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  2. CPS 380 Windbreak-Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation Training Series

This training series provides an introduction to the knowledge, skills, and abilities to plan, design, and certify Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation (CPS 380). Additional training may be needed.

CPS 380 Job Approval Authority Fact Sheet

Skill
Practice Specific
Source

TTCP

Training Type
Online Learning
Notes

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Knowledge of windbreak/shelterbelt design and function

  • Tech Talk: Windbreak Planning Considerations

    • This session includes an overview of the Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (CPS 380) practice standard and some of the additional planning considerations for windbreaks, shelterbelts, and living snow fences. Karin Jokela, Xerces Society, will be discussing wildlife habitat considerations, including those for pollinators and beneficial insects, and Dan Gullickson, MN DOT, will review porosity and setbacks as snow management considerations. This session also includes a demonstration on the use of Conservation Tree Shrub Groups (CTSG) and an overview of the Implementation Requirements worksheet.

  • Tech Talk: Windbreak Fundamentals

    • Gary Wyatt (UMN Extension) provides an overview of Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (CPS380) practice and the windbreak design elements: height, density, and length. This session provides many examples of applications of windbreaks/shelterbelts as well as considerations for placement and design.

  • Windbreak Purposes

    • Richard Straight of the National Agroforestry Center discusses how windbreak design for specific purposes.

  • Introduction to Agroforestry Systems

    • Participants will learn about the five recognized agroforestry practices: Windbreaks, Alley Cropping, Silvopasture, Forest Farming and Riparian. (Time: 00:58)

  • UMN Extension Agroforestry Windbreaks

    • Windbreaks are plantings of trees, shrubs or a combination of the two, that reduce wind speed in an agricultural area. They can:

      • Reduce energy costs around farmsteads

      • Mitigate livestock odors

      • Reduce wind stress on crops and livestock

      • Manage snow

      • Provide wildlife habitat and timber products

  • Pollinator Friendly Multi-functional Windbreak Design

    • Mark Wonneck, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada discusses the habitat requirements for pollinator species and how they can be considered and incorporated into the design of windbreaks.

2. Knowledge of forest ecology and management for the local area

  • Enhancing Mast (food) Production for Woodland Wildlife

    • Fruit from trees and shrubs (aka mast) is a significant source of food for many wildlife species. This webinar will explore a variety of mast producing trees and shrubs found in eastern deciduous woodlands as well as their role in sustaining the wildlife species that depend on them. It will explore on some of the techniques, including crop tree management that can be employed to enhance the diversity and productivity of these woodland mast producers. (Time: 1:05)

3. Knowledge of crops protected by windbreaks and shelterbelts

  • WEPS Introduction

    • Review the sections of this document titled “Tolerances in Wind Erosion Control” beginning on page 8 through the end of the document.

4. Knowledge of silvics of tree species to be established

  • Silvics of North America

    • The silvical characteristics of about 200 forest tree species and varieties are described.  These represent most of the commercially important trees of the United States and Canada and some of those from Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, making this a reference for virtually all of North America.

  • USDA Plants Database

    • Search the database by species and read “Characteristics” and/or the “Plant Guide” for that species.

5. Knowledge of soil health and management

  • Unlock the Secrets in the Soil

    • A series of 41 videos, mostly under five minutes each that discuss various soil health topics and applications of soil health principles.

  • Soil Quality - the Foundation for Resource Management

    • (Time: 1:55) Participants in the webinar learn about Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation planning principles to improve soil health and the impact soil health has on other resource concerns, such as water quality.

  • Soil Health

    • (Time: 57:21) In this session, Dr. Jessica Gutknecht discusses soil health. When you think about the soil beneath your feet, or beneath your tractor, what does it mean for it to be healthy? What does it take for it to be healthy, and what are the results of those efforts? In this talk, we will explore the world below with a brief introduction to soils, how soil structure is built into a healthy soil, and some management options for building a healthy soil. We will also discuss the win-win of soil health for sustainable management and for adaptation to increasingly variable Minnesota weather and climate.

  • Living Soil Film

    • (Time 1:00:22) Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre. Yet in the last 150 years, we’ve lost half of the basic building block that makes soil productive. The societal and environmental costs of soil loss and degradation in the United States alone are now estimated to be as high as $85 billion every single year. Like any relationship, our living soil needs our tenderness. It’s time we changed everything we thought we knew about soil.

