Reflections on 2010 International Annual Conference

Excerpt

As we closed the doors on the week-long event that was this year's 65th International Annual Conference of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), we left St. Louis, Missouri, with the satisfaction that 615 participants who attended had benefitted from an outstanding program of education, professional development, and networking opportunities. Through the combined efforts of the program committee, Missouri Show-Me Chapter, workshop leaders, sponsors, volunteers, and participants were treated to a kaleidoscope of learning opportunities each day.

The Fellows Forum examined Gulf hypoxia from a Midwest perspective. Forum panelists discussed nutrient enrichment from agricultural lands, wastewater discharges, and urban runoff. They also explored opportunities and costs to address excess nutrient loss into Midwest waters that lead to the Gulf. Later in the conference, Michele Laur of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and Nathaniel Ostrom of Michigan State University led a discussion session on the additional challenge the Gulf oil spill has brought to the Gulf ecosystem. Ostrom contributed the historic perspective of the 1979 Ixtoc 1 oil spill that resulted in 140 million gallons of oil being released into the Gulf off the coast of Cuidad del Carmen, Mexico. Laur described the efforts the USDA was making…