"Planning for a Sustainable Future: The Case of the North American
Great Plains"
May 8-10, 1995, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hosts: University of Nebraska -- International Drought Information
Center; High Plains Climate Center; and Great Plains Regional
Center for Global Environmental Change
Sponsors:
Canada -- Environment Canada; PFRA, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada; International Institute for Sustainable Development
United States -- Global Change Program, U.S. Department of
Agriculture; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
U.S. Geological Survey; University of Nebraska-Lincoln --
International Drought Information Center, High Plains Climate
Center, Great Plains Center for Global Environmental Change,
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, and Center for Great
Plains Studies
Statement of Need and Purpose
This symposium will begin to define an environmentally
sustainable future for the North American Great Plains. The
process began with the conduct of a regional workshop in October
1993 and will continue well after this symposium is concluded. The
meeting is expected to produce a series of conclusions and
recommendations that will help define a future science and policy
agenda for the region. The project is linked to the activities of
the President's Council on Sustainable Development in the United
States and the government of Canada's Sustainable Development
Agenda.
Planning for a Sustainable Future: The Case of the North
American Great Plains will be an opportunity for those involved in
sustainable development to exchange ideas, ranging from broad
policy-level perspectives to highly specific, practical ways to
conserve resources and minimize environmental impact. Sustainable
development issues will be discussed in a regional context with
national and international overtones. Speakers will highlight
specific dimensions of the sustainability debate, examining these
issues in light of projected changes in climate.
The North American Great Plains is a critical environmental
zone where the impacts of climate change are likely to be more
severe and to materialize more rapidly than in less fragile
ecosystems. There are many stakeholders in the future of the North
American Great Plains. This diverse set of individuals and
organizations is encouraged to attend the symposium and participate
fully in the deliberations. The symposium will help open a formal
dialog between sustainability experts, top-level policy makers, and
stakeholders. Conferees will be asked to work together to develop
recommendations for future action and policy-relevant research that
will lead the region toward a sustainable future. Ideally, long-
term solutions should be viable environmentally, economically, and
socially. In the two days following the meeting, the Planning
Committee will meet to prepare a plan of action for sustainability
in the North American Great Plains, which will be communicated to
the President's Council on Sustainable Development in the United
States and to the government of Canada's Sustainable Development
Agenda.
Symposium Format
The three-day symposium will incorporate plenary and working
group sessions. Two sessions will showcase environmentally sound,
resource-efficient projects that exemplify the concept of
sustainability for the North American Great Plains.
An evening session will be devoted to featuring the activities
and measurable results from a diverse set of sustainable
development projects in the region. This session will illustrate--
via poster displays, demonstrations, and video presentations--both
the process and results of successful programs. The presentations
will concentrate on the social and human impacts of these projects,
lessons learned in the process, and their future directions.
Exhibits at the demonstration session will represent a broad range
of areas, including wildlife habitat and management, sustainable
agricultural production, natural resource management, community
economic viability, job generation, environmental education,
wetlands preservation and restoration, and water quality and reuse.
Presenters will include university researchers, government
officials, representatives of utilities, and natural resource
managers.
Who Should Attend
The sustainability symposium will be of interest to policy makers,
natural resource managers, academics, researchers, environmental
and special interest groups, representatives of agricultural
organizations, agriculturalists, representatives of industry and
municipalities, community-based organiations, and the media.
Proceedings
A symposium proceedings, including papers presented,
recommendations of working groups, and abstracts from the
demonstration/poster session, will be published following the
meeting. Each registered participant will receive a copy of the
proceedings. The proceedings will also be available electronically
on Internet.
Program
Sunday, May 7
6:30-8:00 p.m. Registration and evening reception. Refreshments
and hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Monday, May 8
7:00-8:00 a.m. Registration
8:00-8:30 a.m. Session 1--Welcome and Introductions
Donald A. Wilhite, Director, International Drought Information
Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Governor Ben Nelson, Nebraska (invited)
8:30-9:45 a.m. Keynote Speakers: An Overview of National
Initiatives in Sustainable Development (Moderator: Donald A.
