Wilderness Skills Institute

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NWSI 2023 Sessions

The 2023 National Wilderness Skills Institute will have 6 “streams”:

  • Combined – shared sessions for all participants
  • Wilderness – learn more about wilderness character and minimum requirement analysis
  • Wild & Scenic Rivers – sessions focus on history, river rangering, and restoration
  • Cohort Creation – teamwork makes the dream work!
  • Climate Change – learn about the RAD Framework, Leave No Trace updates, and prescribed fire

Please note that this list of sessions and their descriptions may be updated – final details will be available soon (updated on 5/10)

  • Keynote:
    • Description:
      Finding Creativity in Public Lands Management – an overview of our/you role in managing wilderness and wild & scenic rivers now and into the future.
    •  Presenter:
      • NWSI Core Team
      • Nada Wolff Culver, Deputy Director of Policy and Programs, Bureau of Land Management
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 12:00-12:50 pm ET
  • Federal Agency Leadership Breakouts:
    • Description:
      Hear from your agency leadership on current priorities, challenges, and opportunities at the national level. Some will be available for an open discussion to collect feedback and listening to learn.
    • Presenters:
      • Bureau of Land Management:
        • Peter Keller, Wilderness Program Lead, Bureau of Land Management, Division of National Conservation Lands
        • Britta Nelson, Acting Wild and Scenic Program Lead, Bureau of Land Management, Division of National Conservation Lands
      • National Park Service:
        • Corita Waters, Wild and Scenic Rivers and River Partnerships
      • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:
        • Nancy Roeper, National Wilderness Coordinator
      • U.S. Forest Service:
        • Steve Chesterton, National Wild & Scenic Rivers Program Manager
        • Peter Mali, National Wilderness Program Manager
        • Christina Boston, National Wilderness Character Monitoring Program Manager
        • Eric Sandeno, National Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Information Manager
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 1:00-1:50 pm ET
  • Leave No Trace Skills & Ethics – Refresher, Updates, Resources
    • Description:
      Rivers and wilderness areas are dynamic. Join this interactive session to stay abreast of changes in practices and new research related to Leave No Trace Skills & Ethics. These updates will help keep your LNT knowledge sharp and prepare you for a summer in the field, whether as a land manager, volunteer, or outdoor educator.
    • Prerequisite:
    • Presenters:
      • Haley Toy, Subaru/Leave No Trace team members (link)
      • Gary Huey, Subaru/Leave No Trace team members (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 12:00-12:50 pm ET
  • The Wilderness Tool
    • Description:
      Join us as we listen to 99% Invisible Podcast episode #529, “The Wilderness Tool” which tells the story of crosscut saws and the Wilderness Act of 1964. We recommend downloading the podcast and going for a hike during this time, or feel to join us as we stream it. Comments are welcome!
    • Presenters:
      • Lasha Madan, Producer
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 3:00-3:50 pm ET
  • What Would You Do If You Were In Charge of America’s Wilderness?
    • Description:
      You’ve been appointed steward of a large, popular wilderness not far from a major city. Every choice you make will effect the land’s four wilderness qualities (undeveloped, solitude, untrammeled , and natural), which derive directly from the Wilderness Act. Each choice is based on a real-world scenario. Just as in real life, you’ll face growing tension between the qualities the Act protects, due to the increasing effects of climate change and other human pressures. Grab a pencil, tally your score, and see what kind of manager you’d be—and how your choices affect hikers, ecosystems, and the very idea of wilderness itself.
    • Presenters:
      • Originally developed in partnership with Backpacker Magazine by Dr. Peter Landres, Retired, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
      • Illustration by Nigel Sussman
      • Facilitated by Dusty Vaughn, National Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Specialist, USDA Forest Service
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 4:00-4:50 pm ET
  • Simulcast Session from Southern Appalachian Wilderness Skills Institute & Northern Rockies Wilderness Skills Institute
    • Description:
      Join us as we close out the 2023 NWSI with an opportunity to connect with the in-person training occurring at the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Skills Institute at the Cradle of Forestry on the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina and the Northern Rockies Wilderness Skills Institute at the Powell Ranger Station on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. We’ll get a chance to listen in on a session around rock work by Artie Hidalgo, Jolly Rovers Trail Crew at SAWSI and get a glimpse of what’s happening at NRWSI.
    • Presenter:
      • Artie Hidalgo, Jolly Rovers Trail Crew (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 5:00-5:50 pm ET

