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New Instructor-Led Online Course Kicks Off
 January 24 marked the start of MRA Live, our new interagency, seven-week, online minimum requirements analysis (MRA) training course taught by veteran Forest Service trainer, Tom Carlson. MRA Live pilots interactive, instructor-led, online learning techniques as an alternative to self-paced learning, and if successful, may become one of our core course offerings.
This course provides a scheduled opportunity for 20 agency employees to explore the MRA process, examine a sample Minimum Requirements Decision Guide (MRDG) to recognize common mistakes, prepare an MRDG for instructor review, and participate in discussion forums and networking with the instructor and other participants via Connect, the wilderness professional's network.
The benefits of this approach to learning include the opportunity to examine the MRA process in depth and discuss key elements with other participants in instructor-led, online forums. Participants then apply what they learn by preparing their own MRA and receive a critical review from the instructor designed to improve this and future analyses. Another advantage of this approach is that the participants may use a current project to prepare their MRA and thereby accomplish a work task while participating in the training.
Look for updates in future newsletters on the success of this course. |
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Mapping Your Wilderness World
Now not only can you view official wilderness boundaries overlaid on satellite or topographic imagery online, but you can download the same data in a variety of formats for recreational use or research. A new section on Wilderness.net for different types of GIS-based downloadable formats allow for viewing:
On your Garmin GPS Unit: Exclusively for Garmin brand units, and packaged by state, these maps are transparent, meaning that they overlay wilderness areas on top of other data you might have on your unit, like trails. They come wrapped in an executable file that automatically unzips the correct images and registers them with MapSource, the computer program that all Garmin units use to transfer data between the unit and the computer.
In Google Earth: Like the GPS maps, state-wide maps are available for viewing wilderness areas in Google Earth. Color coding and info windows tell you which agency manages the area and link you back to more information about the area on Wilderness.net.
As Shapefiles: Shapefiles are typically for use by those with GIS mapping software and expertise using and manipulating geographic data. A single shapefile of the entire NWPS is available as well as shapefiles for each individual wilderness area. Feature-level metadata providing data update and agency contact is also available in an accompanying spreadsheet.
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Embracing New Wilderness Education Efforts
Educating the youth of America about the values and benefits of wilderness and other public lands is the key to future stewardship of those lands, and the Carhart Center is currently developing a new program that will assist such efforts. The "Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program" is a partnership program between the Carhart Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Missoula (BBBS), and the University of Montana Wilderness Association. The program aims to, "Provide underserved youth in the Missoula, MT area with educational outdoor experiences through trips led by University of Montana students." Each month, University of Montana students will plan and lead outdoor trips for current BBBS "Bigs" and "Littles." These trips will focus on recreation skill building, place-based learning, and service learning.
The long-term vision of this program is to foster the next generation of America's land stewards through meaningful outdoor experiences and provide leadership opportunities for young adults interested in working in the great outdoors. Additional supporting organizations of this program include: Salish Kootenai College, Next Step Wilderness, Society for Wilderness Stewardship, Montana Conservation Corps, and Backcountry Horsemen of Montana. The program's first trip is tentatively scheduled for later this month. Stayed tuned for more updates about this venture from Jenn Lutman, Carhart's Education Intern and Program Coordinator of the Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program.
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If you have any questions, comments, or want to suggest a topic for the newsletter, please feel free to email us. We'd love to hear what topics are most interesting to you so we can focus on them. Until next time!
Sincerely,
Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center
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