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EDITOR'S NOTE

EDITOR'S CHOICE

• 2012 Senate Farm Bill Does More Harm Than Good
• Reducing Climate Change Impacts & Promoting Fish & Wildlife
• EPA’s Draft National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change
• A Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife & Wetlands 2 Years Into the Disaster
• Prairie wetlands vulnerable to climate change

NATIONAL NEWS

• Senate Farm Bill 2012 Draft; Policy Issues
• Will House Agriculture Committee rectify Senate farm bill flaws?
• Senate Bill Pushes for Wetlands Conservation Act Reauthorization

STATE NEWS

• KS: Summit Focuses on Getting word out about Kansas nature, wetlands
• VA: Virginia's Rising Sea Levels And Sinking Ground Pose A Community Challenge (VIDEO)
• MI: After The Marshall Spill: Pipelines in The Great Lakes Region
• LA: 86% of LA Voters Support Adoption of 2012 Coastal Master Plan
• MN: Environmental groups say bill would weaken wetlands protections
• NY: DEC Proposes Tidal Wetlands Doc. for Installing Catwalks & Docks
• CA: EPA pollution reduction plan includes 600-acre ecological reserve
• WA: Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy Report
• WA: Ecology Final Compensatory Mitigation Report

RESOURCES & PUBLICATIONS

• 10 Fundamental Questions about the Mississippi River Delta
• New EPA Website on Climate Change and Water

WETLAND SCIENCE

• Troubled Waters: Farm pollution threatens drinking water

POTPOURRI

• What’s the latest with the oil spill since 200M gallons spewed into the Gulf?
• Loss of world's largest wetland could tip ocean balance
• Two Years After Spill, Disgusting BP Oil Contaminates ‘Cleaned’ Marshes

MEETINGS, WEBINARS AND TRAINING

• Webinar: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) stakeholder input
• Webinar: Using the New Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)
• Webinar: EPA Draft 2012 Strategy
• Rutgers University Wetland Courses
• Wetlands Restoration and the 2012 Farm Bill
• Freshwater Future's Spring 2012 Climate Symposia
• Wetland Delineation Regional Supplement Course
• Basic Wetland Delineation Course
• Conservation Management and Climate Change in Southern California Workshop
• Water Management and Wetland Restoration Training Course
• ACOE and Regional Supplement Wetland Delineation Training
• 14th Annual Oregon Wetlands & Aquatic Resources
• Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
• Planning Hydrology, Vegetation, and Soils for Constructed Wetlands
• NC State University Assessment & Identification of Riparian Vegetation Workshop
• Ecosystem Services Partnership 5th Annual Conference
• 7th Annual Georgia Environmental Conference
• Great Lakes Week 2012
• Natural Channel Design Review Checklist Workshop
• 3rd Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference
• Precarious Alliance Symposium-Call for Proposals
• NCSU 2012 Southeast Regional Stream Restoration Conference
• 2012 Water and Health Conference

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dear friends and colleagues,

In preparing for a conservation commission meeting, I have been learning more about the tar sands pipelines and the potential impacts they have on water resources. Previously, I had heard about the oil spill on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in 2010 but I did not know much about the other proposed projects for different parts of the country. Lately there has been some press about a New England proposal for an Enbridge pipeline project; I read a NWF blog postthis month and came across a number of useful background documents on state, regional and national issues related to tar sands pipelines on the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s website. Also this month, the NWF published a report, “After the Marshall Spill: Oil Pipelines in the Great Lakes Region,” featured in this issue of WBN. In addition, I blogged about the Gulf oil spill wetlands restoration efforts underway—two years since the B.P. spill, in last week’s Strange Wetlands.

ASWM and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies published a joint paper, Reducing Climate Change Impacts and Promoting Fish and Wildlife: Findings and Recommendations for Biological Carbons Storage and Sequestering, featured in this issue of WBN.

May is American Wetlands Month! The Association of State Wetland Managers supports wetlandkeepers in all facets of their work in the complex and rewarding field of wetlands science, management and policy. ASWM launched its Wetlandkeepers campaign to build capacity in three of its core program areas: wetlands and climate change, supporting wetland programs and protecting watersheds. To learn more about American Wetlands Month, click here. To learn more about ASWM’s Wetlandkeepers initiative, click here.

