Save The River® Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper®

Save The River is a non-profit, member-based environmental organization whose mission is to preserve and protect the ecological integrity of the Upper St. Lawrence River through advocacy, education and research.

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Save The River® Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper® is hosting its 35th Annual Winter Environmental Conference on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Clayton’s 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel. This year’s conference will feature presentations on American Eels, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), aquatic invasive species, and more. Winter Environmental Conference is made possible by many generous sponsors who support Save The River’s mission to restore, preserve and protect the Upper St. Lawrence River now and for generations to come through advocacy, education, research and stewardship. 

The conference will award the winner of the Annual Dan Tack Muskie Catch and Release Tournament for the largest muskellunge successfully caught and released in the River. Save The River’s Friend of the River award will also be announced at the conference. 

Pre-registration and tickets are currently available online at savetheriver.org. The conference will begin with registration at 9:30am and opening remarks at 10am. 

9:30 AM Registration, Coffee & Pastries
10:00 AM Welcome & Opening Remarks
10:05 AM John Peach: State of the River
10:20 AM Scott Schlueter: American Eel and Downstream Passage – Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River
10:55 AM Sally Abskhroun, PhD student: A Comprehensive Look at the Anthropogenic Contaminants Impacting the Great Lakes Ecosystem
11:20 AM Kelly Foster: AFOs and CAFOs: An Overview of the Industry Structure, Environmental Impacts, and the Need State/Federal Legal Reforms
11:55 – 12:55 LUNCH
1:00 PM Friend of the River™ Award Ceremony
1:15 PM Rachel Schultz, PhD: Ecosystem Performance Indicators for the St. Lawrence River and Wetland Vegetation Change in Eel Bay since 2003
2:05 PM Jeff Garnsey: Annual Dan Tack Muskie Catch & Release Tournament Award
2:15 PM BREAK
2:45 PM Brittney Rogers: An Update on SLELO PRISMs Aquatic Focused Initiatives
3:20 PM Sivachandiran Loganathan, PhD: Exploration of Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Great Lake Fish: Unveiling Aquatic Mysteries
3:45 PM John Peach & Jake Tibbles: Update on Blind Bay