ANREP 2008

The Association for Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP) is hosting the 6th Natural Resource Extension Professionals Conference. The conference theme, Leopold’s Legacy: Extension’s Response to a Changing World – The Land Ethic at Work Today, will be evident in the plenary session, conference activities, and the study tours. The Conference program begins with with a pre-conference meeting of Extension Fish and Wildlife Specialists followed by a full day of skills-building workshops and a field study tour on Tuesday, May 20. Tuesday evening offers an opening reception amidst the roof-top gardens of Monona Terrace that will bring attendees together for refreshments and to plan an evening in Madison. The plenary session on Wednesday morning kicks off three days of presentations, posters, discussions, and study tours culminating with the ANREP business meeting on Friday morning. The major field study tour, offered on both Tuesday and Thursday, features the new Leopold Legacy Center in the Baraboo Hills. The Center has garnered every honor possible for “green” building.

There will be a Skills Building Workshop focused on geospatial technology on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 from 2 to 5pm. It is Concurrent Session III and is titled The Global Positioning System: A Hands-on, Field Based Workshop for Natural Resource Managers.

Three Geospatial Extension Specialists will lead the workshop: John McGee, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; John Nowatzki, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, and Barron Orr, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.


The implementation of geospatial products and services, and the associated demand for geospatial services can be described as nothing short of “explosive”. Geospatial tools are changing the way government agencies, business, and individuals manage information and make decisions. The United States Department of Labor has identified geotechnology as one of the three most important emerging and evolving fields. Some reports suggest that demands for geospatial skills are increasing so rapidly that workforce needs will not be met.

The workshop will provide participants with the following:

• an overview of how GPS works
• tips of the trade / getting the most out of your GPS receiver
• exposure to different GPS receiver features and capabilities
• tips on selecting an appropriate GPS to support the day to day business application needs of agents and specialists
  
• demonstrations of free and inexpensive software that can be used to support the acquisition, downloading, verification, and “mapping” GPS data

ANREP is a national association for Cooperative Extension Service (CES) professionals working in environmental education, fisheries, forestry, wood sciences, range, recreation, waste management, water, wildlife, and related disciplines.