  • Wilderness Character and Wilderness Character Monitoring
    • Description:
      This session will define wilderness character using the 5-quality framework and 1964 Wilderness Act. Attendees will also receive an overview of how wilderness character is monitored by all four land management agencies: Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Forest Service. Additional information will be provided about the Forest Service’s approach to wilderness character monitoring (WCM), including an introduction to the 2020 Wilderness Character Monitoring Technical Guide and how it’s used. This session will be useful for folks who will be conducting WCM or are curious about how land management agencies track changes to wilderness resources.
    • Prerequisite:
    •  Presenter:
      • Michelle Tanz, Wilderness Dayen, Society for Wilderness Stewardship (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 2:00-2:50 pm ET
  • Minimum Requirements Analysis and the Minimum Requirements Analysis Framework (MRAF)
    • Description:
      This session explains the minimum requirements edict and guides users through the Minimum Requirements Analysis Framework (MRAF). Participants will learn to define a minimum requirements analysis (MRA), identify the applications and benefits of an MRA, describe the MRA process, and complete a defensible MRAF.
    • Prerequisites:
    •  Presenter:
      • Ken Straley, Recreation, Wilderness, & Trails Program Manager, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, & Gunnison National Forests (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 3:00-4:50 pm ET

  • History of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act: A Photographic Journey
    • Description:
      Join Tim Palmer as he chronicles the lively history of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act involving citizen activists, scientists, dedicated public officials, and enlightened political leaders. The fast-paced and highly informative slideshow will introduce the essential policies outlined in the WSR Act and equips participants to have more informed conversations about wild and scenic rivers.
    • Presenters:
      • Tim Palmer, author and photographer (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 2:00-2:50 pm ET
  • The Art of Being a River Ranger
    • Description:
      In addition to running the river, rangers perform various duties simultaneously and often with limited resources. Save time and accomplish more in the field by learning what strategies are being used by river rangers throughout the country. Presenters will share tips and tricks for smoother public interactions, painless river check-in procedures, constructive visitor use surveys, and thorough patrol reporting.
    • Presenters:
      • Tony Mancuso, Colorado & Green River Management, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, Utah Department of Natural Resources (link)
      • Patrick Kollodge, Commercial Permit Administrator, Medford District, Grants Pass Field Office, Bureau of Land Management (link)
      • Echo Miller-Barnes, Lead River Ranger, Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger District, Flathead National Forest (link)
      • Colter Pence, Wilderness, Wild & Scenic Rivers, and Trails Program Manager, Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger District, Flathead National Forest (link)
      • Chad Niehaus, San Juan River Ranger, Monticello Field Office, Bureau of Land Management (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 3:00-3:50 pm ET
  • Restoration on Wild and Scenic Rivers – Fossil Creek
    • Description:
      This session will focus on Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River on which a fish barrier, installed to protect a native fish species from invasive species, preceded the Wild and Scenic River designation whose requirement for eligibility is its free-flowing condition. This contradiction in management requirements has not been highlighted in the past and is today due to the increasing awareness of national legislative mandates that conflict directly with one another.
    • Prerequisite:
    • Presenters:
      • Matthew O’Neil, Fish Biologist, Coconino National Forest (link)
      • Risa Shimoda, Executive Director, River Management Society (link)
      • Raven Zellers, Resource Assistant, Washington Office Wilderness, Wild & Scenic River Program, U.S. Forest Service (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 4:00-4:50 ET

