2017 WETLANDS SCIENCE SUMMIT
SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR NEXT WETLANDS SCIENCE SUMMIT!
H2-OH! Ohio Wetlands Work for Water Quality
H2-OH, or H2O, Water is everyone’s concern. All across Ohio water quality is a serious matter. This 6th Annual Ohio Wetlands Science Conference brings together wetland experts to share their research and practical application of wetland restoration for improving water quality. Communities across the state are recognizing that wetlands provide cost-effective natural services that improve our quality of life and OH yes, improve water quality by removing excess nutrients, sediments, toxins and other contaminants that keep us from fully enjoying our rich Ohio water resources.
The day's events include programs describing how wetlands can and do provide solutions to water quality issues, wetland leader awards, a vegetarian lunch, and a choice of tours of local wetland projects.
The day's events include programs describing how wetlands can and do provide solutions to water quality issues, wetland leader awards, a vegetarian lunch, and a choice of tours of local wetland projects.
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Saturday, October 14, 2017
Registration can be paid onsite. Everal Barn & Homestead 60 N Cleveland Ave Westerville, Ohio Keynote by Dr. Wm. Mitsch presenting: “Wetlands: The Kidneys of Our Planet” Become a Wetland Trumpeter and support our summit... sponsorship information can be found HERE. |
Registration available at the door.
Cash, check, or credit card
OWA Member - $30 ~ Nonmember - $35 ~ Student - $20
Cash, check, or credit card
OWA Member - $30 ~ Nonmember - $35 ~ Student - $20
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
Student and Intern registration FEE scholarships are available.
To apply for a scholarship send an email to info@ohwetlands.org and describe the following:
1. Your field of study including college and major or a description of your internship including location.
2. Why you wish to attend.
3. How you think this conference will further your education.
We will confirm your request by email. Once we confirm your request, please register.
The conference fee will be refunded to you when you check in the day of the conference.
Student and Intern registration FEE scholarships are available.
To apply for a scholarship send an email to info@ohwetlands.org and describe the following:
1. Your field of study including college and major or a description of your internship including location.
2. Why you wish to attend.
3. How you think this conference will further your education.
We will confirm your request by email. Once we confirm your request, please register.
The conference fee will be refunded to you when you check in the day of the conference.
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About Dr. Mitsch's presentation:
The world is faced with unprecedented threats to our aquatic ecosystems from excessive nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, caused by agricultural and urban runoff and discharges. In addition, carbon is increasing in our atmosphere leading to climate shifts and rising sea levels. In the meantime, it has been estimated that, on a global scale, we have lost half of our original wetlands, most of that loss in the 20th century. I am proposing here a significant increase in our wetland resources around the world, solving the diminishing wetland habitat loss problem, but with the strategic purpose of minimizing the excess phosphorus, nitrogen in our lakes, rivers, and estuaries and sequestering carbon in our atmosphere, both in a sustainable fashion. Examples presented will include: 1. attempts to minimize phosphorus inflows to the Florida Everglades with wetlands to protect both the Florida Everglades and Florida’s coastlines; 2. A proposal to restore the Black Swamp in NW Ohio to minimize eutrophication of Lake Erie in the Laurentian Great Lakes; 3. Wetland and bottomland riparian forest restoration in the U.S. Midwest to mitigate a 15,000 km2 hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico; and 4. conservation and enhancement of tidal mangroves for their capacity to sequester carbon from the atmosphere with fewer emission of methane than freshwater wetlands (blue carbon). lving the diminishing wetland habitat loss problem, but with the strategic purpose of minimizing the excess phosphorus, nitrogen in our lakes, rivers and estuaries and sequestering carbon in our atmosphere, both in a sustainable fashion. Examples presented will include: 1. attempts to minimize phosphorus inflows to the Florida Everglades with wetlands to protect both the Florida Everglades and Florida’s coastlines; 2. a proposal to restore the Black Swamp in NW Ohio to minimize eutrophication of Lake Erie in the Laurentian Great Lakes; 3. wetland and bottomland riparian forest restoration in the U.S. Midwest to mitigate a 15,000 km2 hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico: and 4. conservation and enhancement of tidal mangroves for their capacity to sequester carbon from the atmosphere with fewer emissions of methane than freshwater wetlands (blue carbon). |
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WETLANDS SCIENCE SUMMIT SCHEDULE
Click on the + for additional information.
Click on the + for additional information.
09:00 AM Doors open, refreshments
Light refreshments: Coffee, fruit and muffins.