What are you doing for American Wetlands Month? Tweet your AWM news to me on Twitter @StrangeWetlands and I will be sure to keep the ASWM calendar up-to-date on wetlands events!

What are you doing for American Wetlands Month? Tweet your AWM news to me on Twitter @StrangeWetlands and I will be sure to keep the ASWM calendar up-to-date on wetlands events!

Thank you for sending us news and announcements.

Leah Stetson

Editor, Wetland Breaking News

EDITOR'S CHOICE

2012 Senate Farm Bill Does More Harm Than Good

Contact: Don Carr – Environmental Working Group – April 20, 2012
Statement of Craig Cox, Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Environmental Working Group, on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2012 farm bill. “The 2012 farm bill should do more to support family farmers, protect the environment, promote healthy diets and support working families. Unfortunately, the bill produced today by the Senate Agriculture Committee will do more harm than good. It needlessly sacrifices conservation and feeding assistance programs to finance unlimited insurance subsidies and a new entitlement program for highly profitable farm businesses. Rather than simply ending the widely discredited direct payment program, the Senate Agriculture Committee has created an expensive new entitlement program that guarantees most of the income of farm businesses already enjoying record profits. Replacing direct payments with a revenue guarantee program is a cynical game of bait-and-switch that should be rejected by Congress. For full press release, click here. For the Chairwoman's Summary of the 2012 Farm Bill Committee Print, click here. For the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry’s Farm Bill Issue page, click here. For ASWM’s Compleat Wetlander blog post, The Compleat Wetlander: Will the Next Farm Bill Encourage Wetland Loss? Click here.

Reducing Climate Change Impacts & Promoting Fish & Wildlife

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and ASWM – March 2011
This white paper, Reducing Climate Change Impacts and Promoting Fish and Wildlife: Findings and Recommendations for Biological Carbons Storage and Sequestering is intended to reflect the current thinking of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) and the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) membership in regard to how carbon sequestration can proceed in ways that are most compatible with the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats.  The paper will provide an overview of how biological carbon storage and sequestration can proceed in concert with fish and wildlife sustainability in forests, wetlands, and grasslands. It is a product of the AFWA Forestry Working Group, the AFWA Biofuels Working Group, the AFWA Climate Change Committee, and the ASWM, and is meant to provide a concise, easy to read briefing for AFWA members, ASWM members, legislators, and policy makers. It will describe the storage and sequestration ability of these habitats and how current practices such as wetland draining, afforestation of grasslands, and development of natural areas not only threaten existing carbon stores but also put pressure on the stability of fish and wildlife populations that are native to these habitats. For full white paper, click here.

EPA’s Draft National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

The draft 2012 Strategy describes how EPA’s water-related programs plan to address the impacts of climate change and provides long-term visions, goals and strategic actions for the management of sustainable water resources for future generations. The 2012 Strategy, which builds upon EPA's first climate change and water strategy released in 2008, focuses on five key areas: infrastructure, watersheds and wetlands, coastal and ocean waters, water quality, and working with Tribes. It also describes geographically-based strategic issues and actions. To read or submit a comment on the draft “National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change,” please visit: http://epa.gov/water/climatechange.

A Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife & Wetlands 2 Years Into the Disaster

By National Wildlife Federation – April 2012
This report gives a snapshot view of the current status of coastal wetlands and six wildlife species (or groups of species) that depend on a healthy Gulf. Some 1,050 miles of beaches and wetlands were reported to be contaminated by oil. The extent of damage is highly variable depending upon severity of contamination. Oil contamination or efforts to clean it up can damage wetlands, killing vegetation and thereby causing accelerated erosion and conversion of land to open water. Future Trends: Despite restoration efforts that have slowed the rate of loss, without large-scale restoration Louisiana is projected to lose another 1,750 square miles of coastal wetlands by 2060. If that happens, in total, Louisiana will have lost an area of coastal wetlands larger than the state of Rhode Island. For full report, click here.

