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The advanced registration period for Wisconsin Wetlands Association's Annual Conference, Urban Wetlands, has closed. If you would like to purchase a banquet ticket please contact us before Tuesday, February 21, at 608-250-9971. If you are planning to register on-site for the conference, please e-mail us at conference [at] wisconsinwetlands.org, so that we can better prepare for your attendance. 2012 CONFERENCE PURPOSE & THEME As more of our landscapes are developed, more of our wetlands are located in urban environments – in or near towns, cities, suburbs, or areas with concentrated recreational development. Development can bring dramatic changes to hydrology, species composition, water quality, soil and sediment structure and movement, and landscape patterns and connectivity, and these dramatic changes can mean significant negative impacts for wetlands. At the same time, climate experts are predicting an increase in both the number and severity of future severe-weather events: scientists with the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) predict a 70% probability that annual average precipitation will increase. In addition, they predict a 25% increase in the frequency of intense rain events. These changes will bring particularly great challenges to urban areas – areas with significant impervious surfaces and traditional infrastructure that will be severely stressed by the increased intensity of rain events. Wetland protection and restoration will become increasingly important strategies for mitigating some of these impacts. While urban environments pose great challenges to wetlands, wetlands can also offer many opportunities for human communities to manage water-related challenges and provide for a better quality of life for residents. Wetlands can be a tool for protecting water quality, abating flooding impacts, protecting shorelines, recharging groundwater, and providing fish and wildlife habitat. Nature adds to our quality of lives, and wetlands provide venues for recreation, education, and rejuvenation. Wetlands help people. People also can help wetlands, and this can be particularly true for wetlands in urban environments. Wetlands located in urban areas are ideal places to engage the public in caring about and for wetlands through education, stewardship, and citizen science activities. In 2012, Wisconsin Wetlands Association will convene members of the regional wetland community for our 17th annual conference to discuss the latest in wetland science, management, restoration, and protection issues around the conference theme, Urban Wetlands. This 2-day conference will include a keynote address, topical oral sessions, a poster session, working groups, a banquet and wetland field trips. Following more than a decade-long tradition, we anticipate that this year’s conference will contribute to a growing regional collaboration for protecting and conserving Wisconsin’s wetlands. WHO SHOULD ATTEND PREVIOUS WWA CONFERENCES
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