Conference - mrnrc 2015
Transcription
Conference - mrnrc 2015
2015 Missouri River Natural Resources Conference & BiOp Forum Year of the River March 10-12, 2015 Lied Lodge and Conference Center - Nebraska City, NE Welcome to the 2015 MRNRC Conference and BiOp Forum Welcome, once again, to Nebraska City and the beautiful Lied Lodge and Conference Center! Conference organizers had hoped this format of combining the Missouri River Natural Resources Conference with required Biological Opinion communication between the Corps and the Service would provide a forum for communication not just between two federal agencies, but amongst all Missouri River stakeholders. Your participation and that of nearly 200 others is testimony to not only the success of this format, but also the ongoing need for communication and integration of scientific findings to better our understanding of the Missouri River and assist in directing management decisions. As members of State and Federal agencies, working in regions bordered and/or intersected by one of the nation's greatest rivers and most altered river ecosystems, we fully comprehend the demands placed upon the river's natural system. This year's conference theme, “The Year of the River”, leaves me with more questions than answers. What does the ‘Year’ of the River mean to each of you? For some, no doubt, it is about your research on a specific aspect of catfish, plovers, pallids, or cottonwood. For others, it may be about habitat projects and impacts on both critters and constituents. A Year, in the context of a river, is but a blip in time, an mere instant. For rivers, time is irrelevant. They will wait for us to catch up to their current and tolerate the slowing of it, for time is on the side of the river. Rivers will give us time to reconfigure them and disconnect them from the flood plain, for in time, despite our best efforts, they will find their way back. So, as we think about, “The Year of the River”, I ask each of you to think about what we can do this year for the river. Working with the river, its resources, and, most importantly, the people of this basin, we can make this more than a blip in time for our great river. The steering committee for this year’s Conference and BiOp Forum has developed a Missouri River field tour in the Nebraska City area. On the tour we will visit some good examples of Missouri River Recovery Plan projects that demonstrate both floodplain and shallow water habitat ecosystem restoration efforts. Travel will be by land (bus) and by river (boat). We hope that by seeing these projects firsthand, you gain a better understanding of management actions that can help improve this ecosystem, depended upon by many large riverine species of plants and animals. In addition to the field tour, we have organized several contributed oral and poster presentations into sessions on various aspects of Missouri River research, monitoring, and management. On behalf of the steering committee, enjoy your stay at the Lied Lodge, and we hope the Conference and BiOp Forum is informative, educational, and of value to you! Sincerely, Chris Larson Missouri River Natural Resources Committee, Chair 2 The Missouri River Natural Resource Committee was formed in 1987 by state fish and wildlife agencies in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri who have statutory management responsibility for public trust natural resources. Its Mission is to promote and facilitate the preservation, conservation, and enhancement of the natural resources of the Missouri River System. Non-voting representatives include the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Power Administration, and the National Park Service. MRNRC objectives include: 1) identifying and prioritizing issues of concern in the Missouri River System for cooperative resource management, 2) formulate plans and programs for carrying on cooperative research and management studies, 3) improve coordination, communication, and cooperation among entities responsible for natural resource management on the Missouri River, 4) encourage implementation of actions to preserve, conserve, and enhance natural resources of the Missouri River System. List of Missouri River Conferences Year 1997 1998 1999 Location Columbia, MO Nebraska City, NE Pierre, SD 2000 Bismarck, ND 2001 2002 Great