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By Cate Harrington
Early Registration is Open until June 30
Boaters, anglers, farmers, scientists, the navigation community and others who care about the future of the Mississippi River are invited to participate in “Visions of a Sustainable Mississippi River” on August 10-13, 2009, in Collinsville, Illinois.
Co-hosted by the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center and The Nature Conservancy, the conference is designed to exchange information and ideas about the ecology, economics and cultural values of the river. Perhaps even more importantly, it will give participants an opportunity to take practical steps in turning the vision of a sustainable Mississippi River into reality.
In addition to presentations by invited speakers and panel discussions with experts, the final day of the conference will be devoted to a Policy Forum. At the forum, conference participants will synthesize earlier discussions into one or more recommendations for advancing sustainable use of the river’s resources. These recommendations will be delivered directly to legislators, government agency leaders and other key decision-makers in the Mississippi River basin at the conclusion of the forum.
“The issues facing the Mississippi River are complex and cannot be solved by one or even a few entities working in isolation,” said Todd Strole, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Upper Mississippi River floodplain initiative. “This conference is designed to bring river users together to discuss how to meet our continued need for food, water, transportation and recreation while ensuring that the Mississippi and its floodplain are healthy now and in the future.”
The four topic areas to be addressed at the conference are:
- Ecosystem services and the river’s economic value;
- Floodplain connectivity, flood control and hydrologic regime;
- Ethanol production; and
- Clean water — its uses and threats.
Alexandra Cousteau, founder of Blue Legacy International and granddaughter of the legendary explorer and scientist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, will give the keynote address at a banquet on August 12. Ms. Cousteau recently embarked on a 100-day journey across five continents to explore some of our planet’s most critical water issues in places like the Red Sea, the Ganges River in India and the Mississippi River.
Early registration ends on June 30. For more details and to register for the conference, please visit the conference Web site.
Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): A Mississippi River conference in August will engage boaters, anglers, scientists, the navigation community and other interested citizens in helping to turn the vision of a sustainable Mississippi River into reality. © Robert J. Hurt; American lotus © Andrew Simpson/TNC
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