Prairie wetlands vulnerable to climate change

By the Canadian Press – CTV (CAN) – April 2012
Two studies suggest thousands of wetlands and shallow lakes on the Prairies (aka Prairie Potholes) could dry up more frequently because of climate change. The studies by the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and NASA say the Prairies would be quite vulnerable to a warmer climate. Research council principal scientist Jeff Thorpe says the change would have a major impact on waterfowl populations. He says different crops may thrive because of drier conditions, but so, too, would invasive weeds that are already a big problem on the grasslands. For this newscast, click here. To jump to the Saskatchewan Research Council and to learn more about this and other research, click here. For the recently published SRC study, "Vulnerability of Prairie Grasslands to Climate Change," click here. To read the NASA-funded study, "Ecological Sensitivity: a biospheric view of climate change," click here.

NATIONAL NEWS

Senate Farm Bill 2012 Draft; Policy Issues

By Keith Good – Farm Policy – April 23, 2012
Farm Bill: Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Draft. Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton reported on Friday that, “Farmers will have to choose between a commodity program based on their individual farm or one that factors in countywide yield and income. “Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on Friday released a 900-page ‘chairman’s mark’ of the farm bill for the full committee to debate or amend. The committee is set to meet on Wednesday to consider the legislation. “The Senate bill is expected to save $23 billion over 10 years compared to the baseline spending on the current farm and food programs. Stabenow’s bill would eliminate direct and counter-cyclical payments, as well as the Average Crop Revenue Election program, or ACRE. Lawmakers were pushing for farm-program changes that would score at least $15 billion in budget savings over 10 years.” For full article with links to the Chairwoman’s Mark and the Senate Committee Farm Bill Issues page, go to: http://aswm.org/news/ag-news/2263-senate-farm-bill-2012-draft-policy-issues To jump directly to the Senate Committee’s Farm Bill issue page, click here. 

Will House Agriculture Committee rectify Senate farm bill flaws?

By David Bennett – Delta Farm Press – April 30, 2012
After a farm bill passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26, focus has shifted to the House version. That’s especially true in the South, where agriculture leaders expect the House bill to be friendlier to the region than what will soon hit the Senate floor. “I think it’s pretty telling that four of the five ‘no’ votes on the (Senate Agriculture) Committee were from southern senators,” said Randy Veach, Arkansas Farm Bureau President, the day after the bill’s passage. “That sends a message that this bill does not contain an adequate safety net for southern agriculture.” For full article, click here. For a related Farm Bill article, click here.  

Senate Bill Pushes for Wetlands Conservation Act Reauthorization

Florida Sportsman Newswire – April 2, 2012
Ducks Unlimited is applauding the efforts of a bipartisan group of senators who this week released S. 2282, legislation that would reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) through 2017. Sen. Jim Inhofe (OK) introduced the bill last night along with Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA), and five other co-sponsors signed on: Sens. Thad Cochran (MS), Tim Johnson (SD), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Mary Landrieu (LA) and David Vitter (LA). For full story, click here.

STATE NEWS

KS: Summit Focuses on Getting word out about Kansas nature, wetlands

By Michael Pearce – Kansas City Star – April 29, 2012
Gov. Sam Brownback thinks it’s time for Kansas to better share its wetlands wealth with the rest of the world. “I hear people say (Cheyenne Bottoms and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge) are some of the best-kept secrets in the world. That’s not an accolade to me,” Brownback said Saturday at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. Ted Eubanks, a nationally recognized expert in nature-based tourism, agrees and told Brownback and others at the first Governor’s Ecotourism Summit the state can improve how it markets a variety of attractions. For full article, click here.

VA: Norfolk, Virginia's Rising Sea Levels And Sinking Ground Pose A Community Challenge (VIDEO)

By James Gerken – The Huffington Post – April 28, 2012
Experts predict that the effects of climate change may have the greatest impact on low-lying, and often developing nations, but countries like the United States are not immune. The low-lying city of Norfolk, Virginia, located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, is not only susceptible to sea level rise, but is already experiencing it. Norfolk's longtime mayor, Paul Fraim, told PBS' Climate Desk that "There's no question that the problem's getting worse." For full story and video, click here.

