Annual Meeting of the North Central Chapter – SWS
The Annual Meeting of the North Central Chapter – SWS will be held October 12–14, 2017 at the Radisson hotel in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The Radisson provides easy access to all that downtown Fargo has to offer. The meeting will begin on Thursday with a half-day workshop. The workshop will focus on 1) wetland law and policy 2) basics of wetland determination and delineation, and 3) the Professional Wetland Scientists (PWS) certification program. This workshop will be a great opportunity to further your career as a Professional Wetlands Scientist. Thursday will conclude with a catered dinner with two guest speakers at the Radisson.
Day 2, Friday, will be a day filled with research presentations and a poster session. This is your chance to present the results of your work to both students and professionals from across the North Central region. Lunch and breaks will be provided at the Radisson, but for dinner we will all be on our own to explore the many eating opportunities available within easy walking distance of the hotel.
On Saturday, October 14, we will conclude our meeting with an all-day field trip into Minnesota, where we will explore the beach ridges of Glacial Lake Agassiz, visit the headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park, and search for carnivorous wetland plants near Bemidji, all at the perfect time of the year to experience the Fall colors of Minnesota on full display. What more could one ask to see or do in a single day?
Agenda
Thursday, October 12
12:00 – 1:00 Registration
1:00 – 5:00 Wetland Delineation Workshop
1:00 – 1:45 Wetland Law – Federal Perspective (Patricia McQueary)
1:45 – 2:15 Wetland Law – State Perspective (Dr. Christina Hargiss)
2:15 – 2:45 Break with Questions and Discussion (refreshments served)
2:45 – 3:30 Introduction to Wetland Identification and Delineation – [Corp of Engineers Manual – Wetland Hydrology and Wetland Plants] (Dr. Shawn DeKeyser)
3:30 – 4:00 Introduction to Wetland Identification and Delineation – [Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States – Wetland Soils] (Dr. Shawn DeKeyser)
4:00 – 4:30 Professional Wetland Scientist [Why become a Professional Wetland Scientist? The What, How, and Why of the Professional Certification Program] (Dr. Donna Jacob)
4:30 – 5:00 Break with Questions and Discussion
6:00 – 8:00 Welcome Dinner with key-note presentations by Dr. Arnold van der Valk, current President of the Society of Wetland Scientists; and Patricia McQueary, North Dakota State Program Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Friday, October 13
8:00 – 8:30 Registration
8:30 – 9:40 NCC Business Meeting
9:40 – 10:00 Break (refreshments served)
10:00 – 12:00 Morning Paper Session
10:10 – 10:30 Greenhouse gas flux and soil carbon in natural, restored and drained prairie-pothole wetlands (Sheel Bansal)
10:30 – 10:50 Comparing ecosystem metabolism of restored and natural prairie wetlands (Lauren E. Bortolotti)
10:50 – 11:10 Restoring a large, freshwater, coastal wetland on the prairies: common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exclusion at Delta Marsh, Manitoba (Dale Wrubleski)
11:10 – 11:30 Change over time at reference condition wetlands in North Dakota (Christina Hargiss)
11:30 – 11:50 Evidence for a climate-induced eco-hydrological state shift in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America (Owen P. McKenna)
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch Buffet with a presentation on publishing in WETLANDS, by WETLANDS Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Marinus Otte
1:30 – 3:00 Afternoon Paper Session #1
1:30 – 1:50 Migration of fishes in a coastal Lake Erie wetland (Nathan D. Stott)
1:50 – 2:10 Landscape genetics reveal possible drought refugia are driving population subdivision of the northern leopard frog in North Dakota (Justin M. Waraniak)
2:10 – 2:30 Beavers: Boreal ecosystem engineers (Carol A. Johnston)
2:30 – 2:50 Evaluation of hypothesized causal relationships linking spatial setting, climate, and biotic interactions to aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure in prairie-pothole wetlands (Kyle I. McLean)
2:50 – 3:00 Break (refreshments served)
3:00 – 4:00 Afternoon Paper Session #2
3:00 – 3:20 A historical analysis of the changes in connectivity and plant cover in Netley-Libau Marsh, Manitoba, Canada: untangling the effects of Lake Winnipeg hydrology and Red River connectivity (Paige Kowal)
3:20 – 3:40 Estimates of water storage capacity and nutrient mitigation potential from newly restored and intact prairie pothole wetlands in western Manitoba, Canada (Bryan Page)
3:40 – 4:00 An approach to valuing urban wetlands using economic, social, environmental, and political factors (Rosalind Russell)
4:00 – 4:55 Poster Session
Species composition patterns and soil properties of a fen in Eddy County, ND (Kristine M. Altrichter)
Methylmercury production response to wetland creation at Kelly’s Slough National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota (Mark Fisher)
Restoration of a former municipal waste site, Chesterton, Indiana (Joy Marburger)
Habitat and seasonal preferences of the Gulf Mud Fiddler Crab across Gulf Coast tidal marsh vegetation zones (Gwendolyn A. Murphy)
Mapping groundwater seepage in a North Dakota fen using thermal imaging (Ogochukwu Ozotta)
Nitrogen and phosphorus removal indicators among patches in a freshwater coastal wetland (Bree Richardson)
Ecosystem services of wetlands applied to improve urban green infrastructure in the Fargo Project (Jesse Riley)
Assessing the distribution and concentration of neonicotinoids across Minnesota’s prairie pothole region (Nate Williams)
Chemical connectivity of prairie-pothole wetlands – some early results (Yuxiang Yuan)
4:55 – 5:00 Presentation of Awards
5:30 – 6:30 Viewing of “Water and Wetlands” Native American Art Exhibit at the Red Raven Espresso Parlor
6:30 – ??? Dinner on own in Fargo
Saturday, October 14
8:00 – 4:00 Field Trip to Agassiz Beach Ridge, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, and Itasca State Park, with lunch in Park Rapids at the Good Life Café (http://www.thegoodlifecafepr.com/)
*Students will receive a complimentary 2018 SWS student membership after the meeting. Please note that you'll be required to provide a copy of your valid student ID when applying.