Facilities

Dining

Dining services are available on the second floor of the Commons building. A wide variety of menu items are offered. Food choices support many dietary needs. Food and beverage services and hours may vary on weekends, based upon occupancy.

NCTC Dining Hall

Breakfast: 6:30- 9:00 a.m.
Hot food until 8:30 a.m.

Lunch: 11:30- 1:30 p.m.
Hot food until 1:00 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Hot food until 7:30 p.m.

 

Meal Plans

Meal plans are part of the meals/lodging rate package.

Vending Machines

Vending Machines are conveniently located on the ground floor in each lodge and near break stations in the Instructional East and Instructional West buildings.

NCTC Bridge

Lodging

NCTC can accommodate 226 guests throughout four lodge buildings situated within a sycamore grove between the Commons Dining/Physical Training buildings and Instructional Buildings. Several rooms are equipped with ADA support or double occupancy.

Lodge Room Location Aerial View
Lodge Outside View
Lodge Patio

Lodging details include:

Front Desk Services

Entry Auditorium

The Front Desk, located in the Entry Auditorium, is staffed 24 hours a day when there are students on campus. You can reach the Front Desk by dialing 304-876-1600.

The following services are available from the Front Desk:

Contact a Guest: You can call the Front Desk to reach a guest at NCTC. The number is 304-876-7403 or 304-876-1600. Also each guest is supplied voice mail with their room phone.

Check Cashing: With proper ID, guests can cash checks up to $50 per day.

Convenience items: such as blankets, baby cribs, pillows (non-allergenic), irons, ironing boards, sewing kits, flashlights, umbrellas, and foreign plug adapters are available.


Mail, faxes, and written messages: received during business hours will be delivered to the message board nearest your classroom. After 5 p.m., they are held at the Front Desk.

Entry Auditorium Inside
Mail: Proper mailing address: Name (Guest room #), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NCTC, 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown WV 25443-4024. For priority shipments, please use overnight service to ensure delivery at the street address above. Any mail received after your departure will be returned to the sender. Outgoing mail leaves daily Monday throughFriday. There is no mail service on weekends. Mail may be dropped off at the Front Desk, or placed in the outgoing mail tray located in the kitchenette of each lodge.

Fax: service is available 24 hours a day at the Front Desk. Front Desk fax: 304-876-7218.

Written Messages: (non voice mail) will be posted on the message board nearest your classroom. At 5 p.m. each day, all messages that have not been retrieved from the message board will be returned to the Front Desk.

Postage: stamps are available at the Front Desk and Campus Store.

Photo copying: is available at the Front Desk.

Lost and found: Please contact the Front Desk if you have misplaced or found any item.

Local area: The Front Desk has brochures for local services and attractions such as points-of-interest, shops, cultural events, restaurants, and transportation information. Brochures to local points-of-interest may also be obtained from brochure rack in the lobby of the Entry/ Auditorium building. Maps and brochures for nearby Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Antietam National Battlefield are available at the Front Desk.

Parking

Except for brief periods during check-in and check-out, vehicles must be parked in the lot designated on your parking permit. Lots are designated by color: blue, green, orange, and yellow. See the campus map for details.

Guard House

Security Station validates all arrivals and assists guests on parking and check-in locations arrival.

West Pond

Vehicles parked in other areas may be towed away at the owner’s risk and expense. For security reasons, display the parking permit (issued on arrival) on the dashboard of your vehicle at all times.

Campus Aerial View

Shared Areas

Gift Shop/Campus Store

NCTC Campus Store

Campus Store is located on the first floor of the Commons building and sells gifts, toiletries, basic medications, maps, books, cards and NCTC souvenirs. Store hours are based on weekly attendance.

Please refer to the signs posted in the Commons building or call the Front Desk at 304-876-1600 for current hours of operation.

ATM

There is an ATM located near the Campus Store entrance. This is on the first floor of the Commons building.

Lounge/Roosevelt Room/Social Center

Social Center is located in the Commons building’s Roosevelt Room and Lounge. Beer, wine, and soft drinks are available. Only alcohol purchased at the NCTC lounge is permitted in the Commons building and adjacent patios.

Lounge Lounge

Hours: Sunday - Thursday 5:30 - 11:00 p.m. and on occupied weekends. Hours are subject to change during low-attendance periods.

Conservation Library

NCTC Conservation Library

The Conservation Library features resource and educational materials necessary for classes, and a variety of periodicals.

Contact the Library at 304-876-7304 or the Front Desk, at 304-876-1600, for hours of operation and more information.

 

Business Center

Throughout the Instructional East and West classroom areas, NCTC offers walk-up business centers located in cubicles just off the main hallway. These allow guests to check airline reservations, emails, and other Internet resources or bring along USB storage devices.