  • Building Successful Wilderness Teams – An Alternative Approach
    • Description:
      Leaders and field workers are invited to join instructors on a walk through a model for designing and maintaining successful Wilderness teams
    • Presenters:
      • Dylan McCoy, Lead Wilderness Ranger, McKenzie River Ranger District, Willamette National Forest (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 5:00-5:50 pm ET
  • Audacious, Inclusive Team-Building and the Big Water Salmon Jump Expedition
    • Description:
      Meet the leaders of the 2023 Big Water Salmon Jump Expedition, a 350 mile-long celebration of the importance of salmon health in the Columbia River by a traditional canoes that will take place mid-June through the end of July 2023.
      Paddlers from multiple tribes, primarily from eastern Washington, will paddle from Revelstoke, BC to the Snake River confluence, engaged through the unimaginably engaging, outstretched arms of the organizers. How might their strategy, approach and demeanor relate to you and your seasonal crew’s success or planning team’s effectiveness? You may gain an insight or two while listening to their story.
    • Presenters:
      • Peter “PT” Bruno, Expedition Lead, Big Water Salmon Jump: Columbia River Journey
      • Ben-Alex Dupris, Colville Confederated Tribes (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 1:00-1:20 pm ET
  • The Good, The Bad, The Ugly of High Functioning Groups
    • Description:
      Seasonal employment offers unique challenges in building a productive work team with good communication practices in a short amount of time. The limited time to train the group and a designated end date can make it difficult for everyone to get on the same page quickly at the beginning of the season. Based on a study investigating what is important to seasonal employees and the organizational communication theory of socialization, this workshop with give an overview of concepts of socialization that will help seasonal managers and practitioners understand the challenges of building a team quickly AND some communicative practices and skills so that you will be prepared to build a terrific team this season.How do people build identity to an organization and group in a short time? We will talk about the stages of socialization pre-employment; throughout and post-season. We’ll also discuss findings on what seasonal employees find important:

      • Creating friendships as a support system and a sense of team
      • Personal growth
      • Important to feel competently trained
      • Feeling respected and supported by supervisor

These four things can be addressed through building skills that we’ll apply in breakouts:

      • Giving and receiving (hard) feedback
        • Short training time requires ongoing coaching through the season.
        • Agree to a culture of ongoing learning.
        • Intention for growth.
        • Invitation to problem solving.
      • Bystander intervention
        • Proven method for stopping unwelcome behaviors.
        • 4 D’s of Bystander Intervention
        • Breakout and discussion
    • Presenters:
      • Jim Miller, Co-Founder, Respect Outside (link)
      • Maria Blevins, Associate Professor of Communication, Utah Valley University (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 1:30-2:50 pm ET

  • Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: What they are and How they Help Stewardship
    • Description:
      In this session, participants will learn about resources available to support considerations of climate change in stewardship. The session will highlight climate change vulnerability assessments developed for national forests in the western United States and how they can be used. Participants will also develop a better understanding of potential impacts of climate change on wilderness areas and have the opportunity to discuss strategies for responding to these impacts.
    • Prerequisite:
      Participants would benefit from having some familiarity with climate change vulnerability assessments relevant to the places where they work:

    • Presenter:
      • Dr. Thomas Timberlake, Climate Change and Science Coordinator,  Pacific Northwest Research Station and Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center (link)
    • Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23rd, 2:00-2:50 pm ET
  • The Resist-Adapt-Direct (RAD) Model
  • Working with the Resist-Accept-Direct Model
  • Prescribed Fire and Wilderness: Research Findings
    • Description:
      This session will focus on the research and findings of the Wilderness and Fire Management Workshop hosted by the Center for Public Lands at Western Colorado University in December 2022. Workshop participants represented multiple agencies, organizations, geographic regions, and professional roles, each bringing unique experiences and perspectives to a discussion about the future of wilderness and fire management. Research conducted by the Center for Public Lands regarding challenges and opportunities associated with prescribed fire in wilderness, along with case studies from around the country, provided a foundation for conversation and deliberation.
    • Presenters:
      • Alyssa Worsham, Graduate Student, Western Colorado University (link)
      • Dagny Signorelli, Graduate Student, Western Colorado University (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 1:00-1:50 pm ET
  • Prescribed Fire and Wilderness Workshop: The Process
    • Description:
      This session will provide insight behind the process used by graduate students Alyssa Worsham and Dagny Signorelli to encourage discussion among wilderness professionals during the Wilderness and Fire Management Workshop. Workshop participants prepared a white paper to summarize the topics discussed, synthesizing key opportunities to enact change in current fire/wilderness management practices, with the goal to prepare land managers for shifting baselines, changing climate conditions, and future policy environments.
    • Presenters:
      • Alyssa Worsham, Graduate Student, Western Colorado University (link)
      • Dagny Signorelli, Graduate Student, Western Colorado University (link)
    • Date & Time: Wednesday, May 24th, 2:00-2:50 pm ET