Open Forum

This eight-session course will begin January 7, 2025, and is part of a complete conservation curriculum offered by the Center for Wildlife Studies. It complements the core course in the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (the Conservation Standards). Topics will include: selecting appropriate landscape boundaries, applying the Conservation Standards at the landscape scale, incorporating socioeconomic and climate change considerations, assessing current and future trends, systematic conservation planning, and building partnerships to support ongoing, dynamic planning and implementation. The course is delivered by Dr. Patrick Crist, Principal of PlanIt Forward and a long-time innovator and landscape assessment and planning practitioner. He's accompanied by a distinguished line-up of experts from several organizations that bring their vast experience from around the world, including John Buchanan, Vice President of Sustainable Production at Conservation International; Dr. Pete Cutter, Director of Program Coordination and Technical Services, RECOFT; Willem Ferwerda, Founder of Commonland; Hannah Grice, Operations Manager of LandScale, Rainforest Alliance; Jamie Faselt, Conservation Science Specialist, Center for Large Landscape Conservation; Dr. Jen McGowan, Global Managing Director, Marxan Solutions; and Tom Mielwald, Program Director, 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People. Learn more and register for the course at https://www.centerforwildlifestudies.org/courses/p/landscape-planning.