8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m.

Registration

8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Combined Session — ACI business meeting

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Break

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Breakout session 1

• Marketing magazine advertising — Randy Brudnicki — Magazine management within state agencies has changed dramatically in the last few years. Tight budgets and increasing costs have led some states to curtail or eliminate their magazines. Yet research shows that magazines are one of the most effective public relations tools an agency has. So how does an agency keep its magazine? Some states are offering advertising in their publications as a method to recoup some of their expenses. But, as many states have experienced, selling advertising is no easy task. It's nearly impossible to get national accounts to come on board, and finding the right talent to sell advertising is difficult and expensive. There is a solution. Now is the time for states to form a consortium and increase revenue. Every state magazine that has thought about advertising or is trying to sell advertising needs to have a representative at this session.
   
• Biosocial issues in natural resource management: a closer look at wolves — Ed Bangs — Because human perceptions of wolves are often highly polarized and intractable, wolf management often more human values than science. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Wolf Recovery program has been involved in federal, state, and local politics, Congressional mandates, and almost constant litigation, from both wolf supporters and wolf opponents, since the late 1980's. This session will detail how the USFS outreach program used science-based information and personal contact to increase the public's understanding of wolves, wolf restoration and the need for wolf management. Not everyone deals with wolves, but the lessons learned by the USFWS are a valuable tool for whatever your wolf may be.

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch on your own

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Breakout session 2

• Video studios: from "extreme makeovers" to starting from scratch — Reed Sherman — Has your department been downsized or eliminated due budget cuts in recent years? Is your division or agency thinking about starting up or thinking about an "Extreme Makeover" for your video production department? If so, then this session is for you. In this session Reed Sherman, the Media Production Specialist from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, who recently completed an "Extreme Makeover," and other guest speakers, will share their tips and tricks. They'll discuss what computers, cameras and audio equipment you will need to get your studio up and running effectively without blowing your budget.
   
• Master naturalist programs — Elizabeth Gregory — "A corps well-trained volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities." Great concept, right? Who wouldn't want a group of well-prepared volunteers to extend the reach of their program? Master Naturalist volunteers are just that. This concept began, in slightly different forms, in several states, and now the program is expanding rapidly. This session will present the benefits and potential impacts of a Master Naturalist volunteer program, an overview of the Texas model, and other information to help you determine the value of such a program to you and your organization.
   
• Surviving snakehead fever: managing a major media frenzy. — Julia Dixon & Becky Wajda — Re-live the drama experienced by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries personnel as they struggled to determine the extent of the snakehead infestation in the Potomac River while simultaneously dealing with a hysterical news media touting the arrival of the Frankenfish as bordering on a national threat. One reporter even asked how close the nearest snakeheads were to The White House. It was silly, but the wave of media interest — Snakehead Fever — had to be managed or it would have eaten us alive. We'll talk about media strategies, the challenges of coordinating with multiple agencies and organizations, the development of internal protocols and how we lived to tell about it.

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Break

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Breakout session 3

• Best practices RBFF & panel discussion — A Best Practice is a program or practice with specific outcomes that has been clearly defined, refined, and evaluated through repeated delivery and supported by a substantial body of research. These practices represent the best knowledge available for use under specified circumstances. For natural resources management agencies and organization trying to education people about boating, fishing and stewardship of aquatic resources, the use of best educational practices is imply a matter of applying tested, science-based practices to education efforts, the same way biologist apply science to the management of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. This session will introduce you to Best Practices and help you better understand how they can help you improve programs.
   
• Creating engaging exhibits — Nicole Ardoin & Christy Merrick — Interpretive displays are often the first, and sometimes only, opportunity to engage visitors in important conservation messages. Well crafted and creative exhibits, designed with the visitor in mind, can instantaneously spark curiosity and discussion, while poorly designed exhibits can do precisely the opposite—bore visitors from the start. In this session, we'll review some of the golden rules of exhibition design to ensure that your exhibits are living up to their potential. Using the latest research on visitor studies, we'll discuss how recent findings may apply to your new or existing interpretive elements. Finally, we'll end with an interactive session on developing clear messages, using engaging visuals, and capitalizing on technology to make your exhibits powerful, entertaining, and educational. Think in advance about successes and frustrations with exhibit development that you'd like to share—and bring along ideas for new exhibit topics that you'd like to explore!

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Travel to Snowbasin Resort

6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Gondola rides — We'll take the Needles Express Gondola on a 2,310 vertical feet ride to the top of the mountain. The view is simply amazing, so don't forget your camera!

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

ACI Awards Banquet at Snowbasin Resort (Sponsored by Liberty Press)

10:45 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Hospitality — Hampton Inn, Weber Room (2nd floor)