GLIN==> Northeast-Midwest Weekly Update -- 14 September 2009

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Weekly Update

14 September 2009

 

*	Ballast Water Briefing
*	Upper Mississippi River Basin Environmental Studies

.         State of Lake Michigan and Great Lakes Beach Association
Joint Conference

.         llinois River System Management Conference

.         Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

 

 

Ballast Water Briefing

 

The Coast Guard is providing a briefing for congressional staff on the
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning Ballast Water.  Coast Guard
experts will discuss the genesis of the rule, issues involved in
developing a standard and compliance technology, and the timeline for
the proposed rule.  The briefing is scheduled for Tuesday, September
15, at 2:30 PM in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

 

Contact Joy
<mailto:joy_mulinex at levin.senate.gov?subject=Ballast%20Water%20Briefin
g>  Mulinex (202/224-1211) at the Great Lakes Task Force.

 

 

Upper Mississippi River Basin Environmental Studies

 

John Wehr, Professor of Biology and Director of Fordham's Louis Calder
Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, New York, is in the process
of assessing the aquatic health of the Upper Mississippi.  Professor
Wehr's research seeks to answer two questions:

 

*	Does a river that has high connectivity and intact flood
plains function better?
*	Is it necessary to preserve intake wetlands and backwater
habitats that previously were thought of as useless?

 

Wehr suspects wetlands matter because of how their phytoplankton and
other microbes process nutrients.  The Calder Center long-range plan
is to get additional federal funding to complete a more comprehensive
study of the upper Mississippi River's connectivity, and how it
influences an ecosystem.  Click
<http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/enewsroom/inside_fordham/sept
ember_8_2009/in_focus_faculty_and/calder_director_meas_72662.asp>
here for a complete story.

 

A Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh study,
published online in August in the ACS Journal Environmental Science &
Technology, concludes that moving from corn to cellulosics to meet the
biofuel goals specified by the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 for ethanol production may result in a 20 percent decrease in NO3
(nitrate) output from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Basin.
This will still result in increased nitrate loadings, contributing to
the expansion of the hypoxic "Dead Zone" in the Northern Gulf of
Mexico.  The findings suggest the need for an aggressive Mississippi
River basin-wide nutrient management strategy.  Click
<http://renergie.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/study-concludes-that-use-of-
cellulosic-feedstocks-to-meet-us-biofuel-requirements-will-still-likel
y-result-in-expansion-of-the-gulf-dead-zone/>  here for the full
story.

 

Contact:  Mark
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=UMRB%20Environmental%20Studies>
Gorman (202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

State of Lake Michigan and Great Lakes

Beach Association Joint Conference

 

On September 29-October 1, the Sixth Biennial State of Lake Michigan
and the Ninth Annual Great Lakes Beach Association 2009 Annual Joint
Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 333 West Kilbourn
Avenue, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

The conference convenes scientists, resource managers, local
officials, and interest groups, to assess current conditions and
progress toward improving Great Lakes beaches and Lake Michigan.  The
information presented is used to revise the Lake Michigan
<http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/michigan.html>  Lakewide Management Plan
(LaMP), improve lake and beach management, and protect public health.
The conference is also an excellent opportunity to improve regional
coordination and share successes, challenges and new ideas.

 

For more information, or to register for the conference, visit the
conference web site <http://www.aqua.wisc.edu/solm> .

 

Contact Victoria Harris
<mailto:harrisv at uwgb.edu?subject=Joint%20Conference>  (920/465-2795)
at the University of Wisconsin's Sea Grant Institute.

 

 

Illinois River System Management Conference

 

The 12th Biennial Governor's Conference on the Management of the
Illinois River System will be held at the Hotel Pere Marquette, 501
Main Street, Peoria, Illinois, from October 20-22.

 

Over the past 24 years, the Governor's Conferences on the Management
of the Illinois River System have served as an important forum to
bring together local, state, and federal leaders to create awareness
of the issues of soil erosion and sedimentation, identify important
river research initiatives, develop working coalitions, apply
conservation practices to the watershed, prepare new river and
watershed legislation, and provide for state and federal funding to
address the issues of the Illinois River System.

 

The deadline for early registration discount is September 30.  For
more conference information, or to register, click
<http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/conferences/conference.asp?ID=413>
here.

 

Contact Mark
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=Illinois%20River%20System%20Managemen
t%20Conference>  Gorman (202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest
Institute.

 

 

Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

 

The 2009 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference will be held at the
Hilton Hotel, 700 East Adams Street, Springfield, Illinois, on
December 6-9.  

 

The purpose of the conference is to share new research, management
experiences, and valuable insight on fish and wildlife issues.
Conference organizers say that it is the "premier fish and wildlife
conference in the central U.S., with more than 1,000 attendees at past
conferences."  For additional conference information, or to register,
click here <http://www.dnr.state.il.us/Midwest/index.htm> .

 

Contact Mark
<mailto:mgordon at nemw.org?subject=Midwest%20Fish%20and%20Wildlife%20Con
ference>  Gorman (202/464-4015) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

 
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