Professional Development from ESA

Survey Design: How to Develop a Cohesive Survey Design to Support Robust Analysis and Inference while Balancing Design Tradeoffs

Facilitated by Leigh Ann Starcevich

This 3-hr workshop will help attendees understand why survey design is important and the utility of thinking through the entire process from data collection to data analysis to inference. We will review types of inference (e.g., design-based and model-based inference), membership designs, temporal revisit designs, replication, and survey design choices. We will discuss nonsampling error sources, which occur when the survey design cannot be implemented as planned due to frame error, nonresponse error, or detection error. We will review methods for determining the appropriate sample size for a study and how to balance competing objectives in a survey design. The workshop will provide hands-on activities for drawing samples in the statistical programming language R, identifying sources of nonsampling error, and developing a survey design. Participants will leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of the tradeoffs and the iterative nature of survey design.

• Who is this for? Anyone who conducts ecological surveys or is interested in learning about some of the quantitative aspects of survey design
• Career Level: Appropriate for most career levels, from student to mid-career.
• Prerequisite Education or Experience? Attendees should have some experience with R statistical software and experience with basic statistics, estimation, and regression modeling.

November 23, 2026 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET

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Participation worth 0.75 CEUS toward ESA recertification in Category I(a)

Creative Nature Journaling

Facilitated by Nancy Lowe

Capturing observations in the field is an ancient art-science practice that can heighten observation skills while capturing useful data. This one-hour online workshop will share more than 20 creative ways to incorporate nature journaling in ecology education. No previous drawing experience is required, and no materials are necessary to participate.

• Who is this for? Anyone interested.
• Career Level: All career levels.
• Prerequisite Education or Experience? None.

December 10, 2026 noon-1:00 PM ET

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Participation worth 0.25 CEUS toward ESA recertification in Category I(b)

U.S. Forest and Fire Policy: Key Policies and Recent Changes

Facilitated by Melanie Colavito

This talk will provide a high-level overview of US forest and fire policy, as well as describe recent changes and their potential impacts to forest management, restoration, and ecosystem services. The talk will begin by covering major pieces of US forest and fire policy and explain the policy interpretation and implementation process. Next, the talk will cover current policy, which will include an overview of recent changes, an overview of key elements of forest and fire policy that have not changed, and what it means for scientists and practitioners working in forestry and fire.

• Who is this for? Anyone interested.
• Career Level: All career levels.
• Prerequisite Education or Experience? There are no pre-requisites necessary for engagement. This talk will start by level setting the audience on key policies so that everyone is on the same page before digging into recent developments.

January 19, 2027 2:00-3:00 PM ET

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Participation worth 0.25 CEUS toward ESA recertification in Category I(a).

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