The second-annual ManOMin Watershed Conference drew more people to Rainy River Community College over in International Falls, Mn. on the weekend than expected.
“We had a lot more people than last year,” enthused co-organizer Jennifer Mercer, a biologist with the Rainy River Watershed program. “We would have been happy to have 35 people the first day [Friday] but we had 75 people that day.
“And Saturday, we had a raptor demonstration from the University of Minnesota and we had about 50 kids show up for that,” she added. “It was so great to get the kids involved.”
A joint venture of 11 groups, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, Voyageur’s National Park, and Rainy River First Nation, the aim of the conference was to educate people on aspects of the ManOMin Watershed ranging from shoreline erosion to water quality.
While many of those on hand were from various government and non-government agencies, the conference also attracted some who were interested in–and concerned about–the environment.
“It was overwhelming in a way. There’s a lot of groups, not only here but in Minnesota and Manitoba, monitoring the watershed all along the way,” noted Bob Jeffery, a member of the local Rainy River Valley Field Naturalists.
“But you can really see the roles of citizens in this. These agencies can get a lot more done if the communities get involved,” he added, citing a Littlefork monitoring group which collects data in conjunction with local schools activities and then shares it with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
And such spirit might even spur a little more involvement from the district. “It’s going to be good for [our] club. We’ll have to see what kind of interesting opportunities come up,” said Jeffery.
“It was a very good conference. We couldn’t attend every session but the majority we did were more or less what I expected,” said Henry Miller, another avid outdoorsman who couldn’t say enough about the conference.
“One women talked about an algae found at Lake of the Woods that releases a toxic bloom,” he recalled. “It’s one of those things they don’t really have a handle on yet so it was very interesting.
“Another one was the one on forest fires. It was mostly in reference to Quetico, and the need to regenerate red and white pine by burning areas and letting the natural process go on,” added Miller.
Another session he praised was the bird demonstration by the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota.
“It was wonderful. I even brought the grandchildren,” Miller enthused.
The presentation, which dealt with the role of predatory birds when studying a watershed, included a bald eagle, a redtail hawk, and a kestral.
It was followed by a speech by Elder Annie Wilson on the cultural significance of the eagle to First Nations people.
“There was a lot of good content,” noted Brian Norris, a public health inspector with the Northwestern Health Unit here.
He attended several sessions that related to his job, such as drinking water safety and sewage control.
“The speakers were from Minnesota Pollution Control so it was interesting to get the different outlook on things, with the differences in regulations and so on,” Norris remarked.
Closing ceremonies were held around 3 p.m. on Saturday. Besides a time to show thanks to all the presenters, Mercer said they also saluted area cattle producers, including Tom Morrish of Burriss, for their participation in a project to preserve the river banks along their farms.
Given the positive responses, Mercer said she was sure the ManOMin conference will happen again. “I’ll be looking forward to next year. We may be holding it in Kenora,” she enthused.
Co-organizer Rebecca Dodd was unavailable for comment.
Fort Frances Times
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