ASWM's Annual State/Federal Coordination Meeting will be a special part of symposia at the Society of Wetland Scientists 2008 Annual Conference: Capitalizing on Wetlands scheduled for May 26-30 at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The ASWM symposia will include eight sessions scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 through Friday, May 30th within the overall conference.  2008 will be a year of change in wetland and water policy at the state, tribal and national levels. The state/federal coordination symposium organized by the Association of State Wetland Managers will cover important revisions in federal and state wetland policy where the application of sound science will be critical to the delivery of balanced programs to protect the public’s interest in clean water.  Topics will include: upcoming changes in federal wetland policy, the wetlands delineation manual supplements, the new Federal Geographic Data Committee wetland mapping standard, opportunities for streamlining permitting, discussion on the  new federal mitigation rule, implementation and revisions to the Carabell/Rapanos guidance  and strengthening the states’ role in implementing the Clean Water Act.  The symposium is designed to facilitate discussion among state and tribal wetland program managers, federal agencies, scientists and other wetland professionals to prepare for the challenges ahead. To participate, individuals must register as an SWS conference participant on the Society of Wetland Scientists website.

PowerPoint presentation are now posted. Click on [Presentation - PDF] after speakers name to view in PDF format. Please check back as more will be added.

SYMPOSIUM #11:  State/Federal Coordination: Responding to Challenges in Public Policy to Conserve and Protect Wetlands Organized by Jeanne Christie (jeanne.christie@aswm.org) and the Association of State Wetland Managers

This symposium consists of eight sessions, as follows (see the schedule for times and rooms):

Wednesday Morning, May 288, 2008

ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 1: STATE WETLAND PROGRAMS STATUS REPORT AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (Lincoln 4) Moderator: Jeanne Christie and Peg Bostwick         8:00-8:30 Austin Kane [Presentation - PDF] Summary of State Wetland Programs   8:30-9:00 Katherine Antos [Presentation - PDF] Programmatic and Environmental Results: Year Two of the Wetland Pilot Grants   9:00-10:00 All States and Tribes Present Introductions and Shared Discussion on Top Issues for State Wetland Managers   10:00-10:30 BREAK (TBD)       ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 2: CHANGES IN FEDERAL WETLAND AND WATER PROGRAMS (Lincoln 4) Moderator: Jon Kusler     10:30-11:00 Palmer Hough, Mark Sudol Implementing the Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule   11:00-11:30 Julie Sibbing [Presentation - PDF] Wetlands and the New Farm Bill   11:30-12:00 Jim Murphy New USACE/FEMA Policies, Implications of a National Levee Program

Thursday Morning, May 29, 2008

ASWM State/Federal Coordination Plenary Session - WETLANDS POLICY IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT (Lincoln 2, 3, and 4) Moderator: Jeanne Christie

8:00-8:40 Virginia Burkett Wetlands and Climate Change

8:40-9:20 Lynn Scarlett Federal Lands/Water and Climate Change

9:20-10:00 Mike Houck Wetlands in an Urban Environment   10:00-10:30 BREAK (Exhibit Hall C)   10:30-11:15 Robert Costanza Valuing Wetlands: New Directions or Trends for Valuing Wetlands   11:15-12:00 Stephen Samuels   Clean Water Act Jurisdiction and the Courts     12:00-1:30 LUNCH

Thursday Afternoon, May 29, 2008     ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 3: CARABELL/RAPANOS AND CLEAN WATER ACT JURISDICTION (Lincoln 3 and 4) Moderator: Jeanne Christie     1:30-2:00 Brian Frazer,  Mark Sudol [Presentation - PDF] Implementing Carabell/Rapanos Guidance in the Field 2:00-2:30 Kim Diana Connolly What Are "Navigable Waters" in 2008? - How the Rapanos Decision Permeates the Entire Clean Water Act 2:30-3:00 Jon Kusler [Presentation - PDF] Defining State/Federal/Consultant collaboration—Is Legislation Required     ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 4: WETLANDS AND WATER RESOURCES MAPPING IN A GIS ENVIRONMENT (Lincoln 2) Moderator: Alan Quackenbush   1:30-2:00 Margaret Heber [Presentation - PDF] Wetland Mapping Standard 2:00-2:30 Larry Sugarbaker Integrating wetlands with GIS data layers 2:30-3:00 Matthew Stahman [Presentation - PDF] Life After Rapanos: Practical Use of GIS to Complete USACE Wetland JD Forms

ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 5: STREAMLINING WETLAND PERMITTING PROGRAMS (Lincoln 3 and 4) Moderator: Kerry Strout

3:30-4:00 Doug Fry [Presentation - PDF] Improving Program Efficiency in Florida   4:00-4:30 Sandy Crystal [Presentation - PDF] Auditt of New Hampshire’s Wetland Regulatory Program: Findings and Next Steps   4:30-5:00 Jeanne Christie Moderated Discussion on Strategies for Streamlining Section 404 Permitting       ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 6: IMPROVING WETLAND DELINEATIONS (Lincoln 2) Moderator: Janet Morlan     3:30-3:45 J.S. Wakeley [Presentation - PDF] Introducing the Interim Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual   3:45-4:00 R.W. Lichvar and S.M. McColley Ordinary high water delineation manual for arid west stream channels   4:00-4:30 R.W. Lichvar The Corps "National Wetland Plant List"   4:30-4:45 R.W. Lichvar, J. Klein and S.M. McColley Evaluation of assigning indicator statuses to wetland plants   4:45-5:00 R.W. Lichvar and L.D. Dixon Wetland plants of specialized habitats in the arid west   5:00-5:15 P. Minkin National Technical Committee for Wetland Vegetation   5:15-5:30 R.W. Lichvar Mathematical characteristics of hydrophytic vegetation formulas   Friday Morning, May 30, 2008       ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 7: STRENGTHENING THE STATE’S ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING SECTION 404 OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT (Lincoln 3 and 4) Moderator: Peg Bostwick         8:00-8:30 Kathy Hurld [Presentation - PDF] Pursuing 404 Assumption:  What States Say About Benefits and Obstacles   8:30-9:00 Dave Davis Evaluating State Options for Leadership in Section 404   9:00-9:30 John Dorney [Presentation - PDF] Utilizing Science and Leveraging Partnerships to Implement Carabell/Rapanos Guidance in North Carolina   9:30-10:00 Jeanne Christie A strategy for state participation in implementing Section 404   10:00-10:30 BREAK (TBD)       ASWM State/Federal Coordination Session 8: IMPROVING STATE PROGRAMMATIC GENERAL PERMITS (Lincoln 3 and 4) Moderator: Dave Davis         10:30-11:00 Mark Sudol Moving Away from Traditional Nationwides to Develop State-Based SPGP’s and RGPs   11:00-11:30 James Robb RGP + PGP = A Successful Corps/State Partnership   11:30-12:30 Jeanne Christie Developing Guidance for the States on Negotiating SPGP’s and RGP’s

MEETING REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE!

Register now for the SWS 29th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, May 26-30, 2008. Registration information is available at the SWS website

SWS HOTEL RESERVATIONS

The SWS Annual Meeting will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Sheraton Grand Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington DC. For reservations call (202) 328-2000, or go to SWS Accommodations and follow the link for online reservations at the Wardman Park Hotel. Rates for this meeting are $175 Single/Double and are available from May 23-31, 2008, subject to availability. SWS has reserved a block of rooms. Once this block of rooms is sold out, rooms may be available at the prevailing rate. Reserve your room early, because the block is going fast. Remember the cut off for this rate is May 2, 2008 or until the SWS room block is sold out.

DISCOUNTED ROOM RATES FOR STUDENTS!!!

Full-time student attendees may receive a discount of $50 per room per night, for the nights of May 26-30 only. Wardman Park Hotel rooms must be booked using the website above; subsidies will be distributed at the SWS meeting. The number of discounted rooms for students is limited. Discounts will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. To apply for a discounted room, click here

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