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Section 7 Training, LLC

Your Path to Proficiency in All Aspects of the Section 7 Consultation Process

Section 7 Training, LLC

Your Path to Proficiency in All Aspects of the Section 7 Consultation Process

Get hard to find, essential training from a section 7 expert with no travel required.

Biological Assessment

Essentials

COURSE INFO

Spring Courses have concluded

New dates coming late summer

Essentials of Section 7 Consultation

COURSE INFO

Spring Courses have concluded

New dates coming late summer

Essentials of

Programmatic Consultations

COURSE INFO

Spring Courses have concluded

New dates coming late summer

Would you like to be notified whenever New Course Dates are added?

Sign Up for our NEWSLETTER

Create an Account / Subscribe to Updates

Sign up to be notified about training course openings, to enroll in courses, or to be able to comment on blog posts. Don't worry, we won't spam you, and you can unsubscribe or ask us to delete your account at any time. Also, you don't need an account to browse the blog or access the materials on the resources page, so if that's all you need right now, you can skip this step.

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Once you submit your info, a verification link will be sent to your email. (It may take several minutes to show up in your inbox.) Clicking the link will complete the sign up process.

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The easiest way to stay up to date on courses and availability

New: Request a Custom Course Date

If the course dates above do not fit your schedule, or you would like to have a course presented exclusively to your own agency or group, we now offer the ability to request a custom course date.

Please click the "Custom Course Date" button to learn more about this option.

CUSTOM COURSE DATE

Who we are, What we offer

We are specialists in Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, which is the section of the act that relates to government activities that can impact endangered species. More specifically, it requires any agency that funds, authorizes, or carries out an action that may affect a listed species or their designated critical habitat to enter into a consultation process with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service. This consultation process determines whether the action in question is consistent with Congress' requirements regarding jeopardy of listed species and destruction of critical habitat.

If Section 7 sounds a bit complicated -- well, it is. That's why anyone involved in the process it mandates needs ready access to quality information and training from an experienced and trusted source. Doug Laye, a nationally recognized Section 7 expert with over two decades of consultation, policy, and teaching experience, is just such a source. Here at section7training.com, he has put together a website that combines invaluable Section 7 reference materials with a gateway to practical, authoritative, and accessible training in Section 7 Consultation and Inter-agency Cooperation.

The site is organized broadly around the two needs of today's Section 7 practitioners -- their training needs (addressed by our Courses Page and our Advice Page) and their information needs (addressed by our Resources Page and our Blog Page). You can also find pages that tell you more about Doug and his background (About Page), give you a way to contact us with questions or comments (Contact Page), or that let you create an account as a first step in accessing training (Sign Up Page). And of course if you'd rather browse than jump to a page right now, you can just scroll down from here to see a sampling of what the site has to offer. Thanks and we hope you enjoy your stay.

Role-specific Courses Designed to Teach Essential Skills

to Practitioners in Every Agency

Courses are available throughout the year. Click each title below for a quick exploration of course recommendations and summaries or click the button to the right to find full details and pricing on our Courses Page.

COURSES

Courses are available throughout the year. Click each title below for a quick exploration of course recommendations and summaries or Click Here to find full details and pricing on our Courses Page.

Which Course is Right for Me?

OR

*Note: Because understanding the basic foundation of Section 7 consultation is critical to both the Biological Assessment Essentials course (BAE) and the Essentials of Section 7 Consultation and Biological Opinions Course (ES7C), a certain amount of review/overlap in foundational materials is unavoidable between these two courses.

Course Summary: Biological Assessment Essentials (BAE)

This course explains and demonstrates the essential principles behind building a Biological Assessment to support consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

It is designed to meet the needs of practitioners at all levels, including:

Employees new to writing Biological Assessments
Supervisors who review Biological Assessments
Experienced practitioners who would like to learn additional tips and techniques for better written documents and more efficient consultation

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced

following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO
Course Summary: Essentials of Section 7 Consultation and Biological Opinions (ES7C)

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

This course describes the intent, requirements, process and products behind consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

It is ideal for practitioners who:

Are new to the consultation process and need a foundation to build upon while writing Concurrence Letters or Biological Opinions
Have been writing consultation documents without any formal training
Are supervisors or managers tasked with reviewing final consultation documents or supervising other consultation practitioners

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced

following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO
Course Summary: Essentials of Programmatic Consultations (EPC)

This course explores and explains programmatic approaches to Section 7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act.