MI: After The Marshall Spill: Pipelines in The Great Lakes Region

By Sara Gosman – National Wildlife Federation – April 27, 2012
Approximately one million gallons of diluted bitumen, a heavy crude oil, spilled into a wetland that feeds Talmadge Creek, and from there into the Kalamazoo River. The spill affected wetlands, farmlands, residential areas, and businesses, raising health concerns and leading to evacuations and warnings about swimming, fishing, and drinking water. By August 5th, the spill had contaminated 30 miles of the Kalamazoo River but had stopped well short of Lake Michigan. The cause of the rupture is not yet known. In 2011, Enbridge estimated that the cleanup costs would be at least $725 million. For full story, click here. For full report, click here. 

LA: 86% of LA Voters Support Adoption of 2012 Coastal Master Plan

MarketWatch – April 3, 2012
Overwhelming Majorities Agree Coast Vital to Future and Can Be Saved. Eighty-six percent of Louisiana voters say they want their legislators to approve the state's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, according to a new poll released today. The plan lays out a 50-year vision for protecting and restoring the coast, including increased hurricane risk reduction for coastal communities and reconnecting the Mississippi River with disappearing coastal wetlands. Overwhelming majorities of the voters surveyed in the poll believe the state's coastal areas and wetlands are important to the state's future and express optimism that the coast can be restored, despite decades of decline. For full press release, click here.

MN: Environmental groups say bill would weaken wetlands protections

By Dennis Lien – TwinCities – April 3, 2012
Minnesota's wetland protections would be weakened appreciably if environmental and natural resources bills moving through the Legislature become law, according to the heads of several environmental groups and state agencies. The purported rollbacks are part of bills facing imminent Senate and House floor votes, with Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, and Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, the chief bill sponsors. For full story, click here.

NY: DEC Proposes Tidal Wetlands Doc. for Installing Catwalks & Docks

By New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – ReadMedia – April 12, 2012
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today released a guidance document to aid in the interpretation of terms contained within the Tidal Wetland Land Use Regulations for installing catwalks and docks. A public comment period on the document will run through May 9. Citizens and officials interested and affected by the Tidal Wetland Land Use Regulations may provide comments on this guidance document. All comments and concerns on the Part 661 guidance documents proposed revisions should be forwarded to: Dawn McReynolds, Bureau of Marine Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 205 N. Belle Meade Road, E. Setauket, NY 11733 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by May 9, 2012. For full story, click  here.

CA: EPA pollution reduction plan includes 600-acre ecological reserve

By Gary Walker – The Argonaut
A joint initiative between the federal government and a local water quality agency has the potential to usher along the restoration of the Ballona Wetlands as well as improve water quality in the Santa Monica Bay, say local environmental experts. For full story, click here.

WA: Washington State Integrated Climate Change Response Strategy

News Release – Washington Department of Ecology – April 3, 2012
Washington is experiencing changing climate conditions that bring significant risks to human health, our forests, agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines and other resources that are vital to our economy, environment and quality of life. Recognizing Washington’s vulnerability to climate impacts, the Legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire directed state agencies to develop an integrated climate change response strategy to help state, tribal and local governments, public and private organizations, businesses and individuals prepare. To read more and view the report, click here.

WA: Ecology Final Compensatory Mitigation Report

By Tom Hruby – WA Department of Ecology – March 2012
Ecology has just released the final report on “Calculating Credits and Debits for Compensatory Mitigation in Wetlands of Western Washington;” a new tool to improve the success of wetland mitigation. Ecology has developed a new tool for calculating when a proposed wetland mitigation project adequately replaces the functions and values lost when wetlands are impacted. The title of the document is “Calculating Credits and Debits for Compensatory Mitigation in Wetlands of Western Washington” (the Credit/Debit Method for short).  It was originally developed for use by King County in their in-lieu-fee program, but it has potential applications in other forms of compensatory mitigation. The new tool is now available here.

