Second ManOMin conference coming up in April

Preparations are underway for the second-annual ManOMin watershed conference in April.
“It will be held in International Falls this year at the Rainy River Community College,” said co-ordinator Jennifer Mercer.
The conference, slated for April 6-7, will be geared towards the general public this year. “We really want to expose local citizens and provide them with knowledge as to what’s happening in our watershed,” Mercer explained.
The ManOMin conference (which stands for Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota) is organized to gather representatives from all areas of the Rainy River watershed to discuss the preservation and monitoring of the environment.
This year’s conference will begin with a monitoring co-ordination workshop on the Friday.
“It’s a session on who’s monitoring what in the ManOMin watershed,” noted Mercer, who added mostly resource managers will be attending.
“It is, of course, open to the public,” she added.
The workshop will be followed by a banquet at the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre, which is located along the Rainy River west of Barwick.
The second day of the conference will be more specifically geared to the general public featuring six different topics.
Live eagles will be brought in by experts, who will talk about the ecology of eagles, along with a local elder who will reflect on the cultural value of the eagle in the history of the First Nations as part of the “Symbol of our Future” workshop.
Other workshops will include:
•“Unplugged”–a look at the proper septic systems for cottages, homes, and resorts;
•“Don’t get burned”–a session on how to control wildfires and manage fires for controlled burning;
•“Don’t let your land slip away”–a workshop on erosion control to protect shoreline property;
•“Rainy River’s Ups and Downs”–a presentation from a representative from Boise Cascade on the mill’s energy needs and the effect on the river’s water levels; and
•“Safe enough to drink”–featuring a forum on how to protect the quality of the watershed’s drinking water.
The cost to attend the conference is $20 ($15 U.S.) for adults and $15 ($10 U.S.) for students. For more information, call Rebecca Dodd at 482-2479.