Agenda Set for Save The River’s 29th Winter Environmental Conference
January 30th, 2018 | Posted by Margaret Hummel
Saturday, February 3rd, attendees of this annual conference focused on the health of the St. Lawrence River will hear from a diverse group of speakers about a wide range of topics. Ann Ward, Save The River Board Member Emerita, will provide a welcome address reflecting on Save The River’s 40th anniversary.
Click here for the conference agenda.
Commissioner Lana Pollack, U.S. Section Chair for the International Joint Commission (IJC), will speak about Plan 2014 after one year of extreme climate conditions.
Bill Werick, retired water resources planner and technical adviser to the IJC, will speak about the adaptive management component of Plan 2014.
David Bolduc, executive director of Green Marine, will speak about Green Marine’s environmental certification program for the maritime transportation industry.
Henry Lickers, Ph.D., Environmental Science Officer for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Environment Program, and Michael Twiss, Clarkson University professor and member of the IJC Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, will provide a unique dialogue about the St. Lawrence River as habitat from native and non-native perspectives.
Lee Harper, Ph.D., president of Riveredge Environmental, Inc., and Michael Morgan, NYS DEC Project Manager, will explore the opportunities and challenges restoring and maintaining habitats for bird populations along the St. Lawrence River.
John Farrell, Ph.D., SUNY ESF professor and director of the Thousand Islands Biological Station, and Scott Schlueter, fish biologist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Program Manager for the Fish Enhancement, Mitigation, and Research Fund, will discuss their respective work studying fish of the St. Lawrence River along with restoration and conservation efforts being made to enhance populations.
Eric Sunday, Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program, will close the conference with a presentation about the efforts to improve awareness and education of the community about the Sturgeon population and its cultural ties with the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
Registration for this year’s Conference closes Friday, February 2nd. To secure a place, it is best to call the Save The River office at (315) 686-2010.
Trends in St. Lawrence Fish Populations and Efforts to Enhance the Fishery
January 29th, 2018 | Posted by Margaret Hummel
John Farrell, Ph.D., SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Director of the Thousand Islands Biological Station, and Scott Schlueter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Program Manager for the Fish Enhancement, Mitigation, and Research Fund (FEMRF) will speak about trends in St. Lawrence River fish populations and efforts to enhance the fishery, focusing on the conservation efforts for focal species.
Long- term environmental monitoring of fish populations reveal the effects of aquatic invasive species and environmental variation. Apex predators in the St. Lawrence River, including muskellunge, have declined substantially following outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic septicemia. Restoration work (both species and habitat levels) holds promise to enhance populations within environmental constraints. The FEMRF is a settlement fund resulting from the St. Lawrence Power Project relicensing with a goal to benefit the fishery resources in the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River Basin and continue research on the American Eel and other species that may be affected by the Project.
John Farrell is a Professor of Aquatic and Fisheries Science and Director of the Thousand Islands Biological Station on Governors Island in Clayton, New York. He has been engaged in aquatic research and management on the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes for nearly 30 years and has mentored numerous graduate and undergraduate students and has published and lectured extensively on fisheries, wetlands, and aquatic ecology.
Scott Schlueter is a Fish Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from SUNY-ESF. Scott has spent more than 20 years working on St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes fisheries issues, with a special interest in the conservation of Lake Sturgeon and American Eel.
Other speakers at the Conference will include:
- Lana Pollack will speak about Plan 2014 after one year of extreme climate conditions.
- Ann Ward will provide the welcome address marking Save The River’s 40th anniversary.
- Bill Werick will speak about the adaptive management of Plan 2014.
- David Bolduc will speak about Green Marine’s environmental certification for the maritime transportation industry.
- Lee Harper and Michael Morgan will speak about St. Lawrence River Fowl including Common and Black Terns, grassland birds, waterfowl, and raptors.
- Henry Lickers and Michael Twiss will speak about the St. Lawrence River as habitat from a native and non-native perspective.
