• Learn the essential roles that the underlying need for action, objectives, and scope of the decisions to be made (purpose and need) play in initiating and driving systematic interdisciplinary planning and NEPA compliance and informed decision making

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• Focus on interdisciplinary processes for identifying the connected and similar actions included within the scope of a specific authorizing decision, and conducting the analyses necessary to determine the true underlying problem or need to be resolved

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• Learn how to differentiate between the underlying need versus focusing on the proposed action

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• Discuss the various approaches to analyzing a clear and focused underlying need, and opportunities for and disadvantages of potentially developing more than one interrelated need for efficient decision making, and learn how to make the correct determination

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• Learn how to identify the possible and most powerful metrics for evaluating effectiveness (objectives or decision criteria) and selecting the most appropriate objectives that provide the basis for evaluating the feasibility of alternatives and the foundation for making decisions and monitoring effectiveness of the decisions made

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• Use the need, objectives, and connected and similar actions to determine the correct scope of decisions for the particular planning or NEPA effort