MASWCD Annual Convention Wrap-Up
Dec. 10, 2008 - Soil and Water
Conservation District board members and staff from across the state learned about wetland issues, water quality trading, working to restore
impaired waters, and more at the 72nd annual meeting of the
Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD).
The meeting was held Dec. 7-9 at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. This
year’s theme was “SWCDs – Meeting the Challenge.”
“This was a great
chance for us to learn more about some of the current natural resource
issues in the state,” said outgoing MASWCD President Ken Pederson.
Pederson added, “The convention always provides us with
new ideas that we can use locally.”
Dr. Peter Nowak
was keynote speaker on December 8.
Nowak
is a professor at the UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental
Studies. His expertise related to the human dimension of natural
resource management is sought after by organizations across the nation.
Nowak provided his insights into how SWCDs can be the key to making
the water resources of Minnesota sustainable.
Later
that morning, a session was held entitled “Working Across SWCD
Boundaries to Achieve Water Quality Improvements.” The session focused on the future of water management issues facing the state of
Minnesota and provided information and recommendations for ways SWCDs might more effectively work across district boundaries. Speakers
included Gaylen Reetz, Regional Division Director of the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency; John Jaschke, Executive Director of the Board
of Water and Soil Resources; State Representative Rick Hansen, House
Watersheds, Wetlands and Buffers Subcommittee; Don Bajumpaa, Wilkin Soil
and Water Conservation District Manager; and Dr. Peter Nowak.
In addition to a
variety of sessions on conservation topics, the annual meeting included the MASWCD business meeting, with discussions and votes on
natural resource resolutions.
Several awards
were presented at a December 8 luncheon. These include the Minnesota DNR Division of Waters Appreciation Award, MASWCD/MPCA Outstanding
Community Conservationist Award, MASWCD/MnDOT Living Snow Fence
Achievement Award, the Outstanding SWCD employee award, and awards for
legislator, media, teacher, environmental education, and SWCD
supervisor. Visit the "Award
Programs" page for more information.
The convention
also featured a December 9 luncheon, sponsored by MASWCD with support
from The Farmer magazine. Outstanding conservationists from SWCDs
across the state were honored for their achievements.
Additional
information on the event is available on the “Annual
Convention” page of this web site.
Featured sponsors of this year's
event were the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota
Soybean Research and Promotion Council. |