicians
Presenters: Gary Wells, USDA-NRCS; Gary Bentrup, U.S. Forest Service
15 participants minimum, 50 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $40 early, $60 late
           Nonmember - $60 early, $80 late

Conservation planning field technology
Wednesday, July 28, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
This workshop will focus on new and innovative technology used by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to assist the agency in its assigned task of the conservation of natural resources.  It will include demonstrations and discussions of the Agency’s conservation and planning applications.

The Customer Service Toolkit is the official conservation planning application of NRCS.  It is a web-enabled application that utilizes several common platforms as a base and includes ArcGIS as a geospatial component.  Program Contracts System, or ProTracts, is the web-based official contracting application of the Agency.  It also uses ArcGIS as a geospatial component.  Toolkit and ProTracts are electronically linked and are considered as logical components of each other.  Both applications have the functionality of assimilating data gathered by the use of global positioning satellites.

In addition, several features of the Toolkit and ProTracts will be included in a Conservation Plug-In available without charge to commercial providers to incorporate in their software products.  This will enable technical service providers to use commercial software with appropriate security to create and maintain conservation plans for their customers, as well as maintain their cost-share agreement records hosted in USDA databases.  Producers also will be able to use commercial software containing the Plug-In to maintain some of their own records.

The applications are used by field conservationists and technical service providers to create and manage conservation plans and contracts containing practices and practice components.  They will certify completed cost-shared practices and approve them for payment.  Contracts are built utilizing information from Toolkit, cost lists maintained in the electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG), and in other databases.  Cost-share contracts are geo-referenced for rapid and flexible reporting.

Information and demonstrations will be presented by both program developers and field users of the applications.  In addition to GPS, linkage is being built to a Resource Data Gateway, Resource Data Marts and Viewer, conservation engineering applications, and the NRCS’ eFOTG.  Explanations and discussions will be used to address how the applications are linked to other pertinent data sources.

Audience: Professionals involved in delivering all types of natural resource planning to the public
Presenters: James “Chip” Ramsey, Chance Walker, James Gillespie, and Jack Carlson, USDA-NRCS 20 participants minimum, 50 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Members - $45 early, $65 late
           Non-member - $65 early, $85 late

Assessing the impacts of agricultural operations on ambient air quality
Wednesday, July 28, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
New national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for tropospheric ozone and fine particles (those with a diameter less than 2.5 microns, PM-2.5) were implemented in 1996 and attainment designations for these pollutants will be made by EPA in 2005 and 2006.  Tropospheric ozone and much of the fine particles found in ambient air are not emitted directly from sources but are formed in the atmosphere by various chemical processes.  Agricultural operations had been identified as being a source of some of the emissions that contribute to the formation these tropospheric ozone and fine particles.  Technical personnel who work directly with agricultural producers need to know the sources of these emissions, their effects on air quality, and the alternatives available to reduce them.  This workshop will provide training in:

• Accessing and interpreting ambient air quality data.

• Identifying agricultural sources of air emissions and the transport and chemical processes that impact ambient air quality.

• Implementing management practices to reduce air emissions from agricultural operations.

Audience: Traditional public sector and private sector technical service providers, conservation district employees and others involved in natural resource planning and air quality management.
Presenters: Ron Heavner, Roel Vining, John Brenner, John Beyer, Jeff Schmidt, and other cooperators, USDA-NRCS 10 participants minimum, 30 maximum
Cost: SWCS Members - $45 early, $65 late 
         Non-member - $65 early, $85 late

RUSLE2 for conservation planning and erosion assessment
Wednesday, July 28, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This workshop will help participants become familiar with RUSLE2 science and technology.  With hands-on instruction, participants will develop basic skills to operate the RUSLE program and manage databases.  The model is land-use independent, and the extensive database will allow users to apply RUSLE2 to a wide variety of land uses in the U.S.  RUSLE2 can operate in either U.S. customary units of SI units, making it much easier to use for those who work with metric units.  RUSLE2 is a 2^nd generation of RUSLE1, but with new features and capabilities, including a graphical user interface.  It is being used as a guide for conservation planning with the USDA Farm Bill.  It has the most extensive supporting database ever assembled for users of an erosion prediction model.  The instructors have experience in developing, implementing, and applying RUSLE and RUSLE2, building databases, and training RUSLE2 users.  Participants must bring their own laptop computers.  RUSLE2 runs on Win95, Win98, WinNT and XP.

