The URI Cooperative Extension Water Program (CE WQ), in cooperation with the New England Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society (NEC-NALMS) and Save The Lakes (STL), Rhode Island's organization of lake and pond associations, invite you join us for an informative and inspiring conference! This year's theme Watershed Management in a Changing World offers something for anyone who cares about a local water resources - lake, river or ocean side residents, lake managers, agency personnel, watershed association members!

 

This annual event provides a forum for information exchanges amongst lake managers (volunteer or professional) and encourages a proactive and protective approach to lake and watershed health and use. This year we are hosting a Summit of Volunteer Monitoring Program Coordinators and all those that use or wold liek to use volunteer generated water data. The purpose of this interactive summit is to discuss how to make better use of the wealth of volunteer data available in the northeast for understanding impacts to water resources from climate change. Further we will try to identify new ideas and tools for sustaining these invaluable programs during we will these difficult economic - especially as the data is finding expanded uses. Monitoring program coordinators for all aquatic resources are strongly encouraged to attend this watershed-based conference!!

The conference begins Friday morning with the Volunteer Monitoring Summit. Expanding on the success of previous volunteer summits (see "Shared Waters & Common Goals" and "Summary Report of the New England Monitoring Summit - Shared Waters (April 2005)" for more information about past summits).

Friday afternoon stays interactive with a diverse selection of workshops. The annual New England Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society meeting will immediately follow the afternoon workshops. On Friday evening we invite you to join Save The Lakes for its annual dinner. This is a great opportunity to meet and network with a diverse range of lake and watershed stewards and professionals.

Saturday features presentations about a large variety of lake projects and issues from around New England. You’ll be able to share information and ideas with others tackling similar issues and leave with new ideas and renewed energy!

Conference workshops will focus on:

Workshops will be 2 hours long on Friday afternoon, and most will be repeated so that you'll have more opportunities to learn from the experts!

Saturday presentations will include:

Registration information:

• Friday Volunteer Monitoring Summit only - $30
• Friday workshops only - $30
• Friday (both the summit and workshops) only - $45
• Saturday session only - $45
• Friday and Saturday package - $70
• Optional housing and dining packages also available.

Click here for a printable registration form with full pricing information - soon.

Conference Location and Facilities:
Located at the beautriful rural campus of the Universtiy of Rhode Island's (URI) Kingston Campus, the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences will be the venue for this year's conference. Providing easy access from anywhere in New England, modern, spacious meeting rooms and the option to stay in inexpensive dorm rooms, URI is an outstanding host for the annual meeting. Click here for URI information and happenings.