What Is CTP?
Since its designation in 1999, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resource’s (MDMR’s) Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GNDNERR) has sought to bridge the gap between science and management by providing training workshops to professional coastal resource management audiences and other coastal user groups. These workshops, collectively referred to as coastal decision-maker workshops (CDMWs), are coordinated through the reserve’s Education Program. As the CDMW initiative has grown, so has the need to develop a more coordinated approach to training and information sharing based on assessments of audience needs and skill levels.
To accommodate this need, the GNDNERR is developing a regional Coastal Training Program (CTP) with funding and guidance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Estuarine Reserves Division (ERD). The program targets coastal decision-makers (e.g. individuals who make routine decisions about the management of coastal resources in a professional or volunteer capacity) and provides opportunities to create new and enhance existing interagency partnerships in an effort to implement a coordinated approach to coastal resource management training along the north-central Gulf Coast. The intent of CTP is to identify and fill gaps in coastal resource management training opportunities by providing practical science-based information, tools, and training to coastal resource managers.
To review planning documents for GNDNERR's CTP, please click here.
Target Audience Definition and Primary Training Themes
Reflecting upon the results of the market analysis and needs assessment surveys, the CTP Advisory Committee agreed that the primary initial target audience for GNDNERR’s CTP over the next three years should be local elected and appointed officials in Mississippi’s three coastal counties (Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock). The majority of training opportunities and products created by CTP will reflect the needs of this audience. However, GNDNERR’s CTP will maintain enough flexibility to include other audiences highlighted by the market analysis survey results in its outreach efforts.
Primary issues that will be addressed by GNDNERR's CTP over the next three years take into account the results of the market analysis and needs assessment surveys and include the themes of wetland and water resource protection and management.
For a complete list of available training opportunities please click here.