The
Arkansas Watershed Advisory Group (AWAG) is helping local governments
and citizens take the initiative in safeguarding their land and
water for future generations. The AWAG is a "working group"
of representatives from more than 45 agencies, organizations, and
citizens interested promoting the watershed approach in Arkansas.
Key partners for the conference include AWAG, Boise State University,
U S Environmental Protection Agency, and River Network. These agencies
and organizations, along with representatives of AWAG, will provide
workshops and presentations, and lead discussions designed to promote
a consistent and proactive strategy to promote stewardship of Arkansas'
water resources.
The key to
successful watershed management is local stakeholder participation.
The past two AWAG Watershed Conferences were instrumental in training
local leaders to apply the watershed approach in their communities.
The AWAG's 2006 Watershed Conference: Building Livable Communities
through Watershed Protection will continue the AWAG mission of
"assisting interested citizens and organizations by supporting
local voluntary approaches to watershed management and conservation"
by designing a watershed conference that will equip communities
with leaders that have the skills necessary to lead the community
in making informed decisions about their water resources.
This year's
conference will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas and will focus
mainly on the Upper White River Basin, but the training offered
at this conference will be useful to anyone living in Arkansas
and surrounding states. The conference was planned to address
four components: Environmental Policy, Community and the Environment,
Building Sustainable Environmental Organizations and Local Environmental
Issues.
A state watershed
conference with conference scholarships provides the opportunity
to train more citizens and develop stronger, sustainable watershed
organizations with members who understand environmental policy,
community dynamics, and local environmental issues. The watershed
conference will provide an opportunity for stakeholders such as
natural resource professionals and citizens-including community
leaders, members of watershed groups, farmers, wastewater operators,
students, educators, and others-to learn more about using the
watershed approach to solve environmental problems. Approximately
300 attendees are expected, including educators; local community
leaders; and federal, state, local and non-government personnel.
PRE-CONFERENCE
TRAINING SESSIONS
The AWAG Pre-Conference training sessions are designed to offer
specialized training to various individuals attending the conference.
Pre-conference Training I, Field Experiences from Northwest
Arkansas, will provide useful training and information to
federal, state, and local agency and non-governmental organizations;
local and county staff and officials, natural resource students
and instructors, urban and regional planners, and anyone else
interested in protecting our natural resources. Conference participants
will have the opportunity to visit sites directed by the project
coordinators for several projects located in the Upper White River
Basin and the Illinois River Basin. The field trip will include
Blossom Way, an urban greenway demonstration project; a presentation
on Fayetteville's City Plan 2025 and visit to planning sites,
a stream restoration site; and other urban and rural sites of
interest that demonstrate methods and technologies for protecting
the waters of the Illinois and Upper White River Basins.
Pre-conference
Training II, the two half-day workshops, Engaging Communities
Through Social Mapping and Financing Sustainable
Watersheds, are designed for individuals involved in local
voluntary watershed planning and management. Engaging Communities
Through Social Mapping will introduce social mapping tools as
a way to fully engage people in understanding non-point source
pollution issues and implementing actions that will help solve
local problems. Social mapping is a way to collect, organize,
and analyze social data in ways that illustrate such things as
perceptions of causes and effects; relationships between institutions,
organizations, and individuals; and pathways for accomplishing
desired actions. The session will be dynamic and interactive and
workshop participants will have a chance to explore aspects of
their own environmental values, communication styles, and "sense
of place." This workshop highlights the powerful and reciprocal
nature of partnerships as a means to accomplishing a watershed
group's goals. It will draw upon and include an overview of how
to conduct a community cultural assessment using the EPA's Community
Culture and the Environment: A Guide to Understanding a Sense
of Place. All workshop participants will receive a copy of the
Guide.
The second
half-day workshop, Financing Sustainable Watersheds, will build
the capacity of watershed stakeholders to leverage funding for
advancing water resource protection. Securing sufficient resources
is vital to the ability of watershed groups to comprehensively
address ecosystem health across the nation. The workshop will
cover principles of watershed finance and guide participants through
the process of developing a funding strategy including planning,
budgeting, prioritization and identification of resources. Each
participant will receive a copy of Plan2Fund, a watershed-planning
tool developed by the Environmental Finance Center. Plan2Fund
walks users through estimating the costs of their watershed plan's
goals and objective, assessing any local match, determining funding
needs to meet the goals of the plan and tracking resources for
implementation.
Pre-Conference
Training III, WET/ WILD/ PLT Workshop, is an
eight hour workshop designed as in-service training for classroom
teachers and other environmental educators. Project WET, Project
WILD, and Project Learning Tree are programs available to teachers,
conservation districts, 4-H leaders and others that work with
students teaching environmental awareness and the importance of
protecting our natural resources. The three programs are correlated
to the Department of Education curriculum frameworks and qualifies
as in-service teaching credit. Project WET and Project WILD offers
classroom activities for K-12 and PLT offers classroom activities
for K-8. These hands-on activities educate students about the
natural environment around them and enable them to make informed
decisions regarding our precious natural resources.
