Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Augusta Civic Center, North Wing
Augusta, Maine

Following is the list of afternoon session for the 2006 Maine Water Conference. Please note that the session on Sustainable Water Use has been cancelled. Speaker schedules will be posted as they become available. Please note that schedules are subject to change. Questions regarding sessions should be addressed to the appropriate session chair.

• SESSION A: When, Where, How Much? — Bottled Water and Bulk Withdrawal Issues
• SESSION B: Landscape-Level Approaches to Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation
• SESSION C: Conservation of Maine's Freshwater Species and Communities
• SESSION D: Culverts, Bridges & Dams — Overcoming the Obstacles
• SESSION E: Science for the Public
• SESSION F: Water Policy Roundtables

Sessions A, E and F have been approved for two Training Contact Hours through the State of Maine Board of Licensure of Water System Operators.

SESSION A
When, Where, How Much? — Bottled Water and Bulk Withdrawal Issues (approved for 2 TCHs)

Session Chair: Rick Knowlton, Aqua Maine (207/236-8428)
Questions have been raised recently about Maine’s bottled water industry and bulk water withdrawals from surface and groundwater sources. This session will take a closer look at this topic and some of the issues involved such as taxing of bulk water withdrawals, potential effects of bulk withdrawals on Maine’s water resources, protection of state water resources, and bottled versus tap water.

Session Breakdown:

1:30pm-1:45pm
Spring Water versus Groundwater — What's the Difference?
John M. Peckenham, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research

1:45pm-2:00pm
How Does Maine Regulate Spring Water Withdrawals?
Andrews L. Tolman, Manager, Source Protection, Maine Drinking Water Program

2:00pm-2:20pm
Why Not Reasonable Use?
Scott Anderson, Verrill Dana LLP

2:20pm-2:30pm
Questions for John, Andy and Scott

2:30pm-2:45pm
BREAK

2:45pm-3:05pm
Dallas Plantation Case Study
Keith Taylor, St. Germain & Associates

3:05 pm-3:25 pm
Determining Sustainable Yields for Public Supply and Bottled Water in Fryeburg, Maine
Peter Garrett, Emery & Garrett Groundwater, Inc.

3:25pm-4:00pm
Panel Discussion
Pat Donoho, Vice President, Government Relations, International Bottled Water Association and Tom Brennan, Natural Resources Manager, Nestle Waters North America join our afternoon speakers in an open discussion with the audience on the challenges and opportunities for Maine as we look ahead to the future use of our natural groundwater resources.

Session B
Landscape-Level Approaches to Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation

Session Co-Chairs: Nancy Sferra and Joshua Royte, The Nature Conservancy

Freshwater ecosystems are an integral part of Maine's landscape diversity. In this session, we explore different ways in which conservation and management priorities can be evaluated for lakes, streams and wetlands through the use of GIS-based analyses of landscape context.

Session Breakdown:

1:30pm-1:50pm
Stream TMDL Assessment as a Conservation Tool
Melissa Evers, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

1:50pm-2:10pm
Identifying historically fishless lakes as a target for conservation
Katie DeGoosh, Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine

2:10pm-2:30pm
Modeling the distribution of naturally fishless lakes in Maine using GIS
Cynthia Loftin, USGS Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

2:30pm-3:00pm
BREAK

3:00pm-3:20pm
A Dual-scale Approach to Conservation Planning for Vernal Pools: Regional Threat Analysis and Local mapping of Critical Habitat Elements
Robert Baldwin, Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine

3:20pm-3:40pm
Developing variable-width lake development set-backs using imperviousness criteria
Steve Kahl, Plymouth State University, NH

3:40pm-4:00pm
The Nature Conservancy's approach to stratifying and prioritizing lakes and streams for conservation
Joshua Royte, The Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy

Session C
Conservation of Maine's Freshwater Species and Communities

Session Chair: Dave Courtemanch, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

This session focuses on key issues related to the conservation of these systems. How do we define priority aquatic ecosystem types and species? What and where are they? Why are they priorities? How do we measure the effectiveness of conservation efforts? What are critical data gaps affecting the the conservation of these systems?