Falls, MT South Sioux City, NE 2003 Atchison, KS 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Columbia, MO Pierre, SD South Sioux City, NE Nebraska City, NE Nebraska City, NE 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Billings, Montana Nebraska City, NE Nebraska City, NE Pierre, SD Jefferson City, MO Nebraska City, NE Nebraska City, NE Theme • Missouri River: Past, Present, Future • The Floodplain of the Future • Sustaining the Missouri River for Future Generations • Missouri River Management: It’s Everybody’s Business • 2001 - Missouri River Odyssey • Big River Science-Meeting the Challenge of Change • Restoring the “Butifull Praree & Timber Diversity” • Rediscovering Missouri River Connections • Many Voices, One Horizon • Collaborating in the Current • Adapting to Adaptive Management • From a Healthy Ecosystem to a Healthy Economy: A River in Transition • Beyond the Bend • Missouri River “A Climate for Change” • The Missouri River: On the Road to Recovery • The Big Muddy: What Have We Learned? • Beyond the Banks • Understanding the Landscape • Year of the River 3 Missouri River Champion Award Winners Year 1997 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Name • Bill Mauck, USGS • Douglas Bereuter, U.S. Congressman-NE • Roger Collins and Jim Milligan, USFWS • Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator -SD • W. Don Nelson, Chief of Staff, U.S. Senator Ben Nelson-NE • Garrison (ND), Gavins Point Dam (SD) and Neosho (MO) NFH, USFWS; and Blind Pony (MO) SFH, MDC • Tom Gengerke, IDNR; John Cooper, SDGF&P • Mike Olson, USFWS; Tony Dean, Outdoor Communicator - SD • Mick Sandine and Glen Covington, USACE • Mike Hayden, KWP • Jim Riis, SDGF&P; David Pope, MORAST • Larry Hesse, Rivers Corp.; BG John R. McMahon, USACE • Robert Klumb, USFWS The Missouri River Champion Award recognizes individuals or groups that have made significant contributions to the enhancement, preservation, or protection of the Missouri River ecosystem and the fish, wildlife and other natural resources. Cover photos courtesy of Dave Crane - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deer Island Top Width Widening Project Top photo: taken October 2012, RM 672, looking downstream, pre-construction 2nd photo from top: taken October 2013, RM 672, looking upstream, during construction 3rd photo from top: taken December 2014, RM 672, looking upstream, postconstruction, river at 20K cfs and 17.7 feet river gauge @ Decatur, NE Bottom photo: taken October 2014, RM 672, looking downstream, postconstruction, river at 48K cfs and 25 feet river gauge height @ Decatur, NE Your meeting registration covers dinner on Tuesday, all meals on Wednesday, breakfast on Thursday, all socials, and breaks each day. All events (meals, technical sessions, breaks, and socials) require that you wear your conference name tag for the duration of the function. If you do not have it on, you will not be allowed entrance to the event and you will be asked to leave the event until you have it. 4 Daily Events At-a-Glance Tuesday 3/10 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Locations - West Assembly and Corridor Registration (Lower Lobby Lied Lodge) Hang up Posters (West Assembly) 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Field Tour - Land and Water Portions (weather permitting) 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Dinner (West Assembly) Social (Steinhart Lodge) Wednesday 3/11 Locations - West Assembly, Steinhart Rooms A, B, and C, and Corridor 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. 8:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Registration (Lower Lobby Lied Lodge) Breakfast (West Assembly) Awards (West Assembly) Concurrent Sessions (Steinhart Rooms) 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch (West Assembly) Presentation: “4th Triennial Meeting of International Society of River Science, August 23-28, 2015” by William Richardson, ISRS Program Committee; Chief, River Ecology Branch, USGS - Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI 1:00 p.m. - 4:40 p.m. 4:40 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions (Steinhart Rooms) Poster Session (West Assembly) 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Dinner (West Assembly) Social (Steinhart Lodge) Side Meetings 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. MRNRC