  • Tech Talk: Forest In Field Soil Health Assessment Tool

    • The Forestland In Field Soil Health Assessment (FIFSHA) was developed to assist conservation planners with evaluating the health of private nonindustrial forestland soils. During this session Tom Sauer, ACES Forester (NRCS), introduces assessments of the eight indicators of forest soil health:

      • Soil Cover

      • Woody Debris

      • Soil Burn Severity

      • Soil Disturbance Intensity

      • Soil Structure

      • Water Stable Aggregates

      • Soil Fauna/Biology Diversity

      • Roots

      Soil health is maintained or achieved in forestlands through application of four principles: 1) optimize presence of living roots, 2) optimize disturbance, 3) optimize soil cover, and 4) optimize biodiversity. The FIFSHA is designed to determine whether a site has any of the four soil health resource concerns: Aggregate Instability, Compaction, Soil Organism Habitat Loss or Degradation, and Soil Organic Matter Depletion.

6. Skills in use of pruning tools and equipment (Renovation specific)

 

Minnesota Guidance: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

Planning, Design, and Certification Phases

Job Class I

1. Read and understand the Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 380, Implementation Requirements (IR), Guidance Document (GD), and Statement of Work (SOW)
2. Understand Minnesota prevailing wind direction

  • Windbreak Design: How Windbreaks Work

    • Richard Straight of the National Agroforestry Center discusses how different windbreak design elements influence wind speed and flow.

  • Wind Rose Data

    • The National Water and Climate Center provides a dataset of wind rose plot images in .gif format. The images are organized by state, by city within each state, and then by month.

3. Ability to design all types of windbreaks except odor, pesticide drift, and living snow fence
4. Understand site preparation, planting methods and equipment

  • Tech Talk: Tree and Shrub Site Preparation (CPS 490)

    • This Tech Talk is about tree/shrub site preparation (CPS 490) and tree/shrub planting methods. This session includes a discussion of planning considerations for site preparation and matching the site preparation techniques to the site conditions. Different types of tree stock and planting methods are discussed along with planning considerations for successful tree/shrub establishment. Available web soil survey reports are demonstrated and other resources for practice planning are provided.

  • Tree Planting with a Mechanical Planter

    • This video provided by the Montcalm Conservation district is a dynamic demonstration of how to plant tree seedlings using a mechanical planter. Typically used for plantings of 500+ tree seedlings.

  • Hand Tree Planting

    • In this video Montcalm Conservation District explains in detail how to plant trees by hand.

5. Ability to document environmental benefits of a windbreak/shelterbelt

  • Wind Erosion Prediction with WEPS

    • This course provides an overview of the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), and instructions on how to use the WEPS model to estimate wind erosion.

  • Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation Network Effects Diagram (NED)

    • An NRCS network effects diagram is a flowchart showing the direct, indirect, and cumulative consequences of implementing a conservation practice. It serves as a visual communication tool illustrating both potential positive and negative outcomes for natural resources, with plus (+) or minus (-) signs indicating an increase or decrease in resource effects, not necessarily whether the effect is beneficial or adverse. These diagrams provide an overview of expert consensus on the effects of conservation practices, helping users understand the interconnected impacts on resources like soil, water, and wildlife.

  • Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation Conservation Practice Physical Effects (CPPE)

    • The Conservation Practices Physical Effects (CPPE) matrix provides a qualitative assessment of how specific NRCS conservation practices influence natural resources like soil, water, air, and plants, as well as human aspects such as animals, energy, land, labor, capital, and risk. Developed by interdisciplinary teams of specialists, these tools help planners understand the potential outcomes, both positive and negative, of implementing different conservation measures by providing general statements on their expected effects and helping in the conservation planning process.

6. Knowledge of tree and shrub pests and diseases that may influence species selection and management

  • Minnesota DNR Forest Health web page

    • DNR Forestry's forest health unit is responsible for surveys, evaluations, and impact assessments of forest pests and diseases and technical assistance for public and private landowners on tree and forest health and invasive species.

7. Ability to select appropriate species for site conditions such as hydrology, soil type, topography, ecology, and other conditions
8. Ability to use the Conservation Tree/Shrub Groups excel workbook located on the FOTG

  • Tech Talk: Conservation Tree Shrub Groups (CTSGs)

    • The Conservation Tree-Shrub Groups (CTSGs) are a planning tool that aid in the selection of trees and shrubs for planting based on soil type. During this session Garett Christiansen (Forester, NRCS) and Brandon DeFoe (Soil Scientist, NRCS) will share information about recent updates to this tool and the lists of tree and shrub species recommended for different soil types.

  • Tech Talk: Tree/Shrub Establishment CPS 612 (2022)

    • In this session Callie Bertsch, NRCS State Forester, and Kelly Voigt, TTCP Training Conservationist, cover Tree/Shrub Establishment practice (CPS 612). This session covers the use of Web Soil Survey to identify Conservation Tree/Shrub Groups and using the CTSG group spreadsheet to select species of trees/shrubs to plant. This session also tree spacing specifications for different planting purposes and other tree/shrub selection factors. In addition, participants will become familiar with the Implementation Requirements worksheet for the 612 practice standard.