It is designed to meet the needs of practitioners already familiar with the essentials of Section 7 consultation, including:

Employees familiar with the principals of writing consultation documents
Supervisors who review consultation documents
Other experienced practitioners who would like to add an understanding of programmatic consultations to their skill set

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced

following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

All Spring 2026 offerings of this course have been completed.

New course dates for late summer will be announced following a brief hiatus.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

Biological Assessment Essentials

This course explains and demonstrates the essential principles behind building a Biological Assessment to support consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

It is designed to meet the needs of practitioners at all levels, including:

Employees new to writing Biological Assessments
Supervisors who review Biological Assessments
Experienced practitioners who would like to learn additional tips and techniques for better written documents and more efficient consultation

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 16th & 17th, 2024.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 16th & 17th, 2024.

Click to see full details and pricing on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 22nd & 23rd, 2024.

Click to see full details and pricing on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

Essentials of Section 7 Consultation and Biological Opinions

This course describes the intent, requirements, process and products behind consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

It is ideal for practitioners who:

Are new to the consultation process and need a foundation to build upon while writing Concurrence Letters or Biological Opinions
Have been writing consultation documents without any formal training
Are supervisors or managers tasked with reviewing final consultation documents or supervising other consultation practitioners

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 22nd & 23rd, 2024.

Click here to see full details and pricing info.

COURSE INFO

Essentials of Programmatic Consultations

This course explores and explains programmatic approaches to Section 7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act.

It is designed to meet the needs of practitioners already familiar with the essentials of Section 7 consultation, including:

Employees familiar with the principals of writing consultation documents
Supervisors who review consultation documents
Other experienced practitioners who would like to add an understanding of programmatic consultations to their skill set

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 24th, 2024.

Click to see full details and pricing info on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

The next presentation of this course is scheduled for

October 24th, 2024.

Click to see full details and pricing on our Courses page.

COURSE INFO

Check out what our students have been saying

" I attended both the Essentials of Biological Assessments and the Essentials of Programmatic Consultations courses, and greatly appreciated the information provided. Like learning any new skill, becoming familiar with Section 7 processes and writing techniques involves a steep learning curve. The material, as Doug presented it, was broken down into clear, understandable building blocks. As a result, I feel not only more confident in my understanding of the terminology and processes , but also excited to apply some of the analysis tools introduced in the courses. Thank you, Doug! "

G.G., Biological Assessment Essentials and Essentials of Programmatic Consultations Student, January 2026

Check out what our students have been saying

" The Essentials of Biological Assessments training hosted by Doug Laye was beyond the best training I have ever had regarding Biological Assessments (I have attended 4+ trainings). The way Doug was able to explain such a difficult subject with such simplicity was outstanding to say the least. Even though people had different levels of experience with BA’s during the training, I feel that we all had something to learn from Doug. I, myself, who is at “beginner level” feel that I now have a better understanding of the BA process and am a lot more confident in writing a BA. The real-life stories and examples that Doug provided also provided great context and kept things interesting! If you ever get an opportunity to attend a training hosted by Doug Laye, I highly recommend taking advantage of it. You will not be disappointed! "

J.M., Biological Assessment Essentials Student, September 2025

Check out what our students have been saying

" As a frequent applicant responsible for reviewing and implementing recommendations from consultation, I found these courses incredibly helpful for understanding the structure and requirements of the law and process. Doug is an excellent teacher and communicator while also highly experienced, which made the classes both useful and enjoyable. If you are new to the consultation process or just need a refresher, I can’t recommend these courses enough. "

J.M., Essentials of Section 7 Consultation Student, June 2025

Check out what our students have been saying

" Being new to Section 7 consultation, I found this course extremely helpful. It presented a great overview of the Section 7 process and also focused on details like how to write an effective BA and how to communicate with The Services tactfully and efficiently. Doug's teaching style was casual and friendly which made me feel comfortable to ask questions. He answered questions thoughtfully and often used stories from his real-life experiences to elaborate on his explanations. This course made me feel well prepared to handle projects that require Section 7 consultation and I highly recommend it others that need to understand this process. "

