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11/24/08
ASWM has posted the draft “Recommendations for a National Wetlands and Climate Change Initiative” based on Wetlands 2008: Wetlands and Global Climate Change, held on September 16-18, 2008 in Portland, Oregon. The Association would appreciate receiving comments by December 8, 2008 by e-mail to Jon Kusler at aswm@aswm.org. ASWM is recommending that federal agencies and Congress create a cooperative National Wetlands and Climate Change Initiative with the states, tribes, local governments, and the private sector. It would build upon existing coordination mechanisms. Please see recommendations here.
For a printable version, please click here. |
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The
purpose of this symposium is to identify opportunities and cooperative
strategies for managing wetlands and water resources in response to
climate change while meeting the ongoing challenges of conserving
and protecting wetlands.
Wetland
professionals in the public and private sectors need to understand
the regional alterations in weather likely to result from climate
change and identify discrete activities and actions to pursue to mitigate
these changes. To respond to climate change wetland professionals
must:
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Understand the impacts of
climate change on water and wetland resources; |
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Become familiar with the
various ways wetlands and water resources can be managed to
mitigate climate change, and |
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Make changes in wetland and
water programs to minimize the destruction and alteration of
wetlands. |
Climate
change needs to be addressed in the context of existing wetland management
and conservation challenges. Discussion of current issues in wetland
science, policy and management in combination with the more speculative
dialogue on how to respond to climate change will help participants
develop strategies to anticipate and adapt to regional changes in
climate. At Wetlands 2008 there will be sessions on climate changes
as well as the science, program and policy topics that continue to
engage wetland managers and scientists. These include Clean Water
Act jurisdiction, state and tribal wetland programs, Carabell/Rapanos
guidance, mitigation, invasive species, wetland assessment, wetland
restoration and other important topics.
Climate
Change Threatens Wetlands and Other Waters: Climate change threatens
wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplains in a number of ways. Rising
sea levels will destroy coastal and estuarine wetlands if these wetlands
are unable to migrate inland due to dikes, levees, steep natural topography
or other impediments. Increased temperatures will kill temperature-
sensitive plant and animal species. Melting permafrost will turn wetlands
into open waters or dry lands. Increases in precipitation, which will
occur in some areas, will flood wetlands. Decreased precipitation,
which will occur in other areas, will decrease in size or destroy
playas, vernal pools, and other types of wetlands.
Rising
temperatures and reduced water levels will also release carbon from
wetlands. It has been estimated that wetlands which include only about
6% of the earth's terrestrial area contain carbon equal to the total
atmospheric carbon store. Peat lands and other wetlands, riparian
areas, and floodplains continue to store carbon although at a slow
rate. Increased temperatures due to climate change will melt permafrost
and help oxidize organic soils, releasing carbon to the atmosphere.
Climate
change, therefore, is an important issue for wetland, riparian area,
and floodplain management. State, federal, and private employees need
to understand the status of scientific knowledge concerning climate
change. They need to make adjustments in wetland, riparian zone, and
floodplain management to reduce impacts and to both store carbon and
reduce methane generation while serving broader wetland, riparian,
floodplain and stream protection and restoration goals.
Field Trips: |
Monday, September 15 and Thursday, September 18 |
Conference: |
Tuesday, September 16, Wednesday, September 17, Thursday, September 18 |
Workshops: |
Friday, September 19, Sponsored by Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists |
Regular
Registration: August
2, 2008 through September 10, 2008
Onsite Registration:
September
15, 2008
Advisory
Committee: A Wetlands 2008 Advisory Committee
will provide region-specific information, help identify volunteers,
and carry out additional responsibilities leading up to and through
the conference. In addition, the regional advisory committee will
provide ideas on plenary and break-out session topics, speakers, etc.,
share and distribute information on the conference and serve as a
conduit for communication with various interest groups.
Audience:
Wetland
and aquatic resource managers, scientists, consultants, lawyers, federal,
tribal, state, and local government staff, state legislators, legislative
and Congressional staff, not for profits and others with interest
and expertise in wetland issues.
Conference
Location/Hotel Information: The
conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting
Center Portland-Lloyd Center, Portland Oregon.
The Doubletree
Hotel is just 15 minutes from the Portland International Airport and
adjacent to the MAX light rail system. The hotel is within walking
distance of the Oregon Convention Center, the Rose Garden Arena and
Memorial Coliseum. Across the street is the Lloyd Center Mall. The
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Washington Park Zoo
are nearby. For more information, please see
HOTEL
INFORMATION
The
Doubletree hotel has earned a Green Seal GS-33 Lodging Sustainability
certification. The Doubletree is the first lodging property in Oregon
and the largest hotel west of the Mississippi to receive this green
hotel designation, which includes a set of stringent criteria that
encourages hotels to adopt environmental standards and practices in
their everyday operations. To learn more about this certification
and find ways to be sustainable as a participant, please see, http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008/greenseal.pdf
About
Portland: Portland is loaded with
energy. For decades this inland port on the Willamette River was the
undiscovered gem of the West Coast, often overlooked by visitors seeking
more sophisticated milieus. But in the past decade, people have begun
flocking here in unprecedented numbers -- to visit and to live. The
city's proximity to mountains, ocean, and desert adds an element of
natural grandeur to its urban character. FOR
THINGS TO DO IN PORTLAND CLICK HERE
Sponsors
and Cooperating Parties: Organizations, agencies, private,
and nonprofit organizations are invited to become a sponsor or cooperating
party supporting Wetlands 2008. There are many ways to support the
conference. If interested, please contact Jeanne Christie at (207)
892-3399 or jeanne.christie@aswm.org
Contact
Information
Questions
Regarding Program, Please Contact:
Jeanne Christie, Executive Director
Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc.
2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062
(207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089
jeanne.christie@aswm.org
General Questions,
Please Contact:
Laura Burchill, Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc.
2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062
(207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089; laura@aswm.org.
Print
this Page (PDF)
Agenda at a Glance
Agenda
Accepted Papers
Plenary Speakers
Field Trips and Workshops
Registration
Poster/Displays
Sponsors
Sponsorship
Levels
Hotel
Things
To Do
ASWM’s
Wetlands & Climate Change Webpage
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to top.
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Willamette River
Downtown Portland
View of Mt. St. Helens
Oregon Convention
Center
Columbia Gorge Waterfall
All
photos by Miles Hochstein, "Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland
Oregon"
http://www.portlandground.com/
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