Welcome, local history exhibits, finger foods and refreshments. Viewing of the Mysteries of the Great Lakes IMAX movie.

Registration packages (receipt, meal tickets, etc) will be available for pickup at the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel on Tuesday, October 25th from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Registration packages will also be available for pick up at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 from 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Thursday, October 27th from 8 – 9 a.m.

Condition of the Great Lakes based on newly updated suite of Great Lakes indicators and reporting framework.  Management and human interest questions about the Great Lakes will be highlighted with answers provided using relevant groupings of indicators.

9:00 – 9:30

Plenary Presentation #1: State of Water Quality
Todd Howell, Great Lakes Ecologist, Ontario Ministry of the Environment

9:30 – 10:00

Plenary Presentation #2: State of Aquatic-Dependent Life
Helen Domske, Coastal Education Specialist, New York Sea Grant

10:00 – 10:30

Health Break

10:30 – 11:00

Health Break

Concurrent Discussion Sessions

1. Watershed Stressors
   Human activity can stress watershed health.  Using various techniques, including the Great Lakes Coastal Watershed Environmental Condition Index, the amount of human-caused stress on each watershed can be observed and used to determine the risk to ecosystem health.   This session will discuss how watershed conditions can be linked to the state of nearshore areas, discuss how we can use this information to develop better protection or restoration strategies, and share future endeavors.
   
   
2. Coastal Wetlands
   Coastal wetlands sit on the border between land and the lakes, and provide critical ecological functions such as natural water quality improvements, fish habitat, and flood storage.  This session will discuss current activities of the binational Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring initiative and future plans and priorities. 
   
   
3. Nutrients
   With the re-emergence of excessive algae problems in the Great Lakes, scientists are studying the issue to track the extent of the problem, identify the cause(s), and determine what can be done.  This session will share recent results from nutrient studies that have occurred throughout the Great Lakes and then discuss information needs (gaps) and approaches on how to best use the information to set targets and guide nutrient management activities in the Great Lakes Basin.
   
   
4. Islands
   More than 32,000 islands in the Great Lakes form the world’s largest system of freshwater islands.  The links between the lakes and these globally rare and important islands are unique.  Due to their isolation, the islands serve as valuable refuges for Great Lakes biodiversity and support many rare species and communities.  Yet many of the islands highest in biodiversity are increasingly subject to threats from human activity.  This interactive session will include a lake-by-lake assessment of the status and trends of Great Lakes islands, and case studies from Georgian Bay, the Beaver Island archipelago, and colonial-nesting waterbirds.  Opportunities for restoration and protection identified by the Great Lakes Island Network, as well as the resources to track the islands’ status and trends and to inform decision-making, will be shared.  Participants will be asked to help the Network determine next steps in the conservation of the islands and development of island indicators.  Complimentary copies of the 2010 Islands of Life: A Biodiversity and Conservation Atlas of the Great Lakes Islands will be provided.
   
   
5. Economics and the Environment
   In addition to basic raw materials and value of products produced from them, the Great Lakes ecosystem provides many services that benefit people, such as water, crops, flood protection, waste assimilation, carbon sequestration, recreation and spiritual benefits.  Great Lakes industries are testing tools such as the Cooperate Ecosystem Valuation methodology to evaluate ecosystem services in financial terms.  Using a Great Lakes basin case-study, this session will discuss the advantages and roadblocks for using ecosystem valuations in decision-making and as a basis for a Great Lakes indicator. 

Cash Bar and Networking

Welcomes/Highlights from Day 1/Overview of Day 2

Master of Ceremonies, Lori Boughton, Chief, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Office of the Great Lakes

The Lakes and the Watersheds: The ecosystem condition of each waterbody’s open water and nearshore condition.  A unique land use focus in each presentation will be highlighted.

Closing Remarks

Lunch and Networking