Wildlife Habitat Council - Restoring Greenspaces

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2008 AGENDA

Stay tuned for the full agenda! This year, the pre-conference workshop will be available for an additional fee to paid registrants. Please note that this schedule is tentative and subject to change.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Registration: 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Pre-Conference Workshop: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Lunch will be provided)

Phytoremediation Technologies
Phytotechnologies are a broad set of remedial applications that utilize the living plant as the means to clean up the environment. However, these systems are not as simple as planting them and walking away. This short course covers different types of phytotechnology systems through hypothetical examples and real world case studies with varied remedial goals, target constituents and impacted media.

Dr. David Tsao, Atlantic Richfield Company (a BP affiliated company)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Continental Breakfast: 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Registration: 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Exhibitor Set-Up: 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Welcome: 9:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Scott Kilkenny, Vice President EHS, Kinder Morgan
Marcia Maslonek, Vice President of Programs, Wildlife Habitat Council

Overview of Conference Objectives: 10:00 - 10:45 a.m.
This panel will discuss where we are, what has worked or not worked to foster ecological reuse of contaminated properties in EPA region 9, and discuss if the issues have shifted or not and why.

Steve Rock, Environmental Engineer, U.S. EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory

Break: 10:45 - 11:15 a.m.

Keynote Session: 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 (noon)

Maureen F. Gorsen, Director, California Department of Toxic Substances Control

Lunch: 12:00 (noon) - 1:00 p.m.

Robert Busby, Senior Engineering Geologist, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
Karen Clementsen, Senior Engineering Geologist, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
Antonia K.J. Vitter, Site and Groundwater Cleanup Program Manager, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board

Field Trips (choice of two): 1:15 - 5:00 p.m.

Dow Wetlands Preserve
Situated on the edge of the San Joaquin River Delta, The Dow Chemical Company’s property in Pittsburg, California, encompasses approximately 471 acres of restored wetlands. The site’s diverse range of habitats, including freshwater/brackish tidal marsh, freshwater ponds, open water, mudflats, riparian zones and grasslands provide a great place for wildlife and environmental education. This site was chosen as a WHC Signature of Sustainability for being an excellent example of bringing both community and industry together in reusing a corporate site. See first-hand the ways encouraging ecological enhancements on a corporate site can benefit both the community and the environment.

Patty Deutsche, Senior Manager of Public Affairs, The Dow Chemical Company
Krist Jensen, Wetlands Team Leader, The Dow Chemical Company

Napa Salt Ponds and Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project
See the benefits of ecological restoration on a large scale by visiting two major projects in the San Francisco Bay area. Participants will first visit the Napa Salt Pond restoration project where former Cargill salt evaporation ponds are currently being restored to historical wetlands and tidal marches. At the completion of this project, nearly 10,000 acres of wetlands will be restored to their original state.

The second part of this trip will visit the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project at the former Hamilton Air Force Base on the San Pablo River. Here, participants will get a near aerial view of the dramatic tidal restoration and other habitat, and hear the processes and barriers in making the project possible. Another large scale project, this base is now being transformed into a successful housing community, recreation area, and wildlife habitat in a joint venture between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California State Coastal Conservancy.

Steve Carroll, Regional Engineer and Project Manager, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Tom Gandesbery, Project Manager, California State Coastal Conservancy
Edward Keller, Environmental Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Pat Mapelli, Property Manager, Cargill Salt
Karen C. Taylor, Associate Wildlife Biologist, California Department of Fish and Game

Cocktail Reception: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Continental Breakfast: 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Registration: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 (noon)

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Breakout Session Set 1: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Ecosystem Services and Performance Metrics
Establishing metrics and performance standards requires consideration of a wide array of different values and functions that depend upon specific habitats and their relationship to surrounding natural and human environments. While ecosystem services have obvious non-economic value, determining valuation and creating economic markets for ecosystem services is more challenging. This panel will focus on how ecosystem services can create value in the marketplace by analyzing costs, benefits and other mechanisms for extracting value from ecological restoration projects. Panelists will discuss techniques for measuring eco-system services, including identifying and implementing performance standards, tracking property value increases, tax benefits and more to help define a successful strategy for implementing ecological enhancements in such projects.

