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UW-RF Home > University Communications Home > This Month's News Releases University CommunicationsFor more information contact mark.a.kinders@uwrf.edu or brenda.k.bredahl@uwrf.edu. St. Croix River Conference is April 15 at UWRFFor information contact Jim Harrison, conference coordinator, St. Croix Basin Team MARCH 28, 2008--On Tuesday, April 15, strategies for long-term protection of the nationally recognized St. Croix River will be presented at the 9 th Annual St. Croix Basin Protection Conference at the University Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The conference is co-sponsored by the university and the multi-agency St. Croix Basin Water Resources Planning Team. The popular scenic and recreational river will be celebrated on its 40 th anniversary of designation by Congress as one of the eight original rivers in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. However, the lower 25 miles known as Lake St. Croix, between Stillwater, Minn. and Prescott, Wis., is now being designated by the two states that share it as "an impaired water" under the Federal Clean Water Act. The two states have already signed an agreement to remedy the problem causing the deterioration of water quality--excessive inflow of phosphorus and suspended sediments from the surrounding watershed--called the St. Croix River Nutrient Reduction Agreement. The daylong program, from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., will feature 25 speakers and discussion leaders from Minnesota and Wisconsin. This year's keynote speaker at 9:20 a.m. is Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, the largest river protection advocacy group in the nation, located in Washington, D.C. She is a UW Wisconsin-Madison graduate who did part of her master's degree work on the St. Croix River. In addition, she was an environmental legislative aide to the late Sen. Gaylord Nelson, who along with former senator and Vice President Walter Mondale, both of whom sponsored the St. Croix River protection legislation in the 1960s. The conference and its workshops will focus on the implementation of the St. Croix River Nutrient Reduction Agreement, which aims to reduce potentially damaging phosphorus in the St. Croix River by 20 percent by the year 2020. River management partners are seeking to restore the water quality of the St. Croix to what it was like before rapid population expansion in the watershed began degrading the river's high quality waters. Several speakers will introduce tools for land protection and water quality enhancement in the St. Croix watershed, an area that is expected to continue to experience rapid population growth in the next 20 years. New to the conference this year is a presentation called "Take me to the River," describing a series of public events to celebrate the 40 years of federal, state and local protective partnerships for the St. Croix River. The St. Croix Protection Conference is open to the public, and sponsoring partners hope to attract farmers, municipal officials, treatment plant operators, land use planners, developers and interested citizens. Registration for the entire day, including continental breakfast and buffet lunch, is $50 with a special $25 rate for secondary and post-secondary students. The registration deadline is April 7. -30-
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Thursday, 22-Apr-2010 16:08:52 Central Daylight Time
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