26th annual Great Lakes Conference at MSU to address Michigan’s water heritage
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Email“The Great Lakes: Michigan's Water Heritage” conference to focus on state’s draft 30-Year Water Strategy as well as current issues, opportunities and challenges.
Michigan State University will host the 26th annual Great Lakes Conference as part of ANR Week, 9 a.m.-4 p.m Tuesday, March 8, 2016, on campus at the Kellogg Center.
The conference is sponsored by the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife; MSU Institute of Water Research, Michigan State University Extension; Michigan Sea Grant; Office of the Great Lakes, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; and US Geological Survey.
The Great Lakes are an incredible resource and as such offer tremendous opportunities for the future while facing significant challenges in the present. This year’s conference will feature Michigan’s draft water strategy, a “30-year strategy to ensure Michigan's water resources support healthy ecosystems, citizens, communities, and economies.” In addition to an overview of the water strategy, it will offer presentations ranging from sturgeon restoration, aquaculture, water trails, and harmful algal blooms to ecosystem-level changes in the Great Lakes, efforts to reduce E. Coli, and minimizing impacts of water use by craft beer breweries.
Workshop presentations include:
- Michigan's 30 year Water Strategy – Jon Allan, director, Office of the Great Lakes, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Lansing
- Ecosystem-level changes in the Great Lakes and Effects on Fisheries – David "Bo" Bunnell, research fish biologist, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor.
- Lake Sturgeon Restoration in the Great Lakes – Jim Boase, fish biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Waterford.
- Targets for Lake Erie for HAB Reduction– Craig Stow, NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor.
- Aquaculture in Michigan - Future Directions and Challenges – Jim Diana, director, Michigan Sea Grant College Program, professor of fisheries and aquaculture, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
- Statewide Efforts to Reduce E. coli in Surface Waters– Molly Rippke, senior aquatic biologist, Department of Environmental Quality, Water Resources Division, Lansing.
- Water Trails and a Photo Exploration of the Great Lakes – Stephen Brede, Great Lakes Canoe, Petoskey.
- Water Use and Craft Beer Breweries: Minimizing Impacts – Kris Spaulding, sustainability director, Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids.
The conference is free and open to the public; however, advance online registration is requested by March 4, 2016.
Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research and outreach. A collaborative effort of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and MSU Extension, Michigan Sea Grant is part of the NOAA-National Sea Grant network of 33 university-based programs.