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

10 Fundamental Questions about the Mississippi River Delta

By the Mississippi River Delta Science & Engineering Special Team – National Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund & National Wildlife Federation – April 2012
This document presents that evidence, based on a thorough examination of the primary questions people have raised about the future of the Mississippi River Delta: What are the economic impacts of maintaining the status quo? How will restoration affect communities, fisheries, and navigation? Will sea level rise and subsidence negate our efforts? This paper systematically answers these and other questions. To view report, click here.

New EPA Website on Climate Change and Water

Climate change is changing our assumptions about water resources. As climate change warms the atmosphere and alters the hydrological cycle, we will continue to witness changes to the amount, timing, form, and intensity of precipitation and the flow of water in watersheds, as well as the quality of aquatic and marine environments. These changes are also likely to affect the programs designed to protect the quality of water resources and public health and safety. To view webpage, click here.

WETLAND SCIENCE

Troubled Waters: Farm pollution threatens drinking water

By Environmental Working Group – April 12, 2012
Water that runs off fields treated with chemical fertilizers and manure is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorus, two potent pollutants that inevitably end up in rivers and lakes and set off a cascade of harmful consequences, contaminating the drinking water used by millions of Americans. Treating this water after the fact to clean up the contamination is increasingly expensive, difficult and, if current trends continue, ultimately unsustainable. The only solution that will preserve the clean, healthy and tasty drinking water that people expect is to tackle the problem at the source. This paper explains why. For full report, click here.

POTPOURRI

What's the latest with the oil spill since 200M gallons spewed into the Gulf?

By Associated Press – The Washington Post – April 19, 2012
Two years have passed since the April 20, 2010, blowout of BP’s Macondo well triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and spawning the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. After several attempts to cap the well failed, engineers finally halted the flow of oil after more than 85 days, but not before an estimated 206 million gallons of crude spilled. The oil soiled fragile wetlands, stained beaches, killed wildlife and closed vast areas of the Gulf to commercial fishing for time. For full story, click here.

Loss of world's largest wetland could tip ocean balance

By Cheryl Katz – The Daily Climate – April 17, 2102
In addition to being a sanctuary for somnolent microbes from the past, the polar glaciers are an important habitat for a large array of active bacterial communities making their homes in and under the ice. Some are psychrophiles, or cold-lovers, that flourish at near-freezing temperatures and die back as they heat up. Others tolerate the cold, but do best in a balmier climate. John Priscu, a microbial ecologist at Montana State University, describes the vast watery areas beneath Antarctica as "the world's largest wetland." There are no red-winged blackbirds or cattails, he said, "but there's microbes that do biochemistry… And since it's dark biochemistry, they get their energy from minerals. So they eat rocks." For full article, click here.

Two Years After Spill, Disgusting BP Oil Contaminates 'Cleaned' Marshes

By Brad Johnson – Think Progress Green – March 30, 2012
As BP reaps billions in profits from rising gasoline prices, the Gulf of Mexico is dying from its uncleaned pollution. “After months of laboratory work, scientists say they can definitively finger oil from BP’s blown-out well as the culprit for the slow death of a once brightly colored deep-sea coral community in the Gulf of Mexico that is now brown and dull,” the AP reports.Tarballs that washed up on the beaches were “teeming with bacteria.” Oil from the killer Deepwater Horizon blowout “has contaminated zooplankton, one of the first links in the oceanic food chain,” scientists found. For full story, click here.

MEETINGS AND TRAINING

Webinar: Using the New Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)

Webinar to be held on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Presenter(s): Mark Finkbeiner, NOAA Coastal Services Center
To manage resources on a regional basis, coastal professionals must integrate data from various sources collected with different methods. The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) provides a new national framework for incorporating data on all the major components of the landscape and seascape, collected by methods ranging from satellite imagery to grab samples. This webinar will introduce the structure of the CMECS system, describe how it can be used in the environment, and present examples of CMECS spatial data products. The webinar will also address ways that this national standard can be applied to coastal issues. For more information and to register for the webinar, click here.

