348 Symposium--The Intersection of Water Quality and Agriculture: Partnering with Agriculture on Issues, Challenges and Promising Solutions

Oral Session
Special Sessions
Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes and holds the headwaters of the Mississippi River that flows over 2,300 miles from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, the state is the definition of upstream in the Mississippi River Watershed, which covers approximately 40% of the lower 48 states.  It is estimated that well over 50 cities rely on the Mississippi River for their water supply. The watershed produces approximately 92 percent of the U.S. agricultural exports, 78 percent of the world’s feed grains and soybeans, and also produces a major portion of the livestock and hogs for the nation.  From a natural resource standpoint, the Mississippi River is major migratory route for an estimated 60% of North American bird species and 40% of the waterfowl species.

Given those statistics, and the natural resource emphasis inherent to Minnesota, there is a lot of attention given to land and water resources, as well as management for quality and sustainability of those resources by not only agencies in Minnesota, but also by its general public. Through partnerships between federal, state, local, private entities along with the public, Minnesota taken many innovative approaches to address stewardship of land and water, with much of the focus on water quality issues surrounding agricultural systems and their management.  Minnesota is somewhat unique with the passing of their Clean Water Legacy Act/Clean Water Fund in 2008 that has allowed for additional funding for many projects.

This session will explore the intersection of water quality and agriculture in Minnesota, but will also address how projects relate to the larger watershed and considerations of downstream impacts.  Speakers will cover both a national and state/local perspective with specific comments on what has worked in their partnership experiences, lessons learned, and next steps.  Climate changes that are impacting land and water resources, and management decisions, will also be discussed. The audience will have ample opportunity to interact with speakers; there will be panel discussions in both the morning and afternoon to engage in discussion.

Not able to attend the meetings? Attend this live streaming session online to earn CEUs.

MORNING (8:00 AM-12:00 PM) -- 3.5 SW CEUs -- Online registration: Member/Certified Professional  $75.00 Non-member $140.00
REGISTER NOW FOR THE MORNING SESSION

AFTERNOON (1:00 PM-5:00 PM) -- 3.5 SW CEUs -- Online registration: Member/Certified Professional  $75.00 Non-member $140.00
REGISTER NOW FOR THE AFTERNOON SESSION

Wednesday, November 18, 2015: 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Minneapolis Convention Center, L100 IJ

Organizer:
Dawn R. Gibas
Moderator:
Dawn R. Gibas
8:00 AM
Introductory Remarks. Steve Woods, Executive Director, The Freshwater Society
8:40 AM
Reducing the Loss of Crop Nutrients to Waterways.
Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, Senior Manager of Social Responsibility, and Executive Director of The Mosaic Company Foundation
9:35 AM
Break
9:45 AM
Watershed-Based Lake Protection Strategies in Minnesota: Measuring How Far the Needle has Moved toward the Goal.
Dan Steward, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources; Jeff Hrubes, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources; Mitch Brinks, Crow Wing County Water Planner
11:30 AM
Panel Discussion with Morning Speakers.
12:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:00 PM
Introductory Remarks. Dawn Gibas, ASA/SSSA
1:05 PM
How MN Did It: First, Get a Glacier….
Steve Woods, Executive Director, The Freshwater Society
1:35 PM
Where Are We Going, and Are We There Yet? (Understanding our Water Resources to Inform Action).
Shannon Lotthammer, Director, Environmental Analysis and Outcomes Division Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
2:45 PM
Root River Field to Stream Partnership.
Margaret E. Wagner, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
3:15 PM
Break
3:25 PM
Climate Change Implications for the Landscapes of the Upper Mississippi River Basin: A Review.
Mark Seeley, Professor and Extension Climatologist, Department of Soil, Water and Climate, University of Minnesota
4:10 PM
Minnesota’s Clean Water Roadmap - What’s done, being done and yet to be done.
John Jaschke, Executive Director, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
4:30 PM
Panel Discussion with Afternoon Speakers.
5:00 PM
Adjourn
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