NEWS OF INTEREST

EPA’s Watershed Academy Will Hold a Free Webcast Seminar on Wetlands and Climate Change

The Watershed Academy Webcast will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

Today, the scientific consensus on global climate change is challenging our assumptions about water resources. Wetland habitats in particular are faced with unique challenges due to a number of factors including rising sea levels and variable temperature and precipitation patterns. The importance of wetland functions and ecosystem services will continue to grow as the climate changes. Webcast instructors will discuss the issue from diverse perspectives reflecting the multifaceted approach needed to address the problem. Join us to learn more about the latest research findings, effects on inland and coastal wetlands in Alaska and Maine, and collaborative planning efforts in the Hudson River Valley to build coalitions that support adaptation strategies to protect people and the environment.

The Watershed Academy is a focal point in EPA's Office of Water for providing training and information on implementing watershed approaches. The Academy sponsors live classroom training and online distance learning modules through the Watershed Academy Web at www.epa.gov/watertrain. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watershedacademy

You must register in advance to participate in the webcast. To register, go to http://www.clu-in.org/live/

Death Looms for a Flood-Control Project

By Felicity Barringer — New York Times — April 9, 2008
Seven decades of hydro-engineering have transformed the lower Mississippi Delta from wetlands to dry fields of cotton and soybeans. Levees and canals funnel runoff from hundreds of thousands of acres here to a huge set of metal gates that sit across Steele Bayou. The debate over whether the Delta’s transformation was an engineering feat or environmental folly winds up here, too. For the farmers of south-central Mississippi, who see the changes as a triumph over nature, one job remains for the Army Corps of Engineers: building two huge pumps near the Steele Bayou gates. They believe the $220 million flood control project could increase their crop yield on marginal land. That, in turn, would increase their federal subsidies. [Go to Full Article]

FUTURE ASWM WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIUM

On March 31, 2008, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issued revised regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These regulations are designed to improve the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation to replace lost aquatic resource functions and area, expand public participation in compensatory mitigation decision making, and increase the efficiency and predictability of the mitigation project review process. Links to the final rule and supporting materials can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation/  For additional stories, go to:  http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGPgQ5dK1Rrbav9CG9DqpQF3oqDgD8VOIS6O1  and http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0331-06.htm

When Americans are asked to rate their level of worry about each of 12 environmental concerns, their top four concerns relate to water quality, with pollution of drinking water the top overall concern. The poll results are available at:http://www.gallup.com/poll/104932/Polluted-Drinking-Water-No-Concern-Before-Report.aspx

By Roger Pielke, et. al. – Nature – April 3, 2008
How big is the energy challenge of climate change? The technological advances needed to stabilize carbon-dioxide emissions may be greater than we think, argue Roger Pielke Jr, Tom Wigley and Christopher Green. - The United Nations Climate Conference in Bali in 2007 set the world on a two-year path to negotiate a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Yet not even the most rosy-eyed delegate could fail to recognize that stabilizing atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentrations is an enormous undertaking. Here we address the magnitude of the technological changes required to meet that challenge. We argue that the size of this technology challenge has been seriously underestimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), diverting attention from policies that could directly stimulate technological innovation. For full article, visit: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/452531a.html

Playa Lakes Joint Venture – April 2008 Newsletter
In an effort to conserve birds now and into the future, the PLJV is conducting an assessment of the ongoing and predicted impacts of climate change on playas and other bird habitats in the region. The JV is working with Dr. John Matthews, Climate Adaptation Specialist for the World Wildlife Fund on the assessment, and a summary of Dr. Matthew's findings is now available as a Power Point presentation. For full article with link to the findings, go to: http://www.pljv.org/cms/latest-news#Story2

By Eric Niiler – Vermont Public Radio (VPR) – April 11, 2008
Vermont's senators are pushing for a bill that they say will ensure federal protection for water quality and biodiversity around Lake Champlain. Eric Niiler has the story. (Niiler) The bill is being debated in the Senate Environment Committee. It is designed to reverse two Supreme Court rulings that define the Clean Water Act as protecting only "navigable" waterways. That covers streams that flow year-round and their nearby wetlands. A federal study shows that about 17 percent of Vermont's wetlands are now left out of federal safeguards. For full story, go to: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/80098/

The Call for Papers for Wetlands 2008 has been extended to Thursday, May 15 2008. There was a great response to the initial call for papers. However, there is still some conference space available in the concurrent sessions for additional presentations and we have received requests for some additional time both to submit papers. Thank you to everyone who has submitted an abstract for Wetlands 2008; Wetlands and Global Climate Change. ASWM remains committed to making decisions on accepting or declining abstracts as close possible to the original May 16 date. Therefore, we encourage individuals who plan to submit abstracts to do so as soon as possible so that we can work toward meeting our original commitment.  The call for papers is posted at: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008/cfp_2008.htm

On April 16 the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on the Clean Water Restoration Act.  The committee received testimony from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, representatives of State and local governments, environmental, agricultural, and industry interests, legal practitioners, and other stakeholders on the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007.  More information about the hearing including the live webcast, background paper and testimony is available at: http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=486

ASWM PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

May 31, 2007

Wetland Warrior
Windham woman wins national award for protecting wetlands

Jeanne Christie of Windham said many people don’t understand why anyone would work to protect wetlands, which can be seen as mosquito-breeding swamps, insignificant puddles or eyesores standing in the way of development. Even colleagues tried to dissuade her from entering the field. [More]