Delegates (Marcotte Room) USFWS (Terrace Room) Thursday 3/12 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Registration (Lower Lobby Lied Lodge) Breakfast (West Assembly) Concurrent Sessions (Steinhart Rooms) 5 Registration Desk 6 “In the 19th century, we devoted our best minds to exploring nature. In the 20th century, we devoted ourselves to controlling and harnessing it. In the 21st century, we must devote ourselves to restoring it.” - Stephen Ambrose Undaunted Courage 7 Levee Setback Land and Water Tour (weather permitting) Buses will load at 12:45p.m. at the front entrance of the Lied Lodge Tour will depart promptly at 1:00 p.m. and return at approximately 5:00 p.m. Reminder: Please wear clothing and footwear appropriate for the conditions. Map provided by Matt Dollison Iowa Department of Natural Resources 8 Wednesday, March 11th — Morning, Concurrent Session A Location – Steinhart A/B Session 1a: Pallid Sturgeon I / Sturgeon Habitat Moderator — Steve Krentz, USFWS 8:40 a.m. Characterization of Patterns of Sturgeon and Paddlefish Spawning and Dispersal in the Lower Missouri River to Guide Restoration Actions, Aaron DeLonay, U.S. Geological Survey 9:00 a.m. Developing Models to Identify Successful Sturgeon Spawning Locations Using Free Embryo Collections, Lower Missouri River, Kimberly Chojnacki, U.S. Geological Survey-Columbia Environmental Research Center 9:20 a.m. Bedform Dynamics and Sand Transport in the Lower Missouri River in Pallid Sturgeon Spawning Reaches, Caroline Elliott, U.S. Geological Survey 9:40 a.m. Development and Application of a Spatially Explicit Growth Model for Age-0 Pallid Sturgeon, David Deslauriers, South Dakota State University 10:00 a.m. BREAK Moderator—Gerald Mestl, NGPC 10:20 a.m. 2014 Shallow Water Habitat Check-In and Habitat Distribution in the Lower Missouri River, Todd Gemeinhardt, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 10:40 a.m. Is shallow water a suitable surrogate for assessing efforts to address pallid sturgeon population declines?, Nathan Gosch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 11:00 a.m. Identification and Assessment of High-Density Capture Locations of Age-0 Sturgeon, Dane Morris, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 11:20 a.m. Quantifying and Defining Functional Habitat to Inform Recovery of Pallid Sturgeon in the Missouri River, Susannah Erwin, U.S. Geological Survey-Columbia Environmental Research Center 11:40 a.m. Larval Shovelnose Sturgeon Abundance and Survival in Side Channels and the Main Channel of the Lower Missouri River, Catlin Ames, Missouri Department of Conservation 10 Wednesday, March 11th — Morning, Concurrent Session B Location – Steinhart C/Corridor Session 1b: Hydrology and Water Quality / Cottonwoods Moderator — Rick Wilson, USGS 8:40 a.m. Water Quality Assessment of Northern Missouri Streams in Support of Integrated Conservation Practices, Donald Wilkinson, U.S. Geological Survey 9:00 a.m. Modeling Missouri River Water Temperature, Zhonglong Zhang, LimnoTech, EL, ERDC 9:20 a.m. Impacts of Missouri River Hydrology and Geomorphology on Flooding in the Lower Big Sioux River Basin, Tim Cowman, S.D. Geological Survey 9:40 a.m. Projected Trends in Mountain Snowpack and Runoff in the Upper Missouri River Basin: 1992–2099, John Stamm, U.S. Geological Survey 10:00 a.m. BREAK Moderator—Lisa Yager, NPS 10:20 a.m. History of the “Cottonwood Problem” on the Upper Missouri River W. Carter Johnson, South Dakota State University 10:40 a.m. Effects of the 2011 Flood on Cottonwood Forests along the Missouri River, Mark Dixon, University of South Dakota 11:00 a.m. Use of a Modified State-and-Transition Model for Projecting Land Use and Land Cover Change in a Meandering River Floodplain Christopher Merkord, South Dakota State University 11:20 a.m. Emerging Deltas in the Missouri River’s Reservoirs: Silver Lining for Cottonwood Forest Biodiversity? Malia Volke, South Dakota State University 11:40 a.m. Cottonwood Discussion Panel, All Presenters from Session 11 Wednesday, March 11th — Afternoon, Concurrent Session A Location – Steinhart A/B Session 2a: Pallid Sturgeon II / Native Fish Moderator — Dane Morris, USACE 1:00 p.m. Pallid Sturgeon Reproduction in the Yellowstone River, 2014 Mathew Rugg, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 1:20 