  • Faculty lounge (106 IE) has printers available
  • Public computers in Instructional East and Instructional West

Luggage Storage

If you require luggage storage after you have checked out of your room and prior to your departure, contact the Front Desk at 304-876-1600 for assistance.

Break Service

Each instructional area has a nearby break station that serves coffee, tea, juice, and water as well as nutritional and full-flavored snacks. Guest favorites are the warm and fresh cookies served on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons.

Communal Kitchen in Lodges

Kitchenettes are located on the first floor of each lodge for your convenience, with a microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, and ice machine. Kitchenettes are supplied with coffee packets, sugar, sweetener, and half-and-half.

Function Rooms

Classrooms/Seminar Rooms/Labs/Auditorium

There are 12 full size classrooms and several adjacent seminar/break-out rooms in the Instructional East and West buildings. Classrooms can be setup in several styles such as traditional rows or u-shape. Typical sizes include 24-seat, 36-seat, 45-seat, and 60-seat.

Auditorium Computer Lab

The Entry Auditorium building has a 250-seat state-of-the-art auditorium. Large venues and workshops that rent multiple rooms and areas also setup tables, posters, and panels throughout the hallways, corridors, and break areas to connect their venue area.

NCTC offers four science laboratories and three computer labs for specialized sessions. Onsite staff provide technical support and assistance for all classrooms and laboratories.


Each room is equipped with a touch screen command system that controls the supplied computer system, overhead screen, projector, lighting, audio, and other peripheral equipment. Instructors can focus on the materials they are presenting and without having to bend, stoop, stretch, or cross the room, they can change the equipment, view, and lighting from their presentation location.

Classroom


To better serve technical flexibility, NCTC offers public wireless service throughout the campus.

Each instructional area has a nearby break station that serves coffee, tea, juice, and water as well as nutritional and full-flavored snacks. Guest favorites are the warm and fresh cookies served on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Careful planning and research was conducted on the best environment for learning and retaining information when designing the classrooms. A couple of points are the multiple overhead lighting options to meet a variety of presentations, the windows that open and offer wide daylight views and the fully adjustable 8-hour ergonomic chairs.

Cost/Availability

NCTC can support over 40,000 room nights annually and at the end of scheduling our own sessions, we open all remaining space to outside hosts.

NCTC is a Federally approved conference and training center.

We encourage other conservation groups and partners to consider their next venue here and contact the NCTC Scheduling and Events Management (SEM) for cost and availability.

Physical Training (PT)/Gym

The Physical Training Center is a complete health and fitness facility, with a full-size gymnasium complete with rubber floor (made from recycled tires) and a full size basketball court.

Physical Training

Beside the gym is a weight and workout room with elliptical, treadmill, stair stepper, and weight lifting. NCTC offers walk-in aerobics Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:00 Noon until 12:50 p.m. for $5.00 per person.

The main gymnasium has a video workout system that allow staff and guests to select one of several varieties of video workouts.

Hours: Monday - Friday 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Day Care

NCTC has an on-site day care center, for children up to the kindergarten age. Guests must make arrangement for children who will be travelling with them to NCTC prior to arriving at NCTC.

Amenities

Wireless Network

All public area have public wireless network access. You are responsible for securing your own computer with appropriate firewall, virus protection, and security measures.

High Speed Internet

Classrooms, guest lodges, walk-up e-mail stations, and other open guest areas offer public computers with wired network connections. Each lodge room has a green ethernet cable for internet access that is available for your personal computer. The green ethernet cable is an "always on" connection.

Cable Television

Rooms are equipped with televisions and a variety of channels are available to guests. Channel listings are available in each guest room.

Services

Conservation Library

The Conservation Library offers books and reference materials.

Conservation Museum

Museum

Please take time to discover and enjoy the many historic exhibits and photographs in our Conservation Museum.  In addition, the NCTC also contains displays throughout the classrooms, lodges, and common areas.  Our center has dedicated itself to the interpretation and display of America's Conservation Heritage."

The idea is to have history integrated into every aspect of conservation training. To meet our conservation goals the National Conservation Training Center has a full-time Museum Curator trained in historical preservation and display.  

Museum Museum

Audio Visual Services Center (AVSC)

The Audio Visual Services Center (AVSC) offers specialized support for NCTC's staff, course leaders and on-site visiting instructors seeking to learn new skills, increase their capabilities and broaden their knowledge of audio visual technology. 

The AVSC provides a team of highly experienced professionals in audio visual support. Our aim is to assist every course and event coordinator in utilizing the latest advances in technology to achieve their full creative potential.

The AVSC serves as NCTC's central point for storing, maintaining and scheduling the use of audio visual equipment.  

Activities

Guests and staff are encouraged to bring comfortable walking shoes for both during their work hours to get to and from commons and instructional areas as well as to take advantage of the miles of recreational trails around the outlying areas of the property.

Campfire Ring

 

Tick Precautions

Ticks may be active at NCTC from late spring through early fall.