Wilhite)
Molly Olson, Executive Director, President's Council on Sustainable
Development, Washington, D.C.
Clifford Lincoln (invited), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister
for the Environment, Environment Canada, Ottawa
9:45-10:15 a.m. Refreshment Break
10:15-12:15 p.m. Session 2--Region at Risk? (Moderator: William E.
Easterling, Director, Great Plains Regional Center for Global
Environmental Change, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Economic and Social Stressors
Marvin Duncan, Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics, North
Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota
Dennis U. Fisher, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A &
M University, College Station, Texas
Mark Drabenstott, Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City, Missouri
Implications of Global Environmental Change
Barry Smit, Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Ontario (Chair, Canadian Climate Programs Socio-Economic Impacts
Committee)
Policies for a Sustainable Future
Harry Hill, Director-General, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation
Administration, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Regina,
Saskatchewan
Hartley Furtan, Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Food, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan
12:15-12:45 p.m. Discussion and Summary of Papers
12:45-2:00 p.m. Luncheon Banquet and Speaker
Sustaining the Great Plains: A Federal Policy Perspective
Senator Bob Kerrey, Nebraska
Session 3--Case Studies of Sustainable Development (Moderator:
Brian O'Donnell, Director, Prairie and Northern Region, Environment
Canada, Edmonton)
2:00-2:45 p.m. A Case Study of Sustainable Land Use: The Delivery
of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in Prairie Canada
and Its Socio-Economic Impacts (Case Study #1)
Greg Riemer, Manager, Agricultural Services, Saskatchewan Wetland
Conservation Corporation; and Julia Taylor and D. Burden,
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2:45-3:15 p.m. Refreshment Break
3:15-4:00 p.m. Education and Research to Support Sustainable
Development: A Regional Mandate in the North Central United States
(Case Study #2)
Charles F. Francis, Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
4:00-4:30 p.m. Wrap-up to Day 1 Presentations, Introduction of
Evening and Day 2 Activities
Brian O'Donnell and Donald A. Wilhite
6:00-9:00 p.m. Demonstration Showcase Session on Sustainable
Development in the North American Great Plains
Organizations and individuals will showcase/exhibit examples of
sustainable development projects from the North American Great
Plains. The atmosphere will be informal, providing participants
with opportunities to interact with others. Refreshments and hors
d'oeuvres will be served.
Tuesday, May 9
Session 4--Case Studies of Sustainable Development (Moderator:
Donald A. Wilhite)
8:30-9:15 a.m. Sustainable Groundwater Protection: Educating
Communities for Local Action (Case Study #3)
Susan S. Seacrest, President, The Groundwater Foundation, Lincoln,
Nebraska
9:15-10:30 a.m. Reverse Engineering the Sustainable Development
Process: Adapting Eight Decades of Experience to Enhance the Future
(Case Study #4)
Jim Webber, General Manager, Eastern Irrigation District, Brooks,
Alberta
10:30-11:00 a.m. Refreshment Break
11:00-12:00 noon Defining Sustainability Concerns and Issues for
the North American Great Plains: Challenges and Opportunities
(Moderator: Brian O'Donnell)
Allen Tyrchniewicz, International Institute for Sustainable
Development, Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Steve Ragone, U.S. Geological
Survey, Reston, Virginia
Discussion
12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:30-1:45 p.m. Moving Toward a Sustainable Future: Charge to
Working Groups
Donald A. Wilhite
1:45-4:30 p.m. Working Groups in Session
Working groups will discuss and debate sustainability issues of
critical importance to the North American Great Plains. Questions
will be defined for the working groups in advance by the symposium
planning committee in concert with speakers. The goal of the
working group sessions is to recommend specific actions or policies
that will facilitate the development of a sustainable future for
the region.