p.m. Trends and Variation in the Reproductive Ecology of Pallid Sturgeon in the Upper Missouri River Basin, Patrick Braaten, U.S. Geological Survey-Columbia Environmental Research Center 1:40 p.m. Assessment of Pallid Sturgeon Spawning Habitat on the Lower Yellowstone River, Caroline Elliott, U.S. Geological Survey 2:00 p.m. Extrapolations to Pallid Sturgeon from Other Sturgeon Species Michael Randall, U.S. Geological Survey-Southeast Ecological Science Center 2:20 p.m. Gonadosomatic Index and Fecundity of Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi River Endangered Pallid Sturgeon Estimated Using Minimally Invasive Techniques, Janice Albers, U.S. Geological SurveyColumbia Environmental Research Center 2:40 p.m. Effects of Seasonal Water Temperatures on Catch Rates and Habitat Selectivity of Pallid Sturgeon, Adam McDaniel, Missouri Department of Conservation 3:00 p.m. BREAK Moderator— Darby Niswonger, MDC 3:20 p.m. Association of Native Prey-fish Abundance to Pallid Sturgeon Condition, Daniel James, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 3:40 p.m. Short-Term Dispersal and Survival of Hatchery-Reared Juvenile Pallid Sturgeon, Justin Haas, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 4:00 p.m. Population Trends, Bend Use Relative to Available Habitat, and Within-River Bend Habitat Use of Eight Indicator Species of Missouri and Lower Kansas River Benthic Fishes: 15 Years After Baseline Assessment, Mark Wildhaber, U.S. Geological Survey 4:20 p.m. Fish Community Response to Changes in Physical Attributes of Side-Channels in Nebraska, Jerrod Hall, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 4:40 p.m. POSTER SESSION (Posters are displayed in West Assembly Room) 12 Wednesday, March 11th — Afternoon, Concurrent Session B Location – Steinhart C/Corridor Session 2b: Terns and Plovers / Effects Analysis Moderator — Chantel Cook, USACE 1:00 p.m. Spotting Scopes or Cameras: Which Should You choose? Colin Dovichin, U.S. Geological Survey - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 1:20 p.m. The Lower Platte River Emergent Sandbar Dynamics Program, 2011 to 2014: What Have We Learned?, Jason Alexander, University of Wyoming-Dept of Geology and Geophysics 1:40 p.m. Empirically Modeling Interior Least Tern Habitat Response to River Hydrographs Using Landsat TM Imagery, Edward Bulliner, U.S. Geological Survey 2:00 p.m. Population Demography of Least Terns and Piping Plovers Following the 2011 Missouri River Flood, Erin Roche, U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 2:20 p.m. Complexity and Uncertainty in Mapping and Quantifying the Dynamics of Emergent Sandbars and Emergent Sandbar Habitat on the Missouri River, Laurence Strong, U.S. Geological Survey - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 2:40 p.m. Piping Plover Management and Recovery as a Human Dimensions Challenge, Joel Jorgensen, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 3:00 p.m. BREAK Moderator—Tom St. Clair, Louis Berger 3:20 p.m. Habitat Modeling in Support of an Effects Analysis for the Missouri River Recovery Program, J. Craig Fischenich, ERDC Environmental Lab 3:40 p.m. Update on the Effects Analysis for Least Terns and Piping Plovers, Kate Buenau, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 4:00 p.m. Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis: Progress and Prospects, Robert Jacobson, U.S. Geological Survey-Columbia Environmental Research Center 4:20 p.m. A Framework for Integrating the Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis to Evaluate Management and Restoration Alternatives, Michael Colvin, Mississippi State University 4:40 p.m. POSTER SESSION (Posters are displayed in West Assembly Room) 13 POSTER SESSION Bridging Perspectives on Data Management to Increase Project Efficacy Chris Vernon, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Post-flood Changes in Riparian Forest Structure Along the Missouri River from 2012-2014 Christopher Boever, University of South Dakota, Dept. of Biology Impacts of Dam Operation on Sand and Gravel Bar Habitat and Recruitment of Riparian Woodland Vegetation Along Rivers Rohan Benjankar, University of Idaho, Center for Ecohydraulics Research Identifying Floodplain Conservation Land Management Priorities and Science Needs for the Lower Missouri River Kristen Bouska and