Cache River Symposium         

Scientists to unveil new research on the Cache River Wetlands during three-day conference

[AUG. 7, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- Members of the scientific community will come together Thursday through Saturday in Carterville for a symposium on the Cache River Wetlands. The theme is "Advancing the Restoration of an Internationally Significant Wetlands Ecosystem."

Hosted by the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center and the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership, of which the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a member agency, the three-day conference will serve as a backdrop for some of the nation's most respected scientists to reveal research on the beneficial impact of the Cache River Wetlands on southern Illinois. The symposium will also explore the question of how to save the river and its surrounding wetlands, which are considered one of just 22 wetlands in the United States to be designated as having international significance by the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nations.

Topics to be discussed at the conference include sedimentation reduction, restoring wetland bird habitat, historic and prehistoric hydrology of the river, research on restoring bottomland forests, a conservation vision, economic concerns, and change in plant life along the river.

Presenters include Dr. Beth Middleton, a research ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, La., who is also secretary-general of the Society of Wetland Scientists and an editor for the Journal of Vegetation Science; Dr. James Caudill, a senior economist with the Division of Economics, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Scott Robinson, professor of Ecosystem Conservation and associate director for research at the Florida Museum of Natural History of the University of Florida; Dr. David Braun, watershed initiative director for The Nature Conservancy's Upper Mississippi River Program; and Dr. Misganaw Demissie, a principal scientist and director of the Center for Watershed Science at the Illinois State Water Survey.

Also joining the event will be Bill Gradle, the Illinois state conservationist for USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. NRCS is a new addition to the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership, having just signed a formal "Memorandum of Understanding" with the group.

Additional information on the Cache River Symposium can be found at www.ngrrec.org.

• Who: Members of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership and members of the scientific community.

• What: Cache River Symposium

• When: Aug. 10, 8:30 a.m.

• Where: John A. Logan Community College Conference Center, Carterville

All sessions are free and open to the public.

[Illinois Department of Natural Resources news release]