Webinar: EPA Draft 2012 Strategy

EPA released the Draft "National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change" on April 2, 2012 for a 45-day public comment period. As part of ongoing efforts to continue the public outreach process, EPA is hosting a web-based conference on May 3, 2012 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT. This web conference will provide an opportunity to pose clarifying questions to EPA on aspects of the Draft 2012 Strategy document prior to the end of the public comment period on May 17, 2012. For more information and how to register, click here.

Rutgers University Wetland Courses

Rutgers University is offering a number of wetland training courses where you will develop new skills through classroom lessons and hands-on field exercises taught by wetland experts. Courses include Hydrology of Wetlands, May 4, 2012; Freshwater Wetlands, May 23, 2012; Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation – North, May 31-June 1, 2012; Methodology for Delineating Wetlands, June 13-16 or October 24-27, 2012; Introduction to Wetland Identification, June 14 or October 25, 2012; Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation – South, September 20-21, 2012. For more information, click here.

Wetlands Restoration and the 2012 Farm Bill

May 10, 2012. The Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (ASLO, CERF, SFS, SWS) and the Environmental Law Institute is sponsoring this seminar on Wetlands Restoration and the 2012 Farm Bill which will be held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building 430, HELP Committee Hearing Room in Washington, D.C. from 3:00-4:30 p.m. This seminar will start with a crash course on wetland science, and then turn to a discussion about wetlands restoration in agricultural areas and how the 2012 Farm Bill could impact that restoration. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information, click here.

Freshwater Future's Spring 2012 Climate Symposia

May 10-11, 2012. Freshwater Future's will hold their Spring 2012 Climate Symposium at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Buffalo, New York. Topics being discussed are what is climate adaptation and why should we care; how climate change impacts your environmental work; what other groups around the Great Lakes and the country are doing to adapt to climate change; and how Freshwater Future's Climate Grants program can help your community. For more information, click here.  Registration deadline is April 20, 2012.

Wetland Delineation Regional Supplement Course

May 14-15, 2012. Duncan & Duncan will hold the Wetland Delineation Regional Supplement-Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Plain course in Charleston, South Carolina. The course is designed for delineators with experience in the 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual and will concentrate on the two Regional Supplements that cover the Southeast: the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, and the Eastern Mountains / Piedmont. The course will familiarize participants with the material contained in one of the two new Regional Supplements for the Southeast and will point out the changes to identifying and documenting wetland vegetation, hydric soils, wetland hydrology, and the newly approved wetland data forms. For more information, click here. For a complete list of their upcoming courses, click here.

Basic Wetland Delineation Course

May 14-18 and September 10-14, 2012. Environmental Concern is offering this course on Basic Wetland Delineation to be held in St. Michaels, Maryland. Students and professionals just entering the field of wetland science, as well as those needing a review, should attend this 4.5 day (36-hour) course on the 1987 Corps of Engineers wetland delineation method. The course covers the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulations, updated regulation changes, and individual wetland parameters of vegetation, soils, and hydrology. Space is limited. For more information and to register, click here.

Conservation Management and Climate Change in Southern California Workshop

May 22, 2012. This Habitat Conservation Plan workshop will be held at the UCR Palm Desert Center in Palm Desert, California and co-sponsored by UCR Center for Conservation Biology and UC Cooperative Extension, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The objectives of this workshop will be to extend scientific information on climate change implications for local conservation to managers and regulators; to learn from regional land managers what their climate change management plans are; to discuss ways that recent scientific findings can be incorporated into monitoring, data management, and land management plans, and to keep current and future managers abreast of recent findings through outreach programs.For more information, click here.

Water Management and Wetland Restoration Training Course

The 2012 Water Management and Wetland Restoration Training Course will be held on June 5-7, 2012 and hosted at the University of Guelph, Kemptville Campus, in Kemptville, Ontario. This three-day course has both classroom and field components. Mornings are spent in the classroom learning concepts & principles of wetland restoration. Afternoons are spent in the field travelling by coach using it as a moveable classroom. Participants will learn to recognize potential wetland and riparian restoration sites and to identify opportunities to enhance water conservation and treatment using natural heritage features. Successes and failures in water resource management and wetland restoration are presented and discussed. Participants engage in group learning, carrying out field exercises, making presentations and participating in discussions. Cost of course including materials, accommodations, meals and travel is $1200 plus taxes before May 4, 2012 or $1500 plus taxes after May 4, 2012. For more information, click here.