09:30 am opening remarks, mick miccachion
09:45 am Keynote program: “Wetlands: The Kidneys of Our Planet”
Dr. William J. "Bill" Mitsch
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Presented by Dr. William Mitsch, Directer, Everglades Wetland Research Park
Dr. Mitsch has been Eminent Scholar and Director, Everglades Wetland Research Park, and Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management at Florida Gulf Coast University since October 2012. He is Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University where he taught for 26 years and is Founding Director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. He holds courtesy or honorary faculty appointments at University of South Florida, University of Florida, University of Notre Dame, Tartu University (Estonia), and Nanjing Forestry University (China). His research and teaching have focused on wetland ecology and biogeochemistry, wetland creation and restoration, ecological engineering and ecosystem restoration, and ecosystem modeling. His over 600 publications, reports, abstracts and books, including 5 editions of the popular textbook Wetlands. He is editor-in-chief of the international journal Ecological Engineering. In August 2004 he was awarded the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. He has also been awarded the Ramsar Convention Award for Merit (2015), an Einstein Professorship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2010), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists (2007), and the Theodore M. Sperry Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration International (2005). Dr. Mitsch has advised to completion 77 graduate students, including 24 Ph.D. students, at four universities. Seventeen of his former graduate students and post-docs are teaching at colleges and universities around the USA and world. |
10:30 AM BREAK
10:45 AM “Wetlands of Westerville: Improving the Quality of Water and the Quality of Life in a Growing Suburb”
Mark Dilley
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Presented by Mark Dilley, Chief Science Officer and Co-owner of MAD Scientist Associates
Mark is Chief Science Officer and co-owner of MAD Scientist Associates with his wife, Chris. He is a Professional Wetland Scientist (Society of Wetland Scientists) and Certified Senior Ecologist (Ecological Society of America) with over 25 years of experience in wetland science, field biology, ecology, and environmental studies. Mark is certified through Ohio EPA's QDC program for Level 3 fish studies and habitat assessments for biological monitoring of wadeable streams and rivers. He has worked on projects in 25 states, but focuses his efforts on his home state of Ohio. (Make the sustainable choice: Hire locally-grown consultants!). Mark received his B.S. in Natural Resources in Fisheries Management and his M.S. in Environmental Science from The Ohio State University, with an emphasis on wetlands. His thesis research (Atrazine Fate and Transport in a Created Flow-through Emergent Marsh: An Examination of Key Processes) was completed at the internationally-acclaimed Olentangy River Wetland Research Park at OSU. Mark has continued his connection with OSU as a lecturer for the Wetland Ecology and Restoration course since 2012. |
11:30 AM OHIO WETLAND LEADER AWARDS
We will be awarding four awards in wetland conservation:
Leader in Wetland Advocacy – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been instrumental in developing and having adopted policies, rules, laws, ordinances, or other written instruments that will result in the informed Conservation of wetlands in an Ohio watershed or across the state.
Leader in Wetland Protection – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been pivotal in protecting an important Ohio wetland or wetlands that were under threat of imminent degradation or elimination.
Leader In Wetland Restoration – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has set the bar for achieving and maintaining high levels of natural ecological conditions in a restored Ohio wetland or wetlands.
Leader In Wetland Education – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been exceptional in advancing the understanding of the roles wetlands play in healthy watersheds and moving wetland science forward in the State of Ohio.
Leader in Wetland Advocacy – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been instrumental in developing and having adopted policies, rules, laws, ordinances, or other written instruments that will result in the informed Conservation of wetlands in an Ohio watershed or across the state.
Leader in Wetland Protection – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been pivotal in protecting an important Ohio wetland or wetlands that were under threat of imminent degradation or elimination.
Leader In Wetland Restoration – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has set the bar for achieving and maintaining high levels of natural ecological conditions in a restored Ohio wetland or wetlands.
Leader In Wetland Education – the recipient will be an individual or organization that has been exceptional in advancing the understanding of the roles wetlands play in healthy watersheds and moving wetland science forward in the State of Ohio.
11:45 AM VEGETARIAN LUNCH BUFFET
The menu includes an assortment of vegetarian sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, chips, beverages and cookis.
