Wetlands & Streams Tour & Symposium 2022: Tickets and Sponsorships

August 18 Tour & Aug 19 Symposium

FRIDAY evening Banquet & Live Music benefiting local projects

A block of rooms at the Springhill Suites has been reserved for the Wetlands & Streams Tour and Symposium
(Wednesday & Thursday Night - $96, Friday - $149)

Thursday, August 18th

Hop on a luxury charter-bus tour and see river and wetland projects up close. Tour begins and ends at SpringHill Suites located at One Riverfront Plaza, Lawrence, KS.

8:00am, Registration Opens in the Atrium of SpringHill Suites (lower level). Complimentary coffee and pastries provided.

9:00am, Kansas River Walk along the access road towards the Bowersock Dam. This first stop will occur by exiting the Atrium onto the promenade and onto the recently created access road on the south bank of the KS River. The short 15 minute total walk and tour will be led by Matt Bond, P.E., CFM, Engineering Program Manager, City of Lawrence, and will cover recent efforts along the banks of the Kansas River while discussing efforts for recreation projects still to come.

In addition, Gary Koons, Project Manager, Juniper Environmental, will also discuss a recent feasibility study that was completed for the KS Dept of Wildlife and Parks to evaluate the potential for acoustics to be placed on the Bowersock Dam to prevent passage of invasive carp at high flows. The challenges of such a study will become clear to participants as we will be looking at the dam, from the waters edge just a few hundred feet downstream of the dam.

10:00am, Board charter buses and depart SpringHill Suites east parking lot for the Wakarusa River located below Clinton Lake. This stop will focus on recent efforts to create in-river paddling and fishing opportunities that many other mid-western states such as Iowa have successfully completed. This stop will be led by Aaron Deters, Executive Director, KAWS and Derek Rogers, Parks and Rec Director, City of Lawrence, and Nathan Werner PE, CFM, S20 Design and will discuss the feasibility study, conceptual plan, and next steps needed to continue to move the project forward.

11:45am, Arrive at Baker Wetlands Discovery Center. This lunch stop will include a Box Lunch and a property overview by Dr. Irene Unger. There will be time to explore some of the 927 acres of wetlands and rich, natural wildlife.

1:00pm, Buses depart for a rolling tour of the farmable wetlands and oxbows of the KS River Valley. Led by Matt Hough, Conservation Program Delivery Manager NE & KS, Ducks Unlimited, this rolling tour will stop to discuss opportunities and challenges for both producers and wetlands at key locations in the watershed.

2:30pm, Arrive at Coblentz Constructed Wetland on the upper end of Clinton Lake. Hop on as we will take a hay-rack ride across the berms of recent wetlands to view water sampling equipment as part of a multi-partner effort to study the effectiveness of the wetlands. This final tour stop will be led by Justin Hamilton, Public Land Manager, KS Dept of Wildlife and Parks, and Dr. Ted Peltier, professor, University of Kansas.

4:00 - 4:30pm, Arrive at SpringHill Suites.

5:00pm, Evening social. Our good friends at Great Blue Heron Outdoors, will host this opportunity to continue the networking while you enjoy free beer, wine and Papa Keno's pizza!

Friday, August 19th

(click on hyperlink for presentation abstract)

All sessions on Friday will be held at Abe & Jake's Landing in Lawrence Kansas. Seventeen speakers are preparing to make Friday a unique and educational event.

8:00am Doors and Registration Open

9:00am Plenary Session (main room):

• Steve Adair, Ph.D. Chief Wetland Scientist, Ducks Unlimited, Bismarck, ND, "Wetlands and Streams – Supporting Life and Sustaining Our Communities"
• Staci Williams, Senior Community Development Strategist, ISG Inc, Des Moines, IA & Maggie McClelland, Director, ICON Water Trails, Des Moines, IA, "Integrating Rivers and Streams as a Catalyst for Community Revitalization and Resiliency"
• Amy Hansen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Kansas, "Interactions between Wetlands and Streams: Implications for Water Quality, Hydrology and Ecosystem Health"
• Nathan Werner, PE, CFM, Project Engineer, S2O Design, Lyons, CO, " Fostering Conservation through River Recreation Projects"

12:00pm Lunch provided by JBs Taco!

