Bay and Weeks Bay NERRs along with Mississippi State University GeoResources Institute are offering a hands-on ArcHydro (ESRI, Redlands, CA) GIS tools workshop at the US Army Corp of Engineers Annex Building, Mobile, Alabama on Thursday, January 25, 2007, from 8am – 5pm.  The workshop will include multiple exercises utilizing data from Alabama and Mississippi.  Handouts and software will be provided. Course instructors are John Cartwright and Louis Wasson of the GeoResources Institute.  Please contact Mike Shelton (251-928-9792) or Marian Dicas (228-475-7047) for more information. For a registration form: http://www.coastaltraining-al.com/pdfs/ArcHydroBrochure.pdf

Registration for this workshop is not handled online but through the Baldwin County Soil and Water Conservation District; contact Mike Shelton at 251.928.9792 or Michael.Shelton@dcnr.alabama.gov

The 2006 Stormwater Runoff, Watershed Management and Nonpoint Source Pollution Workshop will help your community put together the pieces of your stormwater management and outreach programs. The 2-day program will provide you with information about watershed dynamics and mapping, details about the causes of nonpoint source pollution and planning products to assist your community with preparing for growth using environmentally sound practices. Instructors will provide the latest information on compliance and TMDL issues.  Communities with successful municipal and construction stormwater management programs will share their experiences.

Note:  Registration for this workshop is NOT handled online; see registration details below.

Tuesday, 20 June

Jon Archer Extension Building

Mobile, AL

7:30 AM — Noon

Who Should Attend

·    Elected officials

·    Appointed officials

·    Utility Board Members

·    Planning Commissioners

·    Real Estate Developers

·    Other interested individuals

Why You Should Attend

As officials and coastal decision-makers, you make important decisions that affect the health, economic development, and environment in your community.  This training will enable you to more positively respond to critical wastewater challenges.   

This Training Session Will

·    Help you better understand centralized and decentralized wastewater management processes and options

·    Provide current science-based information, tools, and techniques for managing wastewater collection and treatment alternatives

·    Enable improved decision-making related to wastewater management alternatives in coastal Alabama

·    Help to develop a partnership among decision-makers for networking and collaboration on wastewater issues and economic development

Weeks Bay Estuarine Research Reserve

20^th Anniversary

Coastal Topics Presentation Series

Managing Visitor Use in Coastal Areas ...Note:  Registration for this workshop is NOT handled online; see details below for registration information.

As more people choose to live, work, and play along our nation’s coasts and waterways, resource management professionals are challenged with balancing the changing demands of the public with the management of resources under their care. This workshop provides an overview of the human dimensions of protected area management, offers examples of visitor use and associated impacts to natural resources and visitor experiences, and demonstrates applications to help managers address the people side of resource management. The workshop includes training sessions led by NOAA Coastal Services Center Human Dimensions staff, presentations by community leaders and regional natural resource managers, and field excursions.  The speakers and activities include (in agenda sequence):

·    Heidi Recksiek, & Ann Weaver, Coastal Services Center, NOAA

·    Billy Duke, Mayor, City of Gulf Shores

·    Herb Malone, President & CEO, Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau

·    Co-presentation by Donna Watts, CEO, South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, and Carolyn Doughty, Councilwoman, City of Gulf Shores

·    L. G. Adams, Manager, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

·    Carl Wegener, Kvichak Marine Industries

·    Jeff Collier, Mayor, Town of Dauphin Island and Carl Ferraro, Natural Resource Planner, ADCNR-State Lands-Coastal Section – tour of, and discussion about, Dauphin Island

·    Dr. George Crozier, Executive Director, Dauphin Island Sea Lab 

This two-day course provides managers with a step-by-step, easy-to-use process for identifying and defining unacceptable impacts to biological and cultural resources and to visitor experiences, and presents a range of strategies and tactics managers can use to address these impacts. 

Who should attend?

Natural resource managers and staff, elected and appointed officials, city managers and environmental staff, parks & recreation officials and staff, coastal law enforcement personnel, coastal developers and realtors, resort managers, eco-tourism managers, and other interested individuals.