Refreshment Break (at the leisure of the working groups)
4:30-5:30 p.m. Working Group Rapporteurs' Reports (Panel
Moderator: Donald A. Wilhite)
Preliminary presentation of discussions and key issues identified
Discussion
5:30 p.m. Day 2 Wrap-up and Lead-in to Day 3
Brian O'Donnell and Donald A. Wilhite
7:00-9:00 p.m. Symposium Banquet
Wednesday, May 10
8:30-8:40 a.m. Charge to Working Groups and Discussion
Donald A. Wilhite and Brian O'Donnell
8:30-12:00 noon Working Groups in Session
12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:30-3:00 p.m. Working Group Rapporteurs' Reports and Discussion
(Panel Moderator: Brian O'Donnell)
3:00-3:30 p.m. Refreshment Break
3:30-4:30 p.m. Symposium Synthesis: Recommendations for Regional
Initiatives (Plan of Action) (Panel Moderator: Charles F. Francis,
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln)
Panel:
Rosina M. Bierbaum, Senior Policy Analyst, Environment Program,
Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the
President, Washington, D.C.
George Pearson, Director, Strategic Planning, Agriculture Canada,
Ottawa
Art Hanson, President and CEO, International Institute for
Sustainable Development, Winnipeg
Symposium Facilities and Hotel Accommodations
The symposium will be held at the newly completed Burnham
Yates Conference Center, adjoining the Cornhusker Hotel, 333 South
13th Street, in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. The Burnham Yates
Conference Center contains more than 40,000 square feet of meeting
space. The Cornhusker Hotel is a AAA Four Diamond hotel, offering
290 superb guest rooms and suites with dining that is among
Nebraska's finest. The hotel has an indoor pool and exercise room.
Complimentary transportation from the Lincoln Airport to the hotel
is available by using the hotel's courtesy phone in the airport's
arrival terminal.
A block of sleeping rooms has been reserved for symposium
participants until April 16, 1995, at the rate of US$72.00 per
night, plus tax, for up to four persons. Reservations made after
that date will be subject to guest room and rate availability.
Hotel reservations can be made by calling the Cornhusker Hotel at
(800) 793-7474 (toll free within the United States and Canada) or
(402) 474-7474. The room block is being held under the name Great
Plains Symposium.
For persons traveling by air, it is most convenient to fly
directly into Lincoln on United, TWA, Northwest Airlink,
Continental Connections, or U.S. Air Express. For those who find
it more economical to fly into Omaha, the Eppley Express leaves
Omaha's Eppley Airfield for Lincoln at 11:45 a.m., 3:05 p.m., and
6:00 p.m. The fare is $16 one way, $32 round trip. For those
driving, Lincoln is located on Interstate 80 about 50 miles
southwest of Omaha. Parking is available at a nominal daily rate
at a city-owned covered parking facility adjacent to The
Cornhusker.
Registration
The registration fee for the symposium is $150.00 if
postmarked by March 15, 1995. Registration fees received after
that date will be $175.00. The registration fee includes symposium
program materials, refreshment breaks, lunch on Monday, dinner on
Tuesday, and one copy of the proceedings. Registration fees will
be refunded, less a $25 handling fee, if notice is received in
writing before April 1, 1995. No refunds will be given after that
date.
Student Registration
Students may register for the symposium at a reduced rate of
$50.00. This fee includes refreshment breaks, program materials,
and a copy of the proceedings. Students should complete the
registration form and return it along with a letter from their
advisor, on letterhead, confirming their student status.
For more information about the symposium, please contact:
Dr. Donald A. Wilhite, Director
International Drought Information Center
University of Nebraska
P.O. Box 830728
Lincoln, NE 68583-0728
Phone: (402) 472-6707
Fax: (402) 472-6614
E-mail: agme002@unlvm.unl.edu
Pam Murray, Coordinator
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems
and Center for Grassland Studies
U. of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0949
V: 402-472-2056 F: -4104