A workshop conducted for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation served to orient field and central staff with a multi-disciplinary, generalist approach to environmental impact review. The program was designed to provide content input from many different environmentally-related disciplines. It was also designed to assist staff members in developing a systematic framework for a set of mechanisms for improved analysis, review, and citizen participation where actions having a significant effect on the environment are concerned. The workshop was further designed to provide the participants with an overview of facts and concepts, operational skills for the implementation of this knowledge, and increased sensitivity to problems of communication within their organization that reduce effectiveness. A summary of content input is presented, followed by core faculty statements. These statements relate to: systems analysis; ecosystems studies; sociology and environmental impact analysis; economics; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); the effect of NEPA on State environmental review; and the planner as a change agent. Sample matrices, communication models, a project planning description, and bibliographic references are appended. (BL)