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A team of instructors and "soup to nuts" agenda will address both the context and contents of a good watershed plan, as well as what's behind typical planning needs. Watersheds obviously come in many shapes and sizes, as do planning focuses and intended purposes-from comprehensive analyses related to planned population and land use, water quality, water quantity, and resource protection and rehabilitation, to specific project recommendations on issues such as flooding, stormwater management, or pollution abatement. This course will demonstrate how to balance the environmental and engineering perspectives in watershed planning. Understanding all of these dimensions is useful, and the course will interactively utilize a combination of presentations, group discussions, a watershed tour, and interagency partners.
Watershed planning inherently helps address the complex interactions between natural systems and human uses and desires. For this reason, a tour of the Menomonee River watershed will be conducted on the afternoon of Day 1 to help illustrate how planning projects are implemented. This practical look at problems and solutions will feature one of the most interesting and dynamic watersheds of its size in Wisconsin and will give participants an opportunity to ask questions and interact with project managers. The tour will bridge planning and implementation, rural and urban interests, and rich historical periods with plans, visions, and progress toward tomorrow. The course and tour will help "put the pieces together" by examining societal impacts focusing on water resources, our development patterns, and various uses of the landscape.
As watershed planning uses technical analysis and public participation to help balance social, political, economic, and environmental considerations, this course is designed to be of benefit to a broad audience: engineers, consultants, planners, local officials, water resource groups, and environmentally concerned citizens.
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Benefits and Learning Outcomes ▼
- Learn to balance environmental and engineering perspectives
- Understand watersheds and the planning process
- Review issues that influence watersheds including flooding, stormwater management and pollution abatement
- Develop strategies from real-life examples as seen on the tour
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