Garth Lindner, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Missouri The Effect of River Bed Degradation on Water Levels in the Missouri River Alluvial Aquifer near Kansas City, Missouri Brian Kelly, U.S. Geological Survey - Missouri Water Science Center Long Term Verification Statistics for the Missouri River: 1983-2013 Kevin Low, National Weather Service Missouri Basin Hydrodynamic Modeling to Evaluate the Influence of Channel Morphology and Hydrology on Larval Drift of Pallid Sturgeon in the Lower Missouri River Susannah Erwin, U.S. Geological Survey - Columbia Environmental Research Center Substrate Effects on Hatch and Initiation of Drift of Scaphirhynchus Sturgeon Species in an Artificial Stream Jake Faulkner, U.S. Geological Survey Evaluation of Surgical Tagging Techniques and Guidelines for Implantation of JSATS Transmitters into Juvenile White Sturgeon Stephanie Liss, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Differences in Capture Probability of an Endangered Species (Pallid Sturgeon) among Four Sampling Gears Landon Pierce, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Plains Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Establishing Reference Fish Community Structure within Natural Side Channels and the Mainstem Missouri River Lawrance McGallagher, Missouri Department of Conservation Update on Pallid Sturgeon in Segment 4 of the Missouri River Tyler Berger, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 14 POSTER SESSION Geographic Distribution and Abundance of Pallid Sturgeon and Shovelnose Sturgeon Hybrids in the Missouri River Darby Niswonger, Missouri Department of Conservation Observations from the Collection of Recently Stocked Age-0 Pallid Sturgeon in Lower Missouri River Colby Wrasse, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Survival and Drift Behavior of Pallid Sturgeon Free Embryos in an Artificial Channel Kevin Buhl, U.S. Geological Survey - Columbia Environmental Research Center Identifying Sturgeon Spawning Locations through Back-Calculations of FreeEmbryo Drift: Complexities in Characterizing Drift Dynamics Edward Bulliner, U.S. Geological Survey Ignorance Is Bliss: Poor Aging Precision from an Un-validated Fish Aging Structure Has Deleterious Effects on Understanding Population Dynamics Martin Hamel, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Distribution of Lake Sturgeon Capture Locations in the Lower 250 Miles of the Missouri River Javar Henry and Cal Yonce, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Occupancy Modeling For False Map Turtles In the Missouri River Ryan Ruskamp, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission North American Paddlefish Society David Deslauriers, South Dakota State University Missouri River Tern and Plover Trends Chantel Cook, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Overwinter Locations of Northern Great Plains Piping Plovers and Possible Implications for Demography Brooke Hill, U.S. Geological Survey Are Vegetation Management Efforts Effective at Maintaining Sandbar Habitat for Least Terns and Piping Plovers? Coral Huber, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Effects of Predator Exclosures on Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) Nests in the Alkali Lakes Regions of North Dakota: 1st Year Report Megan Ring, U.S. Geological Survey - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center High-definition Video Cameras as a Tool for Resighting Individually Marked Least Terns Dustin Toy, U.S. Geological Survey - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 15 Thursday, March 12th — Morning, Concurrent Session A Location – Steinhart A/B Session 3a: Native Fish II Moderator — Kirk Steffensen, NGPC 8:00 a.m. The Missouri River of North Dakota: A Tale of Two Rivers Ryan Wilson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 8:20 a.m. Biological Responses of Large-River Fishes to Hydrological Conditions of the Missouri River, Josh Wilhelm, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 8:40 a.m. A Comparison of Stomach Content Collection Methods for and Food Habits of Shovelnose Sturgeon During and After a Severe Flood Event, J. David Adams, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 9:00 a.m. Fluctuations in Macrhybopsis spp. Chub Populations in the Missouri River – Did the 2011 