Educating policy-makers -- legislators, agency heads, business leaders, leaders of environmental organizations, teachers -- is difficult because of the excessive demands on their time and the lack of opportunities to see the issues first-hand. The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), with the help of the Energy and Minerals Field Institute (EMFI) at the Colorado School of Mines, has developed an effective field program designed to expose policy-makers to resource production and environmental issues related to earth resources in Kansas.
In 1978, EMFI was established to create a forum for exploring interactions between resource development in the West and federal policies. In concert with EMFI, the KGS developed a similar state-level field program that examines earth resource issues in Kansas. The program is a series of field conferences that introduce participants to the technical, economic, environmental, social, and policy-related aspects of earth-resource development. The program's goal is to provide participants with an educational opportunity that will assist them in making better-informed, efficient, and effective decisions.
Two three-day field conferences have been conducted: the first on energy issues in Kansas, the second on water issues. The next conference will examine environmental issues related to suburban expansion on natural resources development. State and private sponsorship have provided partial financial support for the conferences.
The success and popularity of this program has been substantiated through evaluations completed by the participants. Other states could benefit from a similar program tailored to their specific resources and issues.
Kansas Geological Survey
Updated April 17, 1997
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