CONFERENCE
The two-day conference will begin each morning with a continental
breakfast followed by a keynote speaker. Theresa Trainor will
begin the conference on Friday with a presentation on the conference
theme, "Building Livable Communities through Watershed Protection."
Two concurrent workshops will begin at 9:00 am. The Clean Water
Act workshop will be presented by Gayle Killam, from River Network,
and Martin Maner, ADEQ's Water Division Chief. Without community
attention to local waters, full protection of the uses and values
is not achieved. The Clean Water Act depends on public involvement.
State agencies and public officials need the support of the public
to do their jobs well. Concerned citizens are the driving force
behind the Clean Water Act and citizens must be informed, involved,
and committed to speaking up and organizing for clean water. Gayle
Killam, author of River Network's Clean Water Act Owner's Manual,
will provide "plain-language" guidance to the Act's
most important provisions. Martin Maner will follow up with water
issues of Arkansas and focus on Arkansas' list of impaired waters.
All workshop participants will receive a copy of The Clean Water
Act Owner's Manual.
The concurrent
morning workshop will be Watersheds 101. This workshop is for
participants who would like to better understand watersheds as
a whole ecosystem. This workshop will cover basic watershed information,
surface and ground water quality, hydrology, aquatic ecology and
biology, and point and non-point source pollution. Rob Beadel
and Philip Osborne, ADEQ, and Sarah DeVries, Arkansas Rural Water
Association, will offer basic information for teachers and citizens
without prior knowledge of watersheds and prepare workshop participants
for the second presentation of the Clean Water Act workshop.
The Community
Involvement workshop will highlight the move to more holistic
based approaches to environmental protection. Communities and
individuals are providing a vital role in creating solutions to
problems in the watershed. Luanne Diffin, City of Rogers, will
give a presentation on how stakeholders in the Illinois River
Watershed came together in an effort to form a partnership and
begin the task of developing and implementing a watershed management
plan. Katie Teague, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension,
will discuss public outreach and environmental education success
stories in Northwest Arkansas.
Two Breakout
sessions are scheduled for Friday afternoon. White River Forum
Technical Session - Dr. Marty Matlock, University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville, and Dr. Bob Pavlowsky, Southern Missouri University,
will provide watershed research updates for projects being implemented
in the Upper White River Basin in both Arkansas and Missouri.
Discussions will provide a general overview on research displayed
in the White River Technical Poster Session that follows the breakout
sessions.
Financing
Sustainable Watersheds will build the capacity of watershed stakeholders
to leverage funding for advancing water resource protection. Securing
sufficient resources is vital to the ability of watershed groups
to comprehensively address ecosystem health across the nation.
The workshop will cover principles of watershed finance and guide
participants through the process of developing a funding strategy
including planning, budgeting, prioritization and identification
of resources. Each participant will receive a copy of Plan2Fund,
a watershed-planning tool developed by the Environmental Finance
Center. Plan2Fund walks users through estimating the costs of
their watershed plan's goals and objective, assessing any local
match, determining funding needs to meet the goals of the plan
and tracking resources for implementation.
Watershed
Teaching Tools and Resources will provide environmental educators
with the opportunity to learn how to share watershed management
and protection information in the classroom and out in the field.
This session will focus on a variety of teaching tools, resources,
and methods for educating students and the public about watershed
issues. Michele Steele, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension,
and Dr. Janice Greene, Missouri State University, will discuss
community projects and activities. Rob Beadel will discuss some
of the teaching tools and resources available for classroom use
and Katherine Snyder, Little Rock School District, will discuss
the incorporation of teaching tools, resources and curriculum
into the classroom. Some of the teaching resources that will be
on display include ADEQ's Stream table, the EnviroScape, a groundwater
model, and various books, DVDs, Videos, CD-ROMs, puzzles, and
games.
The 2006 AWAG
Conference will wrap up with a Watershed Symposium - Lessons from
the Upper White River Basin will feature guest speakers Dr. Jeffery
Collins, U of A, and Dr. Dennis Robinson, MU. Dr. Collins and
Dr. Robinson will discuss environmental issues and their impact
on the environment and the economy in the Upper White River Basin.
Local projects implemented through watershed partnerships will
also be presented by Holly Neil, James River Basin Partnership
and Fran Free, Audubon watershed coordinator for the West Fork
of the White River.
Continuing
education credits can be earned for attending pre-conference training
and the AWAG Conference. Contact Cyndi Porter at (501) 682-0028
or porterc_at_adeq.state.ar.us for
more information about continuing education credits and teacher
in-service training credit. Attendance for the three Pre-conference
Training sessions will be limited so register early to reserve
your training slot. Scholarships will be available to citizens
interested in attending the pre-conference training as well as
the AWAG conference and most of the meals are provided. For more
information about scholarships click
here or call Rob Beadel at (501) 682-0012.
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