Webinars
Each year the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, and Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute and other partners offer free webinars on contemporary topics in wilderness stewardship. Webinars are generally recorded for later viewing.
Upcoming Webinars
Wilderness and Accessibility: Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Visitors Who Use Wheelchairs
February 4, 2020, noon-1:30pm mountain time
Wilderness areas offer unique opportunities for self-reliant experiences to everyone. But how do people who have disabilities fit into wilderness? Accessibility expert Janet Zeller discusses what responsibilities wilderness managers have and don't have to provide access for visitors with disabilities. With the advent of increasingly-innovative mobility technologies, she also provides tools to identify what kinds of wheelchairs and other mobility-assisting devices are allowed in wilderness.
What Volunteers Do / What Can Volunteers Do? / What Should Volunteers Not Do?
February 11, 2020, 1-2pm mountain time
What can volunteers do safely, competently, and what range of tasks do volunteers engage in nationwide? This discussion will explore the practical use of volunteers in National Forest wilderness areas. Kevin Cannon has had extensive experience working with volunteer groups along Colorado's Front Range for the last 15 years.
Leave No Trace: Refresher, Updates, Research and Resources
March 10, 2020, 1-2pm mountain time
What's new with Leave No Trace, and how can you incorporate the principles into your daily work? Erin Collier & Brice Esplin, Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, will provide a general Leave No Trace refresher with an emphasis on updates, research, resources, and how to get more involved, geared toward wilderness stewardship groups and agency partners.
Balancing Advocacy and Stewardship to Protect Wild Lands, The Great Old Broads for Wilderness Model
April 14, details TBD
Citizen Science
May 12, 1-2pm mountain time, with Mark Eller from Leave No Trace, Lisa Gerloff from the Wilderness Institute at the University of Montana, and Michelle Toshack from Adventure Scientists
Panel on Women-Led Stewardship
June 9, details TBD
Mindfulness on the Job/on the Trail
July 14, 1-2pm mountain time, with Michelle Reugebrink, other details TBD
Kids in Nature
August 11, details TBD
Public Lands and Climate Change 101
September 8, details TBD
Poop in the woods: Why managing human waste in wilderness matters
October 7, 2020, 1-2:30pm mountain time
Human waste can be one of the most significant impacts on public lands, particularly in pristine areas such as wilderness. Given the increase in recreational use of our shared lands, understanding the issues and impacts associated with human waste is imperative for ensuring that it is dealt with appropriately and effectively. From catholes to groovers, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics Education Director Ben Lawhon will cover the specific impacts of improper disposal of human waste, will explore the science of human waste, and will review strategies and techniques for minimizing the impact of this waste in wild places.
Ethics in Digital Media
October 20, with Lisa Ronald and Mikensi Romersa from the University of Montana
Wildland Monitoring with Volunteers
November 10, details TBD
Trail and Land Designations
December 8, details TBD
Shared Stewardship
January 2021, details TBD
Past Webinars
Sustainable Camping on the Pacific Crest Trail (2018)
During this webinar, recreation ecologist Jeff Marion discussed the challenges of camping impacts and "Best Management Practice" options for increasing campsite sustainability. Unregulated camping with visitor-selected sites frequently result in unacceptable resource and social conditions. New research findings reveal the advantages of three alternative options: Designated and Established Site Camping, and Dispersed Pristine Site Camping. Innovations such as shifting camping to naturally-occurring or constructed "side-hill" campsites and using printed and digital maps to shift campers to the most sustainable campsites will also be described. Dr. Lisa Machnik, a Forest Service wilderness manager, discussed wilderness character implications.
Wilderness Stewardship Performance (2017/2018/2019)
Non-Compliant Infrastructure Element
Eric Sandeno (Forest Service) and Colter Pence (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Non-Compliant Infrastructure Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Non-Compliant Infrastructure Element.
Non-Compliant Infrastructure Element webinar recording from March 14, 2019
Cultural Resources Element
Molly Westby (Forest Service) and Stacy Duke (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Cultural Resources Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Cultural Resources Element.
Cultural Resources Element webinar recording from March 14, 2019
Agency Management Actions Element
Bjorn Fredrickson (Forest Service) and Colter Pence (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Agency Management Actions Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Agency Management Actions Element.
Agency Management Actions Element webinar recording from February 19, 2019
Motorized Equipment/Mechanical Transport Use Authorization Elements
Eric Sandeno (Forest Service) and Colter Pence (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and present detailed information on scoring for the Motorized Equipment/Mechanical Transport Use Authorization Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Motorized Equipment/Mechanical Transport Use Authorization Element.
Motorized Equipment/Mechanical Transport Use Authorization Element webinar recording from February 19, 2019
Education Element
Nancy Taylor (Forest Service) and Stacy Duke (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Education Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Education Element.
Opportunities for Primitive and Unconfined Recreation Element
Dr. Troy Hall (Oregon State University) and Stacy Duke (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Opportunities for Primitive and Unconfined Recreation Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Opportunities for Primitive and Unconfined Recreation Element.
Wilderness Character Baseline Element
Adam Barnett (Forest Service) and Stacy Duke (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Wilderness Character Baseline Element along with examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Wilderness Character Baseline Element.
Trails Element
Jaime Schmidt (USDA Forest Service National Trail Program Manager) and Stacy Duke (USDA Forest Service, Hoosier National Forest) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance and presented detailed information on scoring for the Trails Element including examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Trails Element.
Solitude Element
Troy Hall (Oregon State University) and Stacy Duke (Forest Service) provided a short introduction to the Forest Service wilderness performance measure, Wilderness Stewardship Performance, presented detailed information on scoring for the Solitude element, and provided examples of required deliverables associated with the element. The webinar concluded with information on where to find support resources related to the Solitude element.
Wilderness and Accessibility (2018)
Congressional designated wilderness areas offer unique opportunities for remote area experiences with solitude and self-reliance. How do people who have disabilities fit into those areas? Is a wheelchair mechanical transport? During this webinar, accessibility expert Janet Zeller (Forest Service) gives an overview of what is required and what is not required in relation to people who have disabilities and access to wilderness areas.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Wilderness (2017)
Bob Wick (Bureau of Land Management), Parker Martyn (National Park Service), Jeff Lucas (Fish and Wildlife Service), and Sandy Skrien (Forest Service) talked about how each agency handles UAS use from an administrative, outside request (e.g. research, SAR, commercial etc.), and public/recreational standpoint.
Evaluating Proposals for Ecological Intervention in Wilderness (2017)
Beth Hahn and Peter Landres, ecologists from the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, presented the final version of their supplementary tool intended to provide support to agency staff in completing an MRA or MRDG for proposals that involve ecological intervention in wilderness, including projects motivated by the preservation of cultural resources. This supplement is needed because ecological intervention proposals commonly entail complex legal, scientific, and ethical questions that may be beyond the realm of a typical MRA or MRDG. By asking questions early in the proposal evaluation process, this supplement is intended to help agency staff identify issues that need to be resolved before moving forward with the MRA or MRDG and other required analyses.