12:45 PM “ Wetland Restoration as a Tool for Lake Erie Water Quality Improvement: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here”
Kristi Arend
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Presented by Kristi Arend, Research Coordinator and Fisheries Biologist, Old Woman Creek NERR, ODNR Division of Wildlife
Kristi received her B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College, M.S. in Aquatic Ecology from the Ohio State University, and Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from Cornell University. Her PhD research focused on how fish community composition and food web dynamics were influenced by different environmental conditions among Lake Ontario embayments and wetlands. Prior to coming to Old Woman Creek in 2013, Kristi was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Lake Superior State University in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula where she helped develop courses for a Conservation Biology and Leadership degree. At Old Woman Creek, Kristi is responsible for implementing a long-term water quality monitoring program and developing and conducting research on wetlands and coastal Lake Erie. Her research interests include: (1) climate and land use impacts on wetland ecosystem services; (2) environmental drivers of wetland fish communities and food web dynamics; and (3) nearshore fish community response to coastal modification and erosion controls. |
01:30 PM “Using Benefit-Cost Analysis to Estimate the Value of Wetlands to Society”
Kevin Egan
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Presented by Kevin Egan, University of Toledo, Economics Director
Kevin is an associate professor at the University of Toledo’s Department of Economics. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Iowa State University and a B.A. in Economics from Central College, also in Iowa. Kevin’s specialization is in environmental economics, non-market valuation, and micro-econometrics. He has researched a wide range of topics in these sciences including environmental valuation and the benefits and costs to society associated with invasive species, natural resources recreation demand, aesthetic values of lakes and rivers, and nutrient contamination of Lake Erie. |
02:15 PM BREAK
02:30 PM “Columbus Metro Parks Wetland Restorations: Establishing Beneficial Functions Including Water Quality Improvement”
John Watts
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Presented by John Watts, Columbus Metro Parks’ Resource Manager
John Watts is the Resource Manager for the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks and has worked for Metro Parks since 1986. John also worked for the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves from 1986-1991 conducting rare species monitoring, habitat restoration and natural area management. John coordinates and administers the Resource Management Program for over 27,500 acres of natural area park lands in central Ohio, which has restored nearly 4,500 acres of native habitat. He earned his B.A. in Environmental Life Science from Otterbein College in 1986 and his M.S. from The Ohio State University in Parks and Recreation Administration in 1989. John’s interests in natural history, habitat restoration and conservation cover a wide diversity of topics. He has a special interest in prairie, grassland and wetland restoration and is an avid wildlife and nature photographer. Of the 4,500 acres of natural habitat restorations John has supervised the designed and coordinated in central Ohio, he takes most pride in the restoration of nearly 1,800 acres of native tall grass prairie in the former Darby Plains Prairies. John has authored or co-authored numerous articles and presentations on various wildlife management, habitat restoration and natural history topics. John has also recently co-authored The Birds of Hocking County, Ohio with Paul Knoop Jr. and Gary Coovert. |
03:15 PM FINAL COMMENTS & WETLAND PROJECT TOURS
WETLAND TOURS
Directions for all tours: At the end of the Summit meeting at the Everal Barn those who have registered to participate will meet in their corresponding group, based on the wetland tour location of their choice. There they will receive instructions from their Tour Leaders on the details of each tour including maps with addresses and directions to the tour locations. Participants will provide their own transportation from the Everal Barn to their wetland tour destination. Carpooling is encouraged where convenient. The Summit wetland tours will wrap-up the day’s activities and attendees can depart for home from their wetland tour locations.
Wetland Tour Options:
1. Heritage Park onsite preserved and mitigation wetland and water treatment plant tour.
Leaders: Dick Lorenz, City of Westerville Water Treatment Plant Superintendent and Mark Dilley, OWA President.
Description: Learn about Westerville's drinking water source protection and visit the Water Treatment Plant and adjacent wetland preservation/mitigation within the park.
2. New Albany High School Campus Ecolab and stormwater detention basin wetland retrofit tour.
Leaders: Bill Resch, environmental consultant to New Albany-Plain Local Schools; Ali Laughbaum and Chad Schwinnen, Environmental Science Program teachers, and student tour guides.
Description: Learn about the created and preserved wetlands within the school district's unique and exemplary outdoor learning space and how students are using and benefitting from the opportunities that the Ecolab offers.
3. Ohio State University Olentangy River Wetland Research Park facilities and wetlands tour.
Leader: Bill Mitsch, Ohio State University Professor Emeritus of Wetlands Science, in the School of Natural Resources where he was the Founding Director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park.
Description: During a tour of the facilities learn about the history and development of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park and the important research projects, on a broad range of water quality issues that have occurred at the Park.
Wetland Tour Options:
1. Heritage Park onsite preserved and mitigation wetland and water treatment plant tour.
Leaders: Dick Lorenz, City of Westerville Water Treatment Plant Superintendent and Mark Dilley, OWA President.
Description: Learn about Westerville's drinking water source protection and visit the Water Treatment Plant and adjacent wetland preservation/mitigation within the park.
2. New Albany High School Campus Ecolab and stormwater detention basin wetland retrofit tour.
Leaders: Bill Resch, environmental consultant to New Albany-Plain Local Schools; Ali Laughbaum and Chad Schwinnen, Environmental Science Program teachers, and student tour guides.
Description: Learn about the created and preserved wetlands within the school district's unique and exemplary outdoor learning space and how students are using and benefitting from the opportunities that the Ecolab offers.
3. Ohio State University Olentangy River Wetland Research Park facilities and wetlands tour.
Leader: Bill Mitsch, Ohio State University Professor Emeritus of Wetlands Science, in the School of Natural Resources where he was the Founding Director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park.
Description: During a tour of the facilities learn about the history and development of the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park and the important research projects, on a broad range of water quality issues that have occurred at the Park.
2017 WETLANDS SCIENCE SUMMIT SPONSORS
BITTERN LEVEL SPONSORS
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RAIL LEVEL SPONSORS
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HERON LEVEL SPONSORS
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Mitsch & Associates |
Kelleys Island
Audubon Club |
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Become a Wetland Trumpeter and support our science summit . . .
sponsorship information can be found HERE.