Audience: Technical Service Providers, Conservationists, university instructors, researchers, international users, natural resource planners, erosion control professionals, and consultants.
Presenters: Glenn Weesies, David Lightle, and John Pingry, USDA-NRCS
15 participants minimum, 30 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Members - $75 early, $100 late  
           Non-members - $100 early, $125 late

New rules, tools, and techniques to ensure NPDES compliance
Wednesday, July 28; 9:00 a.m.  –  4:00 p.m.
Phase 2 of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requires a fresh approach to stormwater management and construction site erosion control.  BMPs are evolving to meet new resource protection goals and regulatory requirements.  Traditional approaches are just the first step toward reaching our goals.  Fortunately there are many innovative, cost-effective techniques to help ensure NPDES compliance.

This course will introduce you to the new phase 2 requirements and teach you how to deal with them during the design, product, and technique selection and field implementation of your projects.

Audience: Engineers, landscape architects, landscape designers, city and county engineers, planners and public works personnel, inspectors, and contractors.
Presenters: Jay Michels, Minnesota Erosion Control Association; Randy Neprash, Boonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik & Associates, Inc.; Jay Riggs, Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District; Todd Smith, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Dwayne Stenlund, Minnesota Department of Transportation 40 participants minimum, 80 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Member - $90 early, $110 late  
           Non-member - $110 early, $130 late

The use of risk assessment tools in Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) development
Wednesday, July 28, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
This four-hour workshop is a continuation of a series of workshops educating professionals and producers about important emerging facets in nutrient management planning.  It is jointly sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), and the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS).

The workshop will look at established and emerging risk assessment tools utilized for and during the development of comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs).  Risk assessment tools presented will include the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE2), the Nitrogen Leaching Index (NLI), Phosphorus Index (PI), and an array of other decision making tools utilized during the nutrient management planning process.  In addition, software will be presented to develop a complete Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) output documents through the utilization of “smart document” procedures in the Manure Management Planner (MMP).

Audience: Traditional public sponsored practicing agronomists and soil scientists (NRCS, ARS, district conservationists, cooperative extension and field practitioners); technical service providers; public and private practitioners engaged in the areas of conservation who require training to become certified specialists or need continuing education units to retain certification.

Presenters: Chris Gross, Jerry Lemunyon, and Norman Widman, USDA-NRCS
10 participants minimum, 40 maximum
Cost:   SWCS Members - $45 early, $65 late
           Non-members - $65 early, $85 late

CPESC or CPSWQ
Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) now mandates local storm water management programs for thousands of municipalities throughout the United States.  Local governments must incorporate information and education components as well as construction site erosion control and post-construction storm water management into their programs.  The need for certified professionals in erosion and sediment control and storm water control continues to grow rapidly.

A Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) or Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality (CPSWQ) designation establishes and expands your credibility in these specialties.  Both designations are endorsed by the Soil and Water Conservation Society and the International Erosion Control Association.

Exam Review – Get a jump-start on your CPESC or CPSWQ exam with the review courses offered at the SWCS Annual Conference.  Review the material and concepts on the CPESC and CPSWQ exams with professionals in the field.  The course includes lunch and course materials.  The review courses for each certification will be held on Sunday, July 25.  The exams will take place on Wednesday, July 28.

Applications must be submitted to CPESC, Inc. no later than Friday, June 11, 2004 in order to be reviewed for approval to sit for the exam at this conference.  Application forms can be found on the CPESC website at www.cpesc.net.

Click on the specific categories to the left for more information.

PLAN ON GOING TO NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE!

2005 SWCS Annual Conference
July 29-August 4, 2005
Hyatt Hotel and Rochester Convention Center
Rochester, New York