Note:  This workshop has been approved for 5 Basic Certified Municipal Official hours by the Alabama League of Municipalities.

Weeks Bay Estuarine Research Reserve

20^th Anniversary

Coastal Topics Presentation Series

Registration for this event is not handled online.  Download registration forms at:

http://www.smartcoast.org or http://www.eschamber.com/ 

Imagine is about the future, but it's grounded in workable solutions available today.  Hear case studies from successful cities like Charleston and transformed towns like Eufaula, Alabama. Preview modeling tools that answer development questions without years of study.  Partner with local leaders to position our cities for the future.

THE MANY SPONSORS INCLUDE:

Weeks Bay Estuarine Research Reserve

20^th Anniversary

Coastal Topics Presentation Series

In October 2005, the Alabama Board of Public Health adopted new regulations governing onsite sewage treatment and disposal. The new rules go into effect on March 19, 2006 and will significantly change the way new developments that utilize onsite sewage systems are planned and designed.

The purpose of this workshop will be to introduce the new rules to local governments, elected officials and real estate and development professionals. If you are involved with new developments that utilize onsite sewage systems, this training will help you understand what the new rules are intended to accomplish, how they will be implemented, and how they may affect your operations.

In October 2005, the Alabama Board of Public Health adopted new regulations governing onsite sewage treatment and disposal. The new rules go into effect on March 19, 2006 and will significantly change the way new developments that utilize onsite sewage systems are planned and designed.

The purpose of this workshop will be to introduce the new rules to local governments, elected officials and real estate and development professionals. If you are involved with new developments that utilize onsite sewage systems, this training will help you understand what the new rules are intended to accomplish, how they will be implemented, and how they may affect your operations.

You are invited to a FREE one-day workshop on Wednesday, 15 February, entitled, “Managing the Impacts of Residential Docks and Piers in Mississippi & Alabama.”  See the attached registration information and agenda.  The workshop will be held at the Gautier Convention Center in MS.  The Coastal Training Program at the Weeks Bay Reserve will provide shuttle/motor coach transportation for Alabama participants.  The Coastal Training Program at the Grand Bay Reserve will provide lunch for us.  The registration due date is Friday, 10 February and the workshop space is limited.  Please share with messages with all you believe would desire or benefit from attending.  See details below and contact me if you need further information.

This training is designed for elected officials, appointed officials, planning commissioners and other individuals interested in better understanding stormwater management processes and options.  This training session will also:

• provide current science-based information, tools, and techniques for managing stormwater
• provide current information on regulations for and governance of stormwater programs
• help to develop a partnership among decision-makers for networking and collaboration
• enable improved decision-making related to stormwater management in coastal Alabama

Registrations for this workshop are not handled online but through the Baldwin County Soil and Water Conservation District.  Contact Mike Shelton for registration details, a complete agenda with instructors listed, AND for lodging benefits at local hotels for those who register early!

The 2005 Watershed Management, Nonpoint Source Pollution and Stormwater Workshop will help your community put together the pieces of your stormwater management and outreach programs.  The two and half day program will provide you with information about watershed dynamics and mapping, details about the causes of nonpoint source pollution and planning products to assist your community with preparing for growth using environmentally sound practices.  Instructors will provide the latest information on Phase I and II compliance issues.  Communities with successful municipal and construction stormwater management programs will share their experiences.

The CTP sponsored first biennial event features invited speakers from research projects which took place in our watershed.  The topics include species diversity, nutrient loading, habitat restoration, and the imparcts of mercury contamination.

This workshop is being conducted as a key part of a partnership project between NOAA and the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program (ACAMP).  This project integrates science with management by bringing the NOAA NOS observational capabilities to coastal managers, and integrates diverse elements of the NOS coastal stewardshop and navigation portfolios.

The objectives of the workshop are:

• to provide the local audience with overviews of coastal activities and requirements for water level and datum information from both the state and federal perspective
• to provide overviews of tide and geodetic datums and their applications to local and state needs
• to provide first hand knowledge of how tidal tatums are computed and applied