9. Understand tree and shrub planting row spacing, both between and within row

  • Tech Talk: Windbreak Planning Considerations

    • This session includes an overview of the Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (CPS 380) practice standard and some of the additional planning considerations for windbreaks, shelterbelts, and living snow fences. Karin Jokela, Xerces Society, will be discussing wildlife habitat considerations, including those for pollinators and beneficial insects, and Dan Gullickson, MN DOT, will review porosity and setbacks as snow management considerations. This session also includes a demonstration on the use of Conservation Tree Shrub Groups (CTSG) and an overview of the Implementation Requirements worksheet.

  • Tech Talk: Tree and Shrub Establishment Practice (CPS 612)

    • In this session Callie Bertsch, NRCS State Forester, and Kelly Voigt, TTCP Training Conservationist, cover Tree/Shrub Establishment practice (CPS 612). This session covers the use of Web Soil Survey to identify Conservation Tree/Shrub Groups and using the CTSG group spreadsheet to select species of trees/shrubs to plant. This session also tree spacing specifications for different planting purposes and other tree/shrub selection factors. In addition, participants will become familiar with the Implementation Requirements worksheet for the 612 practice standard.

10. Understand techniques to protect trees from wildlife damage

  • Woodland Stewardship for Landowners: Managing Deer Damage to Young trees

    • Browsing by deer on planted and naturally regenerated hardwood seedlings is one of the greatest obstacles to seedling establishment in many parts of the central hardwood region. In this Woodland Stewardship For Landowners, Purdue Wildlife Extension Specialist Brian MacGowan talks about different types of deer damage and how landowners could mitigate the damage.

11. Ability to identify tree and shrub species

  • Tech Talk: Dendrology 101

    • Callie Bertsch, NRCS State Forester, and Jon Sellnow, TTCP Coordinator, present the basics of tree and woody shrub identification of native Minnesota species. They look at identification by family groups, leaf structure, bark, when the trees bloom or leaf out and when they change color in the fall, and even take a look at common forest health issues that affect each species. All things to help you identify the species to better take inventory and identify resource concerns when working with private landowners.

12. Ability to add a row to an existing windbreak

Job Class II

1. All requirements from Job Class I

See content above

2. Ability to design a windbreak for pesticide drift

  • Windbreak Purposes

    • Richard Straight of the National Agroforestry Center discusses how windbreak design for specific purposes.  REPEATED: Begin Video at 1:51:43

3. Ability to use WIN-PST

  • Using WIN-PST for Conservation Planning

    • This course introduces you to the Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST). You will learn what the tool is and how to run it. You will also learn how to interpret reports it generates and how they can be used when working with clients. You’ll also see how using this tool fits in the Nine Steps of Conservation Planning.

4. Ability to replace a row in an existing windbreak

Job Class III

1. All requirements from Job Class I and II

See content above

2. Ability to design a windbreak for odor control and living snow fence

  • Ability to use the MN DOT/UMN Drift-Free Roads Design Tool: University of Minnesota -Snow Fence

    • Snow fences can help maintain clear roadways by capturing blowing snow upwind of a problem area and storing that snow over the winter season. This web site is formatted as a tool that will help you design a snow fence for a given problem location. Based on the geographic location you have selected, you will be given the data needed and you will input site-specific parameters. Color maps, photos, and schematics are given along the way to help you visualize concepts.

  • Blowing Snow Control Tools

    • University of Minnesota resources for design of Living Snow Fences. This site includes a design tool, a video on how to run the design tool, a cost benefit tool, and a video on how to use it plus many videos on the variations and benefits of snow fences for preventing snow drifts on roads.

  • Ability to use UMN Extension’s Odor From Feedlot Setback Estimation Tool (OFFSET)

    • University of Minnesota resources for design of a windbreak for odor control.

Job Class IV

1. All requirements from Job Class I, II, and III

See content above

2. Ability to design a windbreak renovation with individual plant thinning and individual plant replacement within row

  • Windbreak Renovation

    • Millions of acres across North America are protected by thousands of windbreaks. Many of these windbreaks are in need of renovation. This video features a variety of renovation techniques that can be used to prolong the effectiveness of windbreaks. Techniques described include sod release, coppicing, thinning, pruning, row removal, supplemental planting, and root pruning. Traditional renovation equipment such as chainsaws and bulldozers are demonstrated along with equipment innovations which may be more efficient and less expensive The video concludes with two stories of windbreak renovation, one of a farmer and the other of a public land manager.

Job Class V

1. All requirements from Job Class I, II, III, and IV

See content above

Related Practices & Terms

Windbreak, Shelterbelt, Establishment, Renovation, Tree, Shrub, Planting, 380, 650