Making a Great Lake Superior 2007

Final Call for Participation

Making a Great Lake Superior 2007 will allow researchers, land and resource managers, educators and basin residents to participate in interdisciplinary discussions about the most important issues facing Lake Superior.

Who will participate?

Restoring and protecting Lake Superior requires broad efforts and knowledge, and the conference is open for all to attend. Making a Great Lake Superior 2007 will incorporate presentations by individuals or groups involved in research, educational activities, or management in the Lake Superior watershed, including, but not limited to:

Should you participate?

Yes! We need your input. Exciting things are happening in, around, and above Lake Superior. Protecting and restoring the Great Lakes is of binational importance as well as a regional priority. Research continues to provide important insights on ecosystem functions, the impacts of human activities, and effective ways to reduce those impacts. Outreach and education provide a vital link between basin residents and stakeholders, researchers, and lake managers within the Lake Superior Basin. The needs of basin communities and their residents are evolving as populations change and economic and cultural paradigms shift. Making a Great Lake Superior 2007 will unite people throughout the Lake Superior watershed in discussions about:

• Integrating research results into effective protection and restoration of Lake Superior,
• How management approaches and projects reflect priorities,
• The information needs of land and resource managers, and how this information could best be provided,
• The role of educators in ensuring that accurate information about Lake Superior is reaching the right audiences in the right way, and
• The role of citizen groups in protecting Lake Superior.

Call for participation

Making a Great Lake Superior 2007 will feature plenary sessions each day addressing issues critical to maintaining the integrity of the Lake Superior ecosystem, as well as significant opportunities for networking. On day one, a keynote speaker and panel focusing on the current state of the ecosystem will set the stage, followed by concurrent sessions addressing the topics below, and a poster reception in the evening. Day two will feature keynotes and a panel addressing broadscale climate change impacts to Lake Superior, followed by additional concurrent topical sessions and a banquet and awards ceremony. Day 3 will feature a panel of local government officials from around the lake, discussing their difficulties, needs, and successes in implementing programs to protect this critical resource, followed by field trips to local areas of interest.

Priority issues and programs are identified in the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and the Lake Superior Binational Program’s Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP), and these provide a framework for Making a Great Lake Superior 2007. Concurrent sessions will include discussions where priorities and critical needs can be brought forward, and will be organized around the following topics:

• Water levels and withdrawals: Issues relating to lake level management, navigation, and impacts of changing water level
• Climate change Specific habitat or environmental changes, impacts on Lake Superior, and management or adaptation strategies.
• Invasive species: Impacts on environment and economy, pathways of introduction, and programs and partnerships to prevent new introductions and spread.
• Toxic pollutants: Their status and effect on the ecosystem, and the programs and policies used around the basin to reduce release of these contaminants.
• Habitat conservation and species management: A focus on terrestrial and coastal wetland habitats, looking at the status and trends of species, research and management results, case studies, and educational programs.
• Fisheries and aquatic ecology: Status, trends, and management of the Lake Superior fishery, including sport fish, prey species, and lower trophic level organisms.
• Human health and safety: Focusing on beach monitoring programs, drinking water protection, and fish advisories.
• Areas of Concern: This session will address four common priority themes across the AOC’s: contaminated sediments, habitat degradation, community engagement, and delisting criteria/beneficial use impairment (BUI) assessment.
• Non-point source pollution/stormwater runoff: Focusing on watershed-scale impacts, sedimentation, and hydrologic changes due to various land uses across the basin, and innovative approaches to control or prevent pollution and protect water resources.
• Sustainability: Review the status and trends of sustainability in the basin, explore economics based on ecological principles, and showcase proven approaches, tools, and initiatives to move communities closer to sustainability.
• Watershed stewardship: Current watershed planning, management, and restoration practices, their effectiveness, and new approaches at the various watershed scales.
• GIS, Great Lakes Observing System, and information management: Tools for superior decision making - discovery, access, and use of geospatial information.

Conference organizers are seeking submissions for poster or oral presentations relevant to these priority issues. Appropriate topics include (but are not limited to):

• Research specific to or with direct lessons for Lake Superior
• Education or outreach programs directed at priority issues
• Monitoring activities that illuminate problems or lead to solutions
• Management approaches or projects that address priority issues
• Management and policy decisions, their consequences, and implications
• Example programs where research, education, and management have been successfully integrated

Now is the time to share your experiences with your Lake Superior colleagues. If you are working on addressing any of the issues listed above, whether from a research, education, outreach, or management level, we want to hear from you!

Submit project summaries/abstracts here.

• Deadlines: Oral Presentation Submission deadline extended to July 10th. Poster submission deadline extended to September 14th
• Word limit: 250
• Include: Project or program description (who, what, where, when, how, why), and outcomes.
• Authors will be notified by the end of July of acceptance.
• Sessions may vary, but unless otherwise informed, speakers will have 15 minutes, plus 5 minutes for questions.

Guiding Documents:

• Lake Superior LaMP (2006)
• Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy (2005)
• Developing Restoration and Protection Priorities for Lake Superior (2004)