Flood Have an Effect? Colby Wrasse, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 9:20 a.m. Channel Catfish Management in the Missouri River Brandon Eder, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 9:40 a.m. BREAK Session 4a: Floodplain Ecosystems and River Sustainability Moderator—Paul Lepisto, IWLA 10:00 a.m. Why the Missouri River Needs MRRIC Michael Mac, Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee 10:20 a.m. The USGS Midwest Region Large River Initiative: An Update on Current Activities, William Richardson, U.S. Geological Survey Upper Mississippi Environmental Science Center and Robert Swanson, U.S. Geological Survey - Nebraska Water Science Center 10:40 a.m. Relationships Between Land Capability Potential Index (LCPI) Classes and the Distribution of Plant Species and Communities Matthew Struckhoff, U.S. Geological Survey - Columbia Environmental Research Center 11:00 a.m. Healthy Soils, Healthy Lands, Healthy Waters Stuart Miller, Missouri Department of Conservation 11:20 a.m. Now, and What the Future Will Bring in the Missouri River Basin William Beacom, Middle Basin Pallid Working Group 16 Thursday, March 12th — Morning, Concurrent Session B Location – Steinhart C/Corridor Session 3b: Adaptive Management and MRR Management Plan Moderator — Mary Roth, USACE 8:00 a.m. Developing a Comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan for Three Listed Species on the Missouri River, Aaron Quinn and Craig Fleming, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 8:20 a.m. Using Lessons Learned to Build a Robust Missouri River Recovery Adaptive Management Plan, Tom St. Clair, Louis Berger and Mike Anderson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 8:40 a.m. Missouri River Recovery Management Plan/EIS Mark Harberg, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 9:00 a.m. ResSim Model for the Management Plan Ryan Larsen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 9:20 a.m. HEC-RAS Model for the Management Plan Jean Reed, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 9:40 a.m. BREAK Session 4b: Shallow Water Habitat and Sediment Monitoring Moderator—Kelly Crane, USACE 10:00 a.m. Omaha District-Shallow Water Habitat Design and Construction Update, Colleen Horihan and Christopher Svendsen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 10:20 a.m. Shallow Water Habitat Construction Update - Kansas City District Shahrzad Jalili-Kamali, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 10:40 a.m. USACE-NRCS Engagement to Optimize Habitat Restoration and ESA Compliance along the Missouri River: A Policy Case Study David Crane, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 11:00 a.m. Monitoring Suspended Sediment Transport in Constructed Chutes on the Missouri River, Brenda Densmore, U.S. Geological Survey 11:20 a.m. Development of a Sediment Budget of the Lower Missouri River System, David Heimann, U.S. Geological Survey 17 Conference Donors The following organizations generously provided assistance to cover various costs of hosting the Conference and BiOp Forum. Without their generosity, the cost of attending this event would have been doubled. If you happen to see someone from these organizations during the next few days please thank them for assisting in defraying your costs to attend. Conference Planning Committee Chair - Chris Larson, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Co-Chair - Stacie Peitz, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Steve Adams, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks Doug Chafa, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Matt Dollison, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Dave Fryda, North Dakota Game and Fish Department Pete Hildreth, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Paul Lepisto, Isaak Walton League of America Chris Longhenry, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks Gerald Mestl, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Wayne Nelson-Stastny, US Fish and Wildlife Service Larry Shepard, Environmental Protection Agency Don Skaar, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Van Sterner, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Kasey Whiteman, Missouri Department of Conservation Gene Zuerlein, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 20