1:00pm Concurrent (half-hour)Sessions:

• Wetlands Session (main room):
  • Tim Menard, Wildlife Biologist, USFWS,"Wetland Values and Benefits"
  • Nicole Welborn, Agricultural Program Specialist, Kansas Farm Service Agency, "Water, Wildlife and CRP"
  • Tim Horst, Land Manager for Great Plains Regional Office, NE & KS, Ducks Unlimited, "Habitat Management Strategies for Managing Wetlands Remotely"
  • Richard A Weber, PE Emeritus, USDA -NRCS Wetland Hydraulic Engineer, Retired, "Landscape Hydrology - Streams, Floodplains, and Wetlands"
• Streams & Rivers Session (pub room)
  • Jason Sweet, Chief Delivery Officer, Juniper Environmental,"Low Tech Process Based Stream Restoration Performance Study in the Great Plains"
  • Kelly VanElders, Stantec Consulting, Inc. Kansas City, "River Recreation, a Narrative for Recreation on the Kansas River"
  • Chris Steffen, Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator, KS Dept of Wildlife and Parks,"Kansas River Invasive Carp History and Management"
  • Brian Halm, co-founder and CEO of Streamside Systems, Inc, "Interception as an Alternative to Sediment Management"
• Water Quality Session (patio/riverside - outside)
  • Suzy Mooney, District Manager, Douglas County Conservation District, "Rainfall Simulator Demonstration"
  • Dawn Buehler, Kansas River Waterkeeper, Friends of the Kaw & Andrew Rutter, Upper Wakarusa River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies Coordinator, "Using Water Quality Education to Advocate for the Kansas River"
  • Tony Capizzo, Flint Hills Initiative Manager for the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, "Virtual Fence Pilot Project in the Flint Hills"
  • Trevor Flynn, Assistant Director, Municipal Services and Operations, City of Lawrence, "Overview of the City of Lawrence's Treatment System and Water Quality Projects"

Happy Half-Hour at 3 PM: We are breaking out the FREE BEER (from Lawrence Beer Co.) early to make this a one-of-a-kind event. We will also be serving a river-related snack you've likely never sampled before from Two Rivers Fisheries!!

3:30 pm Closing Session (main room) grab your drink and grab a seat in the main room for the final symposium speaker.

• Kari Bigham, PE, Ph.D., Kansas State University "Stream Restoration in the United States Breadbasket"

4:15 pm Symposium Ends and Early Bird Happy Hour Begins. As Symposium attendees, you will be able to enjoy drinks and snacks prior to the general attendees of the banquet.

Friday Evening Banquet and Fundraiser to Support River and Wetland Projects of Clinton Lake :

• 4:30 PM, Doors Open
• 5:00 PM, Happy Hour including free drinks from Lawrence Beer Co. and locally made chips and salsa. Live Music by Sky Smeed. Bid on Silent Auction items ranging from guided fishing trips and kayaks to flat screen TVs and grills.
• 6:00 PM, Biemer's BBQ (included), local Clinton Lake Presenters
• 7:00 PM, Live Music Resumes and Free Drinks continue
• 8:00 PM, Raffles Begin
• 8:30 PM, Banquet Ends

Student? Please reach out to Libby Albers at libby.albers@kaws.org

Tour, Symposium & Banquet Refund and Cancellation Guidelines

KAWS' Tour, Symposium & Banquet Cancellation and Refund Guidelines will be as follows:
Tickets canceled on-line on, or before July 31 2022, are refundable but subject to a $20 administrative fee. Registrants canceling on or after August 1, 2022 will not receive a refund. The refund and cancellation guidelines will not be waived. Tickets may be transferred to another individual. In the event KAWS must cancel the Tour, Symposium & Banquet due to unforeseen circumstances, KAWS will refund the cost of registration.