This highly successful program prepares natural resources professionals to meet the challenges of implementing ecosystem management. Participants gain an understanding of how the human dimension, ecology, and economics function and interact, and apply this understanding in ecosystem and landscape management. Learning is in an interdisciplinary environment and the intended audience is natural resource professionals from all disciplines involved in wildland management. 

The CEEM program is based on three courses which present basic concepts and methods central to effective ecosystem management. It is designed to be a fully integrated, interdisciplinary, coverage of ecosystem management. Each module covers the breadth of ecosystem management; i.e., physical, biological, and social aspects are covered in each module. The progression from module to module is from the conceptual to the applied. Each module must be attended by each participant in the order in which it is offered and candidates should not apply unless they are able and willing to attend and complete each module.

The total cost for all three modules is $4,650. CEEM can be taken for university credit; each module is a separate 4 semester credit course (for a total of 12 credits). The cost of registering for credit is included in the cost of the program.
 
Module I - Biophysical and Human Dimensions of Ecosystems

Utah State University, Logan, UT October 20 - October 31, 2008
This intensive two-week course introduces key biophysical and socio-economic concepts and sets the stage for the entire program through exploration of the important concepts central to ecosystem management and how ecosystem management differs from traditional approaches to the management of natural resources. This module introduces the important human dimensions of ecosystem management, including concepts relating to values, attitudes and behavior, contemporary models to predict behavior, and the identification of important community and institutional attributes and processes. Basic concepts in economics will be explored, as well as the role of planning in ecosystem management. This module will introduce important concepts relating to physical landscapes, including how landscapes develop in time and space, how landscape elements are interconnected, and how they respond to disturbance. In this module, we will explore the levels of biological integration, from populations, through communities, to ecosystems. Important population and community attributes will be explored, including genetic variation and influences on community composition, structure and function. Participants will be familiar with basic concepts relating to the structure and function of ecosystems, and to basic principles of disturbance and landscape ecology.
 

Module II - Integrated Inventory, Analysis and Assessment of Ecosystems

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO February , 2009 

This two week module will develop skills to assess the bio-physical and socio-political environment. This module builds on concepts and information presented in the first two modules to develop an understanding of measurement, predicting future conditions, and decision making techniques used in ecosystem management. Skills to be learned in this module will be directly applicable to the development and assessment of plans and projects to implement ecosystem management. Techniques used to assess the biophysical environment will be covered. Assessment of vegetation will include simulation vegetation changes, the role of disturbance, controlled herbivory and wildlife habitat structure. Conservation of biological diversity will include reserve design, measurement of landscapes and population modeling. In this module, soil and slope stability, water resource assessment and monitoring, and hydrologic modeling will be covered in assessing the physical environment. The use of GIS and remote sensing technologies to assess the biophysical environment will be explored. Measurement and assessment of the social and political elements of the ecosystem will be covered. Techniques of social assessment will include survey, ethnographic and key informant research and address issues of cost effectiveness. Models of group participation in decision making, conflict resolution and implementation of the public involvement process will be covered. Principles and techniques for measuring equity and efficiency will be explored. Benefit / cost analysis, input / output models and new direction on economic assessment of natural resources will be covered. This module will explore the concepts and role of decision support systems in ecosystem management. Use of tactical and strategic planning tools will be covered.

 

Module III - Ecosystem Management Implementation .

Location and dates to be announced (two weeks, typically in May or June)

Participants, as part of an interdisciplinary team, develop an ecosystem management assessment for an actual landscape. The assessment is completed during an intensive two week module sponsored by a host unit. Analysis areas are located throughout the Central and Southern Rocky Mountains.