Uniting New York’s Great Lakes Communities to Restore Our
Freshwater Coast
Next
Saturday, October 24th, from 8:30AM to 4PM, the 4th Annual New York Healing Our Waters Conference will be held right here in
Buffalo at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Every year, this coalition of dedicated
environmental organizations brings together nonprofits, government agencies and
representatives, and the general public at large to address the pressing issues
facing New York’s Great Lakes coasts. And best of all, this conference is free
of charge and open to all.
This is a great opportunity for our local community
to participate in the science and policy discussions that are occurring while
President Obama’s Administration is moving towards increased funding to restore
the Great Lakes and the implementation of the historic Great Lakes Compact
continues.
This
in depth conference will feature a variety of speakers and break out sessions
on topics such as: Implementing the Great Lakes Compact in New York, improving
near shore water quality, preventing and controlling aquatic invasive species,
New York State water conservation opportunities for the Great Lakes, and
implementing ecosystem-based management for New York’s Great Lakes.
Addressing
these topics will be Congressmen Brian Higgins, policy experts from Great Lakes
United, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper,
and scientists from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Great
Lakes Research Consortium. To see a full detailed agenda for the day, be sure
to check Citizens Campaign for the Environment’s conference website.
While this conference
is free, Citizens Campaign for the Environment asks that anyone interested in
attending please register at their website by Monday, October 19th.
It is an exciting time for ecological restoration in the Great Lakes and
coalitions like Healing Our Waters and Great Lakes United are establishing and
strengthening the basin wide communication networks that will be necessary in
the 21st century to transform and promote our region in the future.
Image: Suzanne Ritchie