ACOE and Regional Supplement Wetland Delineation Training

June 11-14, 2012. Richard Chinn Environmental Training, Inc. is offering this Wetland Delineation Training course to be held at the Comfort Suites in Boise, Idaho. This training has been based in part on the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual Technical Report Y-87-1 (1987 manual), as provided for in the training materials developed in conjunction with Section 307(e) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 for the Wetland Delineator Certification Program. For more information, click here. For other dates, click here.

14th Annual Oregon Wetlands & Aquatic Resources

June 14-15, 2012. The Seminar Group will hold the 14th Annual Oregon Wetlands & Aquatic Resources seminar to be held at the World Trade Center in Portland, Oregon. This seminar will inform attorneys, developers, regulatory staff and project managers in the public and private sectors of new directions in key regulatory programs in Oregon administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, DSL, DEQ and other regulatory agencies and provide the practitioner with the tools essential to a successful permit review. For more information, click here.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

June 19-21, 2012. This course on Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment is offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is based on the January 2011 publication Scanning the Conservation Horizon - A Guide to Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. The course is designed to guide conservation and resource management practitioners in two essential elements in the design of climate adaptation plans. Specifically, it will provide guidance in identifying which species or habitats are likely to be most strongly affected by projected changes; and understanding why these resources are likely to be vulnerable. Vulnerability Assessments are a critical tool in undertaking any climate change planning or implementation. Registration is open to all applicants through the FWS’s National Conservation Training Center, click here.

Planning Hydrology, Vegetation, and Soils for Constructed Wetlands

June 25-28, 2012. The Wetland Training Institute, Inc. is offering the Planning Hydrology, Vegetation, and Soils for Constructed Wetlands course in Ashtabula, Ohio. This course covers critical elements for construction and restoration of wetlands. Also offered on July 9-12, 2012 in State College, Pennsylvania and on July 23-26, 2012 in Gainesville, Virginia. For more information, click here. For a list of other course, click here.

NC State University Assessment & Identification of Riparian Vegetation Workshop

The North Carolina State University (NCSU) will hold River Course 131: Assessment and Identification of Riparian Vegetation workshop on July 26-27, 2012 at the NCSU Centennial Campus, Research Building IV in Raleigh, North Carolina. This two-day course will introduce students to vegetation assessment of riparian areas along streams that will potentially be restored. Existing riparian condition will be examined and discussed in both classroom and field settings. Topics will include stream bank stability from a vegetative perspective, evaluation of current plant inventory, invasive vegetation issues, and potential planting constraints. Identification of common riparian plants of North Carolina will also be discussed during field sessions. Students will be given handouts with information on how to identify individual riparian plants. For more information, click here.

Ecosystem Services Partnership 5th Annual Conference

July 31, 2012-August 4, 2012. The theme for the 5th Annual Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference is Linking Science, Policy, and Participation for Sustainable Human Well-Being which will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Portland, Oregon.  It will be divided into three sections: science: quantifying, mapping, modeling and valuing ES; policy: institutions, governance & management of ES; and participation: communicating, coordinating, and implementing ES. Abstract deadline is April 15, 2012. For more information, click here.

7th Annual Georgia Environmental Conference

August 22-24, 2012. The 7th Annual Georgia Environmental Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah, Georgia. Over the three-day period, this Conference will host an elite group of environmental professionals seeking to exchange knowledge and share ideas around environmental concerns in Georgia. For more information, click here.

Great Lakes Week 2012

September 10-14, 2012. Great Lakes Week will take place at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. The Great Lakes provide jobs, recreation and drinking water to more than 30 million people. Great Lakes Week represents a partnership to improve the places around the region where people live, work, learn and play. It is the most wide-ranging summit on Great Lakes restoration issues, featuring the annual meetings and conferences of organizations across the region in one place.

