Training News from BWSR

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April 2013 

Basic Training for New eLINK 

Based on feedback and assistance from local government partners, BWSR has been working to develop an updated version of eLINK.  The new eLINK has been designed as a web-based tool to improve efficiency, support partnerships, and provide for technology upgrades.  The upcoming training series will provide participants with hands-on opportunities to try out eLINK’s new and improved features. These sessions are intended for LGU staff who are primary eLINK users for their organizations. This training will provide an overview of the basics, such as setting up accounts and logging on, as well as cover activities and grants management, contact management, searches, and GIS viewers.  The trainings will be offered at nine different locations across the state in May and June.

 

Northern Minnesota – REGISTER

 

Southern Minnesota – REGISTER

Metro Region

  • Dates and locations to be determined
  • Please visit BWSR’s Training page for updates

 

BWSR Training

May 22 WCA Administrative Training, BWSR, Mountain Iron Community Center

May 22 WCA Administrative Update and DNR Waters Update, BWSR & DNR, Mountain Iron Community Center

Two-Minute Trainer

Concise Writing Tips

We spend much of our time trying to save time, save money, save face, yet surprisingly, many of us do not follow the same pattern of frugality when writing. Good writing is concise, informative and does not waste time. Avoiding redundancy, pruning phrases and eliminating intensifiers are just a few of the ways we can improve our writing and get our point across. Writing concisely does not always mean using the fewest words, but it does mean using the most effective words.

Check out this site for eight great tips to more concise writing.

Then, to test your skills, take 5 minutes to identify the problems in the sentences below. Click here to take a look at the rewritten, more concise versions.

1)       The red pine, which is also commonly known as the Norway Pine, is Minnesota’s state tree.

2)      Recommending that a person try skydiving is not something an ultra-conservative doctor would do.

3)      As a matter of fact, there are currently more insects on earth than there are people.

4)      There are comparisons of healthy and non-healthy choices in Chapter 3.

5)      The group talked about the merits of the consolidation project during the meeting.

6)      The website makes available many of the items you need to make your decision about which car is best suited for you.

7)      I have found that working as a helper for a bread baker is something that has really helped me learn a lot.

Related Partner Training

MAY

May 1 A Practical Guide to Variances in Shorelands & Floodplains, Initiative Foundation, Little Falls

May 4 Invasive Blitz Volunteer Training, University of Minnesota Master Naturalist Program, East Bethel

May 15 Basics of Planning & Zoning, Shoreview

May 17-18 MFA Spring Field Days, Minnesota Forestry Association, Owatonna

May 21 Sustaining Healthy Forests & Landscapes through Best Planting Practices, University of Minnesota, Cloquet Forestry Center

May 21 Erosion & Sediment Control Field Seminar, MECA, Elk River

May 22 Using LiDAR-based Terrain Analysis Products, University of MN, Webinar

JUNE

June 2-6 Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Conference, Duluth

June 5 Emerging Issues in Planning & Zoning for Professional Planners (in cooperation with APA Minnesota), League of Minnesota Cities, St. Paul

June 19 Advanced Employment Issues for Public Entities, MCIT, St. Cloud

JULY

July 25-27 National Tree Farmer Convention, American Tree Farm Systems, Minneapolis

AUGUST

August 4-9 Sustainable Pathways: Learning From the Past and Shaping the Future, 98th Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America, Minneapolis

OCTOBER

October 14-16 Diagnosing Streams: Symptoms, Underlying Causes, and Remedies, Minnesota DNR, Fergus Falls

Learn on your own

TMDL Training Modules from MPCA

CRP Readiness Initiative 2013 Courses

Peter Mead's February 6 webinar demonstration of Hydrology and Terrain Analysis Tools for Using LiDAR Data

LiDAR Support Forum was originally created as part of the “Conservation Applications of LiDAR Training Program” coordinated by the U of M Water Resources Center and funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.