C.P., Essentials of Section 7 Consultation and Essentials of Programmatic Consultations Student, May 2024

Check out what our students have been saying

" I have many years of experience working with Section 7 consultation at BLM and USFS, and I still manage to learn more every time I take a course. This is especially true with Doug’s BA Essentials and Essentials of Programmatic Consultation courses. He has such a breadth of experience to draw from with his many years of experience working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and together with federal partners. He has great examples and is capable of answering tough questions with nuanced explanations about ESA consultation. He understands much of this history of the ESA and also stays current on changes to relevant federal regulations, which is especially important to federal agencies. I highly recommend these courses for new and experienced biologists!"

A.C., Biological Assessment Essentials and Essentials of Programmatic Consultations Student, April 2024

Check out what our students have been saying

" Doug is an excellent instructor and great at taking confusing (and often complicated) topics and breaking them down to a level that anyone can understand. I can’t stress enough how helpful his courses have been for me as a biologist. If ESA consultation is a regular part of your work, I highly recommend taking his classes to improve your understanding of section 7. "

S.H., Essentials of Programmatic Consultations Student, March 2024

Check out what our students have been saying

" I thought the course was fantastic and your teaching style very effective. I think anyone who analyzes project-level effects would benefit from the class – I realize it’s intended to speak to the BA process but the way you break down effects analysis is really good and could benefit effects analysis under NEPA as well. I wish I’d had the class 20 years ago! "

M.A., Biological Assessment Essentials Student, May 2023

A Source of Documents and Discussion

Essential documentation on Section 7 terminology, guidance, and court opinions is often difficult to find or inconvenient to access.

To remedy this, we have placed copies of the key reference materials every Section 7 practitioner needs on our Resources Page. Click the "Resources" button to take a look.

RESOURCES

In addition to crucial documents, we provide ongoing discussion of all things Section 7 in our Blog. The latest posts are excerpted below. Click on each title for the full text or hit the "Blog" button to explore all posts on the Blog Page.

BLOG

Essential documentation on Section 7 terminology, guidance, and court opinions is often difficult to find or inconvenient to access.

To remedy this, we have placed copies of the key reference materials every Section 7 practitioner needs on our Resources Page. Click Here to take a look.

In addition to crucial documents, we provide ongoing discussion of all things Section 7 in our Blog. The latest posts are excerpted below. Click on each title for the full text or Click Here to explore all posts on the Blog Page.

Harm as it Relates to the Effects of the Action Analysis
As you might imagine I've received several contacts regarding the Services' proposal in April 2025 to drop the regulatory definition of harm from the regulations ... What some of the contacts were concerned about was whether removing the definition of harm would somehow eliminate or alter the action agency’s ability to use impacts to habitat in an Effect of the Action Analysis.
READ MORE
The Current Administration’s Broader Approach to Emergency Consultation
Shortly after the energy emergency declaration, a document was released in April 2025 titled “ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES FOR INFORMAL SECTION 7 CONSULTATION” describing alternative procedures set out by the Acting Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service (Paul Souza)... the idea by the administration is to use these procedures to reduce perceived delays in the consultation timeline.
READ MORE
Services Propose to Rescind the Regulatory Definition of Harm
the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (together, Services) propose to remove the regulatory definition of harm from the implementing regulations for the Endangered Species Act (Act) (FR/Vol. 90, No. 73/Thursday, April 17, 2025).So, what might this mean for practitioners of Section 7 consultation under 7(a)(2) of the Act?
READ MORE

Expertise Beyond the Classroom

When questions arise that go beyond the scope of readily available resources, personal discussion of the situation with an expert can be invaluable. If you have such questions and would like to explore whether setting up a personal advisory session with Section 7 expert, Doug Laye, can help you resolve them, please click the button to access our One-on-One Advice Session information page.

ADVICE

When questions arise that go beyond the scope of readily available resources, personal discussion of the situation with an expert can be invaluable. If you have such questions and would like to explore whether setting up a personal advisory session with Section 7 expert, Doug Laye, can help you resolve them, please Click Here to access our One-on-One Advice Session information page.