The Ninth Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference will be held from 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.on Tuesday, March 14 at Lehigh University’s STEPS Building, 1 West Packer Avenue, Bethlehem.

The conference serves as a forum that brings together community watershed organizations, municipal officials, educators, students, scientists, technical experts, natural resource agency staff, industry representatives, and the public to discuss effective ways to improve and protect land and water resources throughout the greater Lehigh Valley.

This year’s conference theme is Endemic Watershed Connections: Place, Preservation & Restoration.

The conference will feature four tracks, with four sessions each, for 16 sessions to choose from.

Unique to this year’s conference is a track titled Indigenous Perspectives, which includes sessions on issues Indian peoples and their communities face today, Indigenous ceremonial landscapes, a Native American art presentation, and a roundtable conversation with Delaware Nation citizens from Oklahoma and the Choctaw filmmaker who documented their experiences in the Delaware River watershed in 2016.

There will also be a full day MS-4 track for municipal staff and consultants charged with implementing stormwater regulations. Continuing education credits will be available for engineers and landscaping professionals.

Other conference sessions will focus on a do-it-yourself real-time stream monitoring program, volunteer resources for community watershed organizations, the Clean Water Act and state water quality regulations, historic and current relationships between precipitation and flooding in the Lehigh Valley, opportunities and challenges of managed retreat and community based relocation in response to climate change, and more.

In keeping with this year’s conference theme and Indigenous perspectives, the keynote speaker will be Dr. Julia King, Professor of Anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Dr. King will address St. Mary’s partnership initiative with the Rappahannock Tribe to identify and prioritize lands for conservation, preservation and acquisition in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Cost for the full day conference is $65, which includes conference sessions, sponsorship exhibits, breakfast, lunch and snack breaks.

Lehigh University students with college ID may attend free of charge; other college students with ID will be charged $30. All students must register before the conference and include their college affiliation in their registration.

The Ninth Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference is organized by Lehigh University Environmental Initiative, Penn State Extension, Northampton County Parks & Recreation, Lehigh University Institute for Indigenous Studies, Nurture Nature Center, Northampton County Conservation District, and the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley.

Click Here to view the conference schedule or to register online.  Questions should be directed to watershedcoalitionlv@gmail.com.

Related Article:

-- Registration Now Open For Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference With Events On March 12, 13, Main Conference March 14 At Lehigh University

NewsClips:

-- Erie Times: Gannon University Seeks To Clean Lake Erie And Boost Economy In The Process

-- TribLive: Forbes Trail Chapter Trout Unlimited To Unveil New Linn Run Watershed Conservation Plan In Westmoreland County

-- Alliance For Chesapeake Bay: Project Clean Stream Trash Cleanup Events Start March 31

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Can Age-Old Use Of Biochar Help Solve Modern Nutrient Pollution Problems?

-- Rodale Institute: Now On Demand 2022 Virtual Regenerative Healthcare Conference

-- PennLive: Federal Stormwater Regulations Apply To One  Town In Perry County

-- Republican Herald: Public Invited To Meeting On Schuylkill Watershed Dams At Tuscarora State Park Next Week

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Feb. 24 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Ice Climbing In Chesapeake Region Melts In Face Of Warm Winters

Related Articles:

-- DCNR Seeking Nominations For 2023 Watershed Forestry Leadership Award  [PaEN]

-- Bay Journal: Pennsylvania's State Water Plan Points To New Challenges - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal  [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: Stay The Course On Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

-- Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference At Lehigh University On March 14  [PaEN]

-- Stroud Water Research Center: Cutting Waste In Reforestation Of Riparian Buffers; Summer Intern Opportunities  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Watershed Winds: Healthy Soils Remain Resilient In Changing Climate; Cover Crops For Healthy Watersheds; Online Learning Opportunities  [PaEN]

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts 2-Part Webinar On Opportunities, Challenges Of Green Parking Lots March 29, April 12  [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Forms LLC, Names Allyson Gibson, Executive Director [PaEN]

-- PA Lake Management Society Annual Conference Feb. 28 to March 1 In State College

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Salt For Snow And Ice - Effects On Waterways Not Very Nice - By Harry Campbell, PA Science Policy and Advocacy Director  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Summer Interns Sought For Forbes State Forest For Conservation Tasks Based In Westmoreland County

-- Interns Wanted: Trout Unlimited Seeking Summer Interns Based In Lock Haven

-- Help Wanted: Penn State Agriculture & Environment Center Agricultural Outreach Specialist

-- Help Wanted: York County Conservation District Engineering Technician 2

[Posted: February 21, 2023]

2/27/2023