[SEMCO] Wellfleet Harbor Conference

[Melissa Lowe]

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release								
Contact: Cynthia Franklin at 508-349-1633 or cvf at juno.com
								
Fourth Annual "State of Wellfleet Harbor" Conference To Be Held on Saturday, November 4, 2006

Wellfleet, MA - The fourth annual "State of Wellfleet Harbor" Conference will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2006 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm at the Wellfleet Senior Center.

Speakers are scheduled to talk about issues including sea level rise and coastal changes, salt marsh dieback, marine invasive species, river herring, diamondback terrapins, and the restoration of the Herring River. There will also be poster presentations and information on the Wellfleet Harbor Management Plan.

No registration is required. This conference is free and open to all and a free continental breakfast will be available at 8:30 am.

Associated field trips will take place on Saturday at 3:00 pm to a salt marsh dieback site and on Sunday at 10:00 am to the Herring River and Mill Creek restoration areas.

The event is being is supported by The Cape Cod Foundation and Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank. It is organized and co-sponsored by the Town of Wellfleet Natural Resources Advisory Board, Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the Cape Cod National Seashore and many Wellfleet volunteer boards, committees and organizations.

For more information please contact Cynthia Franklin at 508-349-1633 or cvf at juno.com

The agenda for the "State of Wellfleet Harbor Conference" Agenda is below:

		Saturday, November 4, 2006
		8:30 - 9:00    Continental Breakfast, Sign In, and Poster Viewing

		9:00 - 9:15   Opening remarks  
		Jerry Houk, Wellfleet Board of Selectmen and Abigail Franklin, Moderator

		9:15 - 9:35      Sea Level Rise and Coastal Change - Graham Giese, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies

		9:35 - 9:55      Understanding Salt marsh Dieback on Lower Cape Cod - Stephen Smith, Cape Cod National Seashore

		9:55 - 10:15    Tracking Marine Invasive Species in Massachusetts - Jay Baker, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

		10:15 - 10:40  Questions for presenters

		10:40 - 11:00  BREAK and poster viewing

		11:00 -11:20  Diamonds in the Marsh: Diamondback Terrapins of Wellfleet Harbor - Barbara Brennessel, Wheaton College

		11:20 - 11:40 Linking Ecosystems: Changes in Banks Fishing and the Origin of River Herring Declines - Matthew McKenzie, University of Connecticut  

		11:40 - 12:00 The Biology and Decline of River Herring in Coastal Massachusetts - Michael Armstrong, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

		12:00 - 12:25 Questions for presenters

		12:25 - 12:45 BREAK    (bring your own lunch)

		12:45 - 1:15  Herring River Restoration
		Gordon Peabody, Chair, Herring River Technical Committee
		Peter Watts, Chair, Herring River Stakeholder Committee

		1:15 - 1:40    Questions and discussion

		1:40 - 1:45   Closing remarks - Cynthia Franklin, Conference Coordinator

For more information please contact Cynthia Franklin at 508-349-1633 or cvf at juno.com

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Melissa Lowe
Education Coordinator
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
mlowe at massaudubon.org
508-349-2615 x107

"Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts"
www.massaudubon.org