Michele Mahoney, Envrionmental Scientist, U.S. EPA
Sheryl A. Telford, Business Team Manager, DuPont Corporate Remediation Group
Jay Truty, Partner, DLA Piper US LLP

Wetlands Restoration
Our nation’s wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. The critical role of wetlands in our environment and economy make it vital to seize any opportunity to restore them. This daunting task can only be accomplished through partnerships and effective stakeholder communication. Learn about the science of wetlands restoration, proposed policy changes and how they could impact you, resources and partners available to assist in these projects, and hear case studies on successful wetlands restoration within the region.

William Carson, Principal Engineer, LFR Inc.
Gregory Green, Regional Biologist - Texas Gulf Coast, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Jim Myers, Senior Environmental Engineer, Chevron

Break: 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Breakout Session Set 2: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 (noon)

Long-Term Stewardship
With many site cleanups reaching completion and new state and federal brownfields laws enacted, exciting new developments are helping to address the expectations of land trusts and reassure communities of the long-term viability of site remedies. These may include park, greenspace or habitat creation, and other sustainable land uses. This session will include discussion of current insurance programs to help manage long-term liability, as well as mechanisms for designing, implementing and tracking effective land-use controls. Case studies will help demonstrate the use of deed restrictions, state-registered conservation easements and local government’s role in managing non-engineering site controls.

Lisa McLaughlin, Assistant Superintendent, Western Heights Public Schools, Oklahoma
Michael R. Strong, Attorney at Law, Jenner & Block LLP
Bob Wenzlau, CEO, Terradex Inc.

Integrating Natural Resources Damage Assessment with Site Cleanup
Site cleanup programs strive to overcome the significant challenge of integrating the processes of remedy selection, design and construction with those of natural resources damage assessments and restoration. Coordinating among government agencies with differing authorities and overcoming barriers may lead to costly duplicative efforts. Panelists representing regulatory agencies, site owners and other key stakeholders will engage in a very important dialog on these timely issues. We will examine how critical long-term goals of remediation and restoration may be successfully accomplished, while avoiding sequential processes, at many complex contaminated properties.

Mike Ammann, Staff Environmental Scientist, Chevron
Greg Baker, Ecologist, NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Gregory R. Biddinger, Natural Land Management Program Coordinator, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc.
David Charters, Environmental Scientist, U.S. EPA Environmental Response Team

Lunch: 12:00 (noon) - 1:15 p.m.

Elliott P. Laws, Senior Counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Plenary Session: 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Making the Case for Ecological Enhancements: A Regional Action Plan and Identifying Resources
This session will assist attendees in identifying concrete, next steps to promote regional ecological enhancements through identifying the necessary resources and tools needed. Potential next steps will be discussed in this interactive forum based on the discussions that occurred in each session.

Robert Johnson, President, Wildlife Habitat Council
Marcia Maslonek, Vice President of Programs, Wildlife Habitat Council

The Path to Washington - Convening Leaders for an Ecologically Sustainable America: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
The Multi-State Working Group (MSWG) will tie the conference’s discussion of barriers and opportunities to ecological innovation into a dialogue by hosting one of 36 national dialogues to explore a new era of ecological law as part of their major long-term project known as the “Path to Washington”. The Path to Washington is a three year effort to produce a new set of legal and policy tools to apply to serious environmental problems, improve ecological conditions, sustain communities, and improve everyone’s quality of life. Over 30 more dialogues will be held across the country, including all ten EPA regions, to gain grassroots input on the Path to Washington. This is an open discussion, and all conference attendees are encouraged to participate.

Bob Stephens, Immediate Past President, Multi-State Working Group

Adjourn: 4:00 p.m.