- Eric Sunday will speak about efforts to improve awareness and education of the community about the Sturgeon population and its cultural ties with the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
Call 315-686-2010 to register. $50 registration fee includes morning coffee, lunch, and light hors d’oeuvres at the cocktail reception (cash bar).
The St. Lawrence River as Habitat from Divergent Viewpoints
January 25th, 2018 | Posted by Margaret Hummel
Henry Lickers, Environmental Science Officer for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Environment Program, and Michael Twiss, Clarkson University and member of the International Joint Commission (IJC) Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, will present on the St. Lawrence River as habitat from divergent viewpoints.
Lickers will discuss the Mohawk’s worldview of integration, not domination, with the environment concentrating on different points of view between native and non-native societies. Twiss will discuss the current status and assessment of Great Lakes connecting channels.
Lickers, member of Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, works to incorporate First Nation’s people and knowledge into environmental planning and decision making. He has worked to address local, national, and international environmental issues with organizations including the International Joint Commission, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, and the Science and Technology Advisory Council to Environment Canada. Lickers is the author of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Action Plan and several influential writings on indigenous perspectives on resource management and environmental protection.
Twiss grew up in northern Ontario, became a dual citizen, and joined the faculty at Clarkson University in 2002, following a brief tenure at Ryerson University and a post-doctoral fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He became engaged with limnology (the science of lakes) during his baccalaureate at Trent University when he found there was such a thing. Twiss has focused his career on the Great Lakes with the goal to produce and convey the best scientific information that can be used to protect this remarkable and globally significant environment.
Other speakers at the Conference will include:
- Lana Pollack will speak about Plan 2014 after one year of extreme climate conditions.
- Ann Ward will provide the welcome address marking Save The River’s 40th anniversary.
- Bill Werick will speak about the adaptive management of Plan 2014.
- David Bolduc will speak about Green Marine’s environmental certification for the maritime transportation industry.
- Lee Harper and Michael Morgan will speak about St. Lawrence River Fowl including Common and Black Terns, grassland birds, waterfowl, and raptors.
- Eric Sunday will speak about efforts to improve awareness and education of the community about the Sturgeon population and its cultural ties with the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
- John Farrell and Scott Schlueter will speak about trends in upper St. Lawrence River fish populations (complete announcement coming soon).
Call 315-686-2010 to register. $50 registration fee includes morning coffee, lunch, and light hors d’oeuvres at the cocktail reception (cash bar).
Community Awareness and Education About Sturgeon
January 24th, 2018 | Posted by Margaret Hummel
Eric Sunday of the Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program (ACRP) will present on efforts to improve awareness and education of the community about the Sturgeon population and its cultural ties with the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
Sunday is of the Wolf Clan of the Akwesasne Mohawks. For the past four years he has studied under the Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program as an apprentice of Fishing and River Use. The ACRP emphasizes the reconnection of youth with the land and river through hands-on workshops and educational presentations, nurturing the future with knowledge from our elders.
Sunday was one of the primary educators during the 2016 and 2017 Lake Sturgeon fingerling release for the Salmon River outreach event from the ACRP. He was also one of the 2017 interns who assisted with interviews of Mohawk elders and creating signage for Akwesasne specific to Lake Sturgeon.
Other speakers at the Conference will include:
- Lana Pollack will speak about Plan 2014 after one year of extreme climate conditions.
- Ann Ward will provide the welcome address marking Save The River’s 40th anniversary.
- Bill Werick will speak about the adaptive management of Plan 2014.
- David Bolduc will speak about Green Marine’s environmental certification for the maritime transportation industry.
- Lee Harper and Michael Morgan will speak about St. Lawrence River Fowl including Common and Black Terns, grassland birds, waterfowl, and raptors.
- Henry Lickers and Michael Twiss will speak about the current status and assessment of Great Lakes connecting channels from divergent view points (complete announcement coming soon).
- John Farrell and Scott Schlueter will speak about trends in upper St. Lawrence River fish populations (complete announcement coming soon).
Call 315-686-2010 to register. $50 registration fee includes morning coffee, lunch, and light hors d’oeuvres at the cocktail reception (cash bar).