Wisconsin Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Meeting Impact on Conservation with Increasing Commodity Pressures Thursday, February 21, 2013 Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center 1001 Amber Avenue Stevens Point, WI NEW THIS YEAR.. ONLINE REGISTRATION! Visit wi-swcs.org and click on 2013 Annual Conference to learn more!
8:30 a.m. Registration AGENDA 9:00 a.m. Welcome Ryan Gerlich, President; Wisconsin Chapter SWCS Program Overview Moderator Pete Nowak, Professor, UW-Madison 9: 15 a.m. Trends in Commodity Economics and Land Use Bob Battaglia, Director; National Ag Statistics Service Madison, WI 9:55 a.m. Impact of Compliance on Environmental Quality Ryan Stockwell, PhD, Agriculture Program Manager; National Wildlife Federation Medford, WI 10:35 a.m. Break 10: 50 a.m. Water Quality & Tile Matt Komiski, Physical Scientist; USGS Middleton, WI Eric Cooley, Outreach Specialist, Eastern WI Research Coordinator; UW Extension Manitowoc, WI 11:30 a.m. Wisconsin Act 118 Mitigation Liesa Lehmann, Waterway and Wetland Section Chief; Wisconsin DNR, Madison, WI 12: 10 p.m. Lunch & Scholarship Awards/Informal Networking Pat Murphy, SWCS Scholarship Awards Committee 1: 15 p.m. Nutrient Recovery Technology Steve Dvorak, P.E., President; DVO Inc, Chilton, WI 2:00 p.m. Break 2: 45 p.m. Implementing Watershed Adaptive Management Yahara WINS Kathy Lake, Environmental Specialist; Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Yahara WINS Madison, WI 3:30 p.m. Program wrap-up - Pete Nowak 3:40 p.m. Adjournment
SPEAKER OVERVIEW Bob Battaglia has been the Director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service s (NASS) Wisconsin Field Office for the past 16 years. The Wisconsin FO is responsible for conducting USDA s program of agricultural statistics and the Census of Agriculture. The office also conducts data collection and research projects for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and the University of Wisconsin. Bob has worked for NASS for 36 years. Prior to his Wisconsin assignment he led the New Jersey NASS office and worked in Washington DC. Bob is a native of New Jersey and attended Rutgers University. Dr. Ryan Stockwell is the Agriculture Program Manager for the National Wildlife Federation. Ryan provides outreach and policy analysis on Farm Bill and related legislation. Ryan also provides leadership on NWF s efforts to increase farmer adoption of cover crops. Ryan also farms near Medford, Wisconsin. Ryan received a Ph.D. in History from the University of Missouri in 2008. Eric Cooley grew up in Sturgeon Bay and Deforest, Wisconsin. He earned undergraduate degrees in nuclear engineering from Thomas Edison State College and soil and water conservation from UW-Madison and a master s degree in soil physics from UW Madison. Eric also served a 6-year enlistment in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear reactor operator and water chemist. Eric started work for Discovery Farms in December 2004 as an outreach specialist and is currently the research coordinator. His work focuses on natural resources issues in eastern Wisconsin with an emphasis on surface water runoff and tile line drainage. He was previously employed by the Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department, where he specialized in nutrient management planning. Matt Komiskey, Matt Komiskey is a physical scientist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). He is a project chief of a variety of projects dealing primarily with agriculture and nonpoint pollution related issues. These projects involve investigation into water quality trends to best management practice (BMP) evaluations from small watersheds to edge-of-field and subsurface tile locations. One of the current projects Matt is working on is a priority watersheds component of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) where evaluation of NRCS BMPs are being conducted at the small watershed and field scale in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. Liesa Lehmann has served as the Waterways and Wetlands Section Chief for WDNR s Bureau of Watershed Management since 2008. Liesa began her career in conservation working as a Water Management Specialist for WDNR, spending 10 years protecting lake, river and wetland resources by administering waterway and wetland permit requirements. Following that she worked 5 years as a statewide waterway policy coordinator. In her current role, Liesa manages the statewide policy and implementation of Wisconsin s waterway and wetland permitting and shoreland zoning programs. She has degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is an avid paddler, hiker and gardener.
Stephen Dvorak, P.E., obtained a degree in Industrial/Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Upon graduation, Stephen joined the MBA program at Madison. He earned his Professional Engineer designation in 1977. In 1989, Stephen founded an environmental engineering firm, known today as DVO, Inc (formerly known as GHD, Inc.). Since 2001, DVO has designed its market-leading, patented mixed plug-flow digester systems for dairy and poultry farms, beef feedlots, and slaughterhouse waste across the nation. DVO is the largest on-farm anaerobic digester developer in the United States, with over 70 farms currently operating a DVO digester and another eight sites under construction. In addition, DVO has expanded abroad, with several international projects either operating or under construction. Kathy Lake serves as the Environmental Specialist for the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. Her duties include implementing the District s Watershed Adaptive Management project. This project brings together over 30-parties to fund phosphorus reducing practices targeted at water quality improvements in the Yahara River basin. The project, called Yahara WINs, is the first regulatory adaptive management project in the country. Project funding comes from each of the participants as well as private and public funding organizations. Kathy is a professional engineer with a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Become a SWCS Member Membership benefits: Effective representation in policy circles on environmental, agricultural, and conservation issues Opportunities to network with and learn from professionals from many disciplines through local, regional, and international meetings. Interaction and education through local chapter membership in U.S. and Canada Journal of Soil and Water Conservation subscription E-newsletter Conservogram Discounts on books and conference and workshop registration fees Lapel pin and membership card Student memberships are open to full-time high school students, university undergraduate or graduate students. Become a member of SWCS Wisconsin Chapter by visiting the SWCS website at www.swcs.org
REGISTRATION DUE BY FEBRUARY 14, 2013 Location: Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center 1001 Amber Avenue Stevens Point, WI 54481 (off I-39 and Route 51) Registration: Member - through February 14, 2013: $55.00 After February 14, 2013: $65.00 Non-member - $65.00 Student $35.00 Hotel Reservations: Participants are responsible for room reservations at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center Phone: 715-344-0200 Please complete a registration form for each participant (or register online at wi-swcs.org) (copy/print additional forms as needed) PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION Name: Address: Affiliation: Phone: Email: Check one: Member Registration $55.00 Non-member Registration $65.00 Student Registration $35.00 Late Registration Member (after February 14) $65.00 Vegetarian Option One check may be sent for multiple registrations mailed in the same envelope. Please mail this registration form and your remittance, payable to: Wisconsin Chapter - SWCS to Gene Hausner 520 N. Worcester Street, Spring Green, WI 53588. Questions can be directed to Gene via email: hausnergp@frontier.com Refunds will only be given if cancelation notice is received before February 11 th.