The purpose of this symposium is to identify opportunities and cooperative strategies for managing wetlands and water resources in response to climate change while meeting the ongoing challenges of conserving and protecting wetlands.

Wetland professionals in the public and private sectors need to understand the regional alterations in weather likely to result from climate change and identify discrete activities and actions to pursue to mitigate these changes. To respond to climate change wetland professionals must:

Climate change needs to be addressed in the context of existing wetland management and conservation challenges. Discussion of current issues in wetland science, policy and management in combination with the more speculative dialogue on how to respond to climate change will help participants develop strategies to anticipate and adapt to regional changes in climate. At Wetlands 2008 there will be sessions on climate changes as well as the science, program and policy topics that continue to engage wetland managers and scientists. These include Clean Water Act jurisdiction, state and tribal wetland programs, Carabell/Rapanos guidance, mitigation, invasive species, wetland assessment, wetland restoration and other important topics.

Climate Change Threatens Wetlands and Other Waters: Climate change threatens wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplains in a number of ways. Rising sea levels will destroy coastal and estuarine wetlands if these wetlands are unable to migrate inland due to dikes, levees, steep natural topography or other impediments. Increased temperatures will kill temperature- sensitive plant and animal species. Melting permafrost will turn wetlands into open waters or dry lands. Increases in precipitation, which will occur in some areas, will flood wetlands. Decreased precipitation, which will occur in other areas, will decrease in size or destroy playas, vernal pools, and other types of wetlands.

Rising temperatures and reduced water levels will also release carbon from wetlands. It has been estimated that wetlands which include only about 6% of the earth's terrestrial area contain carbon equal to the total atmospheric carbon store. Peat lands and other wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplains continue to store carbon although at a slow rate. Increased temperatures due to climate change will melt permafrost and help oxidize organic soils, releasing carbon to the atmosphere.

Climate change, therefore, is an important issue for wetland, riparian area, and floodplain management. State, federal, and private employees need to understand the status of scientific knowledge concerning climate change. They need to make adjustments in wetland, riparian zone, and floodplain management to reduce impacts and to both store carbon and reduce methane generation while serving broader wetland, riparian, floodplain and stream protection and restoration goals.

Early Registration: April 25, 2008 through August 1, 2008

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Regular Registration:  August 2, 2008 through September 10, 2008

Onsite Registration: September 15, 2008
 

Contact Information
Questions Regarding Program, Please Contact:
Jeanne Christie, Executive Director
Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc.
2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062
(207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089
jeanne.christie@aswm.org

Questions Regarding General Registration, Speaker Registration, and Exhibits, Please Contact:
Laura Burchill, Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc.
2 Basin Road, Windham, ME 04062
(207) 892-3399; Fax: (207) 892-3089; laura@aswm.org.