Session Breakdown:

1:30pm-1:50pm
Brook trout habitat as an indicator of stream health
Forrest Bonney, Maine Dept. Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

1:50pm-2:10pm
Minnow species diversity in northern Maine woodland lakes - potential effects of proposed large-scale human development
David Halliwell, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

2:10pm-2:30pm
The development and use of fish assemblage assessment tools for determining the ecological benefits of aquatic ecosystem restoration in Maine Rivers
Brandon Kulik, Kleinschmidt Associates

2:30pm-3:00pm
BREAK

3:00pm-3:20pm
Methods for relocation of freshwater mussels threatened by habitat alteration on the Sebasticook River
Jennifer Kurth, Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine

3:20pm-3:40pm
Saving Highland Lake
Keith Williams, Highland Lake Association

3:40pm-4:00pm
The Nature Conservancy's approach to stratifying and prioritizing lakes and streams for conservation
Joshua Royte, The Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy

Session D
Culverts, Bridges & Dams — Overcoming the Obstacles

Session Chair: Jeff Reardon, Trout Unlimited (207/623-1470)

Many fish species have life history strategies that require migration between different habitats required for different life stages. Historically, much of the focus in fish passage discussions has been on access over dams to freshwater spawning habitats for diadromous fish species. But there is growing evidence that migration is also important for freshwater resident fish, and for aquatic species other than fish. In addition, many structures other than dams may obstruct access to important habitats, including culverts, bridges, tidegates and causeways. In this session, we invite papers that address assessment and restoration of migratory access for aquatic species. Topics include: the role of culvert design in obstructing fish passage; assessment protocols to evaluate passage at potential barriers; design standards for road crossings to avoid migratory barriers; innovative solutions to restore passage at culverts, dams, and other obstructions; selective passage to allow for restoration of native species without allowing further dispersal of invasive aquatic species; and other relevant topics.

Session Breakdown:

1:30pm-1:50pm
Salmonid Passage Through Stream Culvert Entrances
Peter Wedge, University of New Brunswick

1:50pm-2:10pm
Trains, Planes, Automobiles… and Fish: The Fish Passage Story at Maine DOT
Charles S. Hebson, Maine Department of Transportation,

2:10pm-2:30pm
Designing Land Management Road Crossings that are Passage Friendly for Aquatic Species
Christopher R. Martin, Maine Forest Service,

3:00pm-3:20pm
Penobscot River Restoration Project — Why Dam Removal?
Cheryl Daigle, Penobscot River Restoration Trust

3:20pm-3:40pm
Stream Simulation Design: Alternatives to traditional round culverts in Atlantic Salmon DPS watersheds
Steven Koenig, Project SHARE

3:40pm-4:00pm
Incorporating Stream Morphology Into Barrier Removal Design
Matt Bernier, Kleinschmidt Associates

Session E
Science for the Public (approved for 2 TCHs)

Session Co-Chairs: Laura Wilson, UMaine Cooperative Extension (207/581-2971) and Jane Disney, MDI Water Quality Coalition

This session will look at efforts that seek to take scientific research
and data and translate it for use in K-12 and informal education
settings. Scientific information is now readily available through a variety of internet sources. However, for the most part, this information remains accessible only to other researchers and scientists. At the same time, volunteer groups, teachers and students lack technical and extension/outreach skills and proven educational materials. This session will explore current efforts to bring together the available resources and the groups that can best utilize them.

Session Breakdown

1:30pm-1:50pm
On-line tools for finding, viewing and interpreting scientific data.
David Kramar, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research

1:50pm-2:10pm
Sanitary Surveys by the Department of Environmental Protection.
Philip Garwood, John Glowa and James Crowley, Division of Water Resource Regulation, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

2:10pm-2:30pm
Maine VLMP — By and For the People.
Scott Williams, Executive Director, Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP) and Roberta Hill, Program Director, Maine Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants, VLMP

2:30pm-3:00pm
BREAK

3:00pm-3:20pm
Native Science Education: Watersheds as Life Sources Who Connect Culture and Place
Angie Reed, Penobscot Indian Nation, Department of Natural Resources, Water Resources Program; Lee Francis, Indian Island School; and James Francis, Penobscot Indian Nation, Cultural and Historic Preservation Program.

3:20pm-3:40pm
Planet Health Files – Explorations in Environmental Health for Secondary School Students
Cheri L. Butler, Menzie-Cura & Associates, Inc.

3:40pm-4:00pm
LakeSmart: Lessons Learned from Program Evaluation
Christine Smith, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Session F
Water Policy Roundtables (approved for 2 TCHs)

Part I: What's in the Legislature?

Facilitator: Rob Sanford, University of Southern Maine (207/780-5756)

Confirmed Panelists:
Peter Didisheim, Natural Resouce Council of Maine
Maggie Shannon, Maine Congress of Lake Associations
Andrew Fisk, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Karin Tilberg, Maine Department of Conservation
Representative Robert Daigle, R-Arundel
Representative Judd Thompson, D-China

Part II: Connecting Science and Policy

Facilitator: Travis Wagner, University of Southern Maine

Confirmed Panelists:
Peter Rushton, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Representative Robert Daigle, R-Arundel
Representative Joanne Twomey, D-Biddeford
Paul Hunt, Portland Water District
Karen Wilson, USM & Gulf of Maine Research Center