Conference 2008

October 17, Des Moines Botanical Center

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- Members meeting follows

We turn on the faucet and drink clean water right from the tap.  We cook with it, clean with it.  We cannot survive without it. But what happens to it before it gets to your tap and why does it matter?  Did you know that the waters of Iowa belong to the people of Iowa?  What legacy are we leaving our children and how can we make a difference? 

The Iowa Environmental Council’s 2008 conference will explore all of these questions and more.

Registration is $50 for members, $75 for non-members (includes introductory membership), and $20 for students. Click on the registration form links (left) for more information or call Barbra Jotzke at 515-244-1194, ext 202.

Conference sessions will include sessions and workshops on:
• A history of Iowa’s rivers, streams and lakes and how humans have altered them
• How our altered landscape impacts water quality
• The current state of Iowa’s water—quality and quantity
• Rebuilding after the floods—the state’s response to the 2008 floods
• Our water rights and responsibilities—a legal perspective
• How citizens can make a difference in an urban setting
• How citizens can make a difference on a watershed basis—grassroots watershed mobilization and other tactics that work
• Vision and Action—a participatory workshop that will address the question: What do we want for the future of water in Iowa and how do we get there?

Featured speakers include:

• Cornelia F. Mutel author of “The Emerald Horizon – The History of Nature in Iowa”
• Richard Leopold, Director, Iowa DNR
• Cornelia Butler Flora, Director of North Central Regional Center for Rural Development and the Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Sociology at Iowa State University.
• Craig Cox, Midwest Vice President for Environmental Working Group

The Council’s annual conference is open to the general public. While this conference may be especially helpful to those currently working or interested in working with a watershed association, a community improvement project or urban and rural planning, anyone who has an interest in learning more about Iowa water quality issues will also find this conference valuable.