FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (also attached)
Date:
January 17, 2007
Contact: Laura England, Outreach Programs Director, Wisconsin Wetlands Association
222 S. Hamilton St. #1
Madison, WI 53703, 608-250-9971, laura@wiscwetlands.org
Conference in La
Crosse Will Highlight Wetlands of the Mississippi
River in Celebration of World Wetlands Day
Wetland experts and enthusiasts from around Wisconsin
and the midwest will gather in La
Crosse February 1 and 2, World Wetlands Day, for
Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s 12th Annual Wetland Science
Forum. This two-day conference, to be held at the Radisson Hotel La
Crosse, focuses on the theme Riverine
Wetlands: Connections, Corridors & Catchments.
Conference Details
What:
Riverine Wetlands: Connections, Corridors &
Catchments, Wisconsin Wetlands
Association’s 12th
Annual Wetland Science Forum
Who:
More than
250 wetland researchers, wetland professionals, government agency staff,
educators, landowners, hunters and anglers,
conservationists and concerned citizens from
Wisconsin,
Michigan, Illinois,
Minnesota, Iowa,
Ohio, Indiana
and Missouri.
When:
Feb. 1 (9 AM – 9 PM)
& Feb. 2 (8:30 AM – 4:30 PM),
2007
Where: Radisson
Hotel La Crosse (200 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse)
Keynote
Dan
McGuiness, Director of National Audubon’s Upper Mississippi River
Campaign:
Speaker:
A River That Works and a Working River
Banquet
Kerry St. Pé, Director of
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program in coastal
Speaker:
Louisiana:
Resurrection of the
Bayou People: Wetlands, Hurricanes, and Restoration
Sponsors:
We Energies and Alliant Energy (Lead
Sponsors)
U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service (Banquet Program
Sponsor)
Website:
www.wiscwetlands.org
(detailed agenda posted)
“This year’s conference program will cover wetlands
associated with flowing waters of all sizes, from tiny headwaters to large
rivers, and the program will give special emphasis to Mississippi
River wetlands,” said Laura
England, Outreach Programs Director for Wisconsin Wetlands
Association (WWA). WWA has invited keynote speaker, Dan McGuiness, to
highlight the importance of wetlands of the Upper Mississippi River corridor
and basin and the banquet speaker, Kerry St. Pé, to discuss the status of
wetlands at the far downstream end of the Mississippi River in coastal Louisiana. Three
field trips will take conference participants to nearby riverine wetland sites
on the mainstem of or tributaries to the Mississippi River including Goose Island,
La Crosse River Marsh, and Upper Halfway Creek Marsh. The conference will also
feature a special session, Wetlands
of the Upper Mississippi River Corridor, which will focus on the
response of Mississippi River wetlands to
large scale habitat restoration and water level management projects that have
been conducted in the past decade. “We hope this conference will
contribute to a growing collaboration for protecting and conserving riverine
wetlands of the Upper Mississippi River corridor and other wetlands of the
region,” said England.
WWA invites members of the interested public and conservation community
in the Upper Mississippi River basin
to join us for our conference banquet. Banquet speaker, Kerry St. Pé, is
Director of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, a
federal-state-local effort dedicated to preserving and restoring the 4.2
million-acre area between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers
in Southeast Louisiana. Kerry will discuss the
post-hurricanes status of Louisiana’s
coastal wetlands and emerging plans for coastal wetland restoration efforts.
This ticketed event is open both to conference participants ($30) and the
general public ($35); purchase a banquet ticket by contacting Wisconsin
Wetlands Association at 608-250-9971 or admin@wiscwetlands.org.
Riverine wetlands are wetland habitats found within river channels
(e.g. islands), along the shorelines of rivers and streams, and in wide
floodplains of rivers and streams. Wisconsin’s
water-rich landscapes are drained by more than 32,000 miles of perennial
streams and rivers. Hundreds of thousands of acres of diverse wetland habitats
are associated with these treasured waterways, which range from tiny headwaters
to large rivers like the wonderful Wisconsin
and mighty Mississippi.
“Wetlands provide critical water quality, water quantity and
habitat functions that support the health of streams and rivers. In short,
riverine wetlands are a big part of what gives a river life and
character,” said England.
Despite the benefits provided by these and other wetland types, more
than half of Wisconsin’s
original 10 million wetlands acres have been lost due to human activities such
as wetland draining and filling for agriculture and development. Wetland
loss trends are comparable nationwide; more than half of the wetlands in the
continental United States
have been destroyed. “Wisconsin Wetlands Association is working to
reverse this trend of wetland loss, and we invite water enthusiasts of the
region to join our efforts by attending our conference and celebrating World
Wetlands Day,” said England.
WORLD WETLANDS DAY
February 2 is World Wetlands Day. It marks the date of the
signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971, in the
Iranian city of Ramsar.
Each year, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of
citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity
to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and
benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular. For more
information on World Wetlands Day, visit: www.ramsar.org/wwd/6/wwd2006_index.htm
WISCONSIN WETLANDS ASSOCIATION
Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization dedicated to the protection, restoration and enjoyment of wetlands
and associated ecosystems through science-based programs, education and
advocacy. Established in 1969, WWA is the only statewide organization
focused exclusively on wetland protection. More than 1300 members include
wetland scientists and educators, conservationists, hunters, concerned
citizens, and local and regional organizations. Visit WWA online at www.wiscwetlands.org.
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