The biennial Regional Research and Extension Water Quality Conference will return in 2005 to the beautiful Dolce Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington. Scheduled for November 2 and 3, 2005, with a pre-conference workshop on November 1, the conference will focus on groundwater issues in the Pacific Northwest. The conference is expected to draw an audience of approximately 200 water-resource professionals from around the region to present and share their work with researchers, regulators, practitioners, educators, students, and others. From research to outreach, from policy to human health, the conference will cover a wide range of topics on groundwater quantity and quality. The call for abstracts will be out soon. In addition to presenting your most recent experiences, staying current on the latest technical, social, and legal issues are essential to a water-resource professionals’ career. Networking with peers is also important. The conference schedule will allow an opportunity to accomplish this by providing a day and a half of concurrent sessions, ample break and meal times, and a poster session/networking reception. Mark your calendar and join your colleagues in Stevenson, Washington to learn about the many interesting aspects of groundwater in the Pacific Northwest. Stevenson, Washington is located in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge national Scenic Area, less than an hour’s drive from the Vancouver, Washington/Portland, Oregon area. This beautiful area has much to offer for those wanting to do some hiking or sightseeing. Some ideas for sightseeing include the following: Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, Stevenson, Washington. Learn about the natural and human history of the area. Contact: (800) 991-2338. Mount St. Helens national Volcanic Monument, Monument Headquarters, Amboy, Washington. Discover the drama of an active volcano. Contact: (360) 449-7800. Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge & Marine Park, Cascade Locks, Oregon. Cruise the Columbia River Gorge aboard a triple-deck paddle wheeler. Contact: (800) 643-1354.

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/ University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu/ University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Dan Burns: 360-392-4328 dburns@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	The Project Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Our Goal and Approach The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs. Our Strengths The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration; and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.
	For more information on things to do in this area, contact the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce at (800) 989-9178 or visit their web site at http://www.skamania.org/. The 2005 conference is sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The conference is being organized by the State of Washington Water Research Center with help from the following: Compliance Services International; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; Northwest Indian College; Oregon Dept. of Human Services; Oregon State University; University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service; University of Idaho; USDA NRCS; USEPA Region 10; USGS; Washington State Dept. of Agriculture; Washington State Dept. of Ecology; Washington State University; and Washington State University Extension.
	For more information, contact the State of Washington Water Research Center by e-mail at watercenter@wsu.edu or continue to check the SWWRC web site at: http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/.
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	NIFA is the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a sub-agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is the federal partner in this water quality program.

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HOME | About | Calendar | Contacts | Links | PNW Water Updates | Sitemap NIFA National Water Quality Program This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734. all external sites will open in a new browser window page last modified on August 27, 2006