• Joint Session featuring Great Lakes Week Groups and Federal Agencies: September 12
• International Joint Commission Meeting: September 10
• Great Lakes Commission Annual Meeting: September 10-11
  
• Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s 8th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference: September 11-13. Call for abstracts deadline is May 1, 2012. Each year the Coalition’s Great Lakes Restoration Conference brings together a diverse group of more than 350 people from throughout the Great Lakes region. The conference provides a 3-day forum for participants to learn about important Great Lakes restoration issues. For information, click here.
• Areas of Concern Annual Conference: September 13-14

For more information, click here.

Natural Channel Design Review Checklist Workshop

September 17-21, 2012. Stream Mechanics will hold the Natural Channel Design Review Checklist Workshop at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center in Houston, Texas. This course provides participants with training on how to use the Natural Channel Design Review Checklist. The course starts with an overview of stream processes, channel stability and function, restoration potential, and natural channel design techniques. Exercises are used to reinforce the concepts. From there, the participants are introduced to the Checklist and use it to review two case studies. A field trip is taken to demonstrate measurement techniques and to critique a local restoration project. Participants will leave the workshop prepared to apply the Checklist to future designs submitted for their review, or as an aid to help determine the tasks required to complete a natural channel design. For more information, click here.

3rd Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference

October 1-2, 2012. The Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference will be held at the Boise Centre in Boise, Idaho on October 1-2, 2012. This conference will provide an annual forum to exchange scientific results and policy and management options related to climate change and climate impacts research focused on the Pacific Northwest. Call for special session proposals due by May 15, 2012. For more information, click here.

Precarious Alliance Symposium-Call for Proposals

October 11-12, 2012. The Delaware Valley College will host their second Precarious Alliance Symposium: The Ethics of Water—everything flows from here, October 11-12, 2012 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Call for Proposal deadline is June 15, 2012. This interdisciplinary symposium aims to bring together academics, educators, business leaders, environmental designers, policy makers, environmental advocates, planners, engineers, attorneys and farmers to discuss issues of sustainability and regeneration. The 2012 event explores the ethics of water, looking at the uses and abuses of water systems, technology to improve our stewardship of those water supplies, as well as our relationship to this life sustaining resource. How can we meet our needs today without compromising the ability of future generations and other non-human communities to meet their own needs? For more information, click here.

NCSU 2012 Southeast Regional Stram Restoratin Confernce

October 15-18, 2012. The North Carolina State University will hold Stream Restoration the Southeast: Innovations for Ecology to be held at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in Wilmington, North Carolina. Call for abstract deadline is June 30, 2012. This biennial conference provides an opportunity for natural resource professionals to share ideas and lessons learned in stream restoration planning, design, construction, and evaluation. The conference will include presentations, discussions, exhibits, networking opportunities and tours of local ecosystem restoration projects. Scientists and practitioners are encouraged to share experiences, network with colleagues, and become involved in shaping the future of stream restoration in the Southeast. For more information, click here.

2012 Water and Health Conference

October 29-November 2, 2012. The 2012 Water and Health Conference: Science, Policy and Innovation will be held at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Jointly organized by the Institute for the Environment and the Water Institute at UNC, will consider drinking water supply, sanitation, hygiene and water resources in both the developing and developed worlds with a strong public health emphasis. Call for abstracts and side event proposals deadline is April 30, 2012. For more information, click here.

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There are new jobs posted on the Wetlands Job board. For the latest wetland jobs, click here.

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The Association of State Wetland Managers' Wetland Breaking News is a monthly e-newsletter. Wetland Breaking News is an edited compilation of wetland-related stories and announcements submitted by readers and gleaned from listservs, press releases and news sources from throughout the United States. The e-newsletter features legislative, national and state news relevant to wetland science and policy, wetland regulations and legal analysis of Supreme court cases; it also links to new publications and resources available to wetland professionals as well as events and training opportunities for those working in water resources and related fields. Wetland Breaking News has been published for over ten years and ASWM has been a think-tank and source for wetland science and policy news and discussion for over 25 years.

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"WETLAND BREAKING NEWS" Compiled and Edited by: Leah Stetson, ASWM; Executive Director: Jeanne Christie, ASWM

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