Adrian Tobias Center - Adrian College
Ritchie Marketplace, Adrian, MI 49221

The annual meeting will include a wetland bus tour, panel discussion with farmers in the WLEB, structured networking, outreach and engagement training, and an opportunity to provide feedback on the WLEB Nutrient Projects Database. You are welcome to attend the full day of events or join us at lunch for the member meeting.

Schedule:
9 am - Meet at Adrian College to board bus for wetland and water quality monitoring field tour
Noon - Lunch at Adrian Tobias Center at Adrian College
1 pm - Member meeting begins
4:30 pm - Mixer
5:00 pm - Adjourn

Please register to let us know that you plan to attend: Registration

This event is invitation only for WLEB Advisory Group Members and Michigan's Quality of Life Agency staff. Other community members are welcome to join us the next day on June 26th for the public conference.

Adrian Tobias Center - Adrian College
Ritchie Marketplace, Adrian, MI 49221
Time: 10 am - 4 pm

Join fellow practitioners, researchers, farmers, and community members in Adrian Michigan for the second iteration of Michigan’s State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference. This conference focuses on efforts to meet nutrient reduction goals and track progress through an enhanced water quality monitoring network in Michigan’s watersheds that drain into the Western Basin of Lake Erie. The conference will include a mix of plenary and concurrent sessions.  

Learn about:  

• Michigan’s Domestic Action Plan efforts from Michigan’s Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development; Natural Resources; and Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy  
• In-stream advancements water quality monitoring in Michigan’s Lake Erie watershed
• Agricultural best management practice implementation and outreach programs
• Monitoring and ecological methods for building soil health  
• Wetland restoration pilot project at the Seneca State Game Area
• Edge of field and wetland engineering practices to reduce nutrient pollution and manage stormwater
• Understanding impacts of interventions to increase conservation practice adoption

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Register Here!

 In this webinar, Dr. Adam Reimer of the National Wildlife Federation and Dr. Marie Carmen Shingne will share lessons learned from interviews and listening sessions with farmers in Michigan, including in the Western Lake Erie Basin. You will hear about farmer perspectives on current conservation programs in Michigan and what is needed to expand use of regenerative systems. 

In this webinar, Kali Rush of Ducks Unlimited, and Steve Chadwick of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources will share the history of wetland conservation in the Western Lake Erie Basin and current wetland conservation efforts. They will share updates on the Seneca State Game Area’s Wetland Water Quality Project and discuss the process of developing and implementing the new Wetland Conservation Program.

In this webinar, Brittany Santure and Thad Cleary of Michigan's Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Agency share updates on three new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grants supporting BMP implementation.

Location: Virtual via Zoom
Time: Noon 

In this webinar, Tom Zimnicki of the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Ed Verhamme of LimnoTech will discuss the origin and updates from a new high density water quality monitoring network in Michigan’s Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) being funded by Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Erb Family Foundation. This effort will supply water quality (WQ) data, including phosphorus and nitrogen, from 2025 to 2029 in Michigan’s 5 priority sub-watersheds. This data could be used to determine the efficacy of current WLEB best management practice (BMP) implementation efforts and should inform future conservation investments in the region.  

Location: Virtual via Zoom
Time: Noon

In this webinar, Dr. Jennifer Blesh of University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability will share updates on the Healthy Soils, Healthy Waters project being funded by MDARD to enhance our knowledge of soil health and water quality in Michigan's WLEB.

In this webinar, Dr. Ehan Ghane of Michigan State University Extension, will showcase three agricultural water management practices: Controlled drainage, saturated buffers, drainage water recycling. Dr. Ghane will explain how these technologies can contribute to our efforts to manage water resources in the WLEB.

In this webinar, 2024 University of Michigan Dow Fellows describe the process for developing a pilot Nutrient Reduction Project Database to improve collaboration and coordination between actors in the WLEB working on nutrient reduction projects.

Location: Virtual via Zoom
Time: Noon

Join the Western Lake Erie Basin Advisory Group for an informative webinar featuring Mike Wozniak, Program Manager of MDARD's Right to Farm Program. Mike will explain how the program addresses nuisance complaints related to farms and offers farm evaluations upon request. He’ll also cover how farm operations are assessed using Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMPs). Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how Right to Farm supports farming practices while resolving community concerns.

10 am - noon
Toledo Water Treatment
3040 York St., Toledo, OH 43605

Luna Pier Lighthouse, Luna Pier MI
SandBar Grille, Toledo Beach Marina, LaSalle, MI

Presentation and Tour by Luna Pier Mayor and City Council

See Details Here.

Agenda (PDF)

Location: 9300 West Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48209

Presentation and tour of Detroit’s Water Resource Recovery Facility
Hosted by Majid Khan (Advisory Group Member)

A webinar presented by Michael Potash (Synagro) where we unravelled the complexities of biosolids in agriculture, from nutrient management to environmental safety. We dove into the classifications, application rates for different crops, and implications on water quality, with a special focus on nitrogen release and phosphorus management. We also heard expert discussion on handling concerns such as heavy metals, PFAS, and public perception, culminating with insights from a Michigan farm.

Location: 9300 West Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48209

• Presentation and tour of Detroit’s Water Resource Recovery Facility and Biosolids Dryer Facility
• Hosted by Majid Khan (Advisory Group Member)

Agenda (PDF)

Agenda (PDF)

The first annual State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference was in Adrian, Michigan on December 12th 2023. At this meeting, attendees heard about updates to Michigan’s 2023 Domestic Action Plan for Lake Erie. This event was open to the public and served as a forum for networking, discussion, and keeping up to date on phosphorus management in Michigan's portion of the Western Lake Erie Basin. The conference featured speakers discussing topics related to phosphorus management in the Western Lake Erie Basin. The Western Lake Erie Basin Science Panel shared their findings and recommendations for the Domestic Action Plan and served on a panel to answer questions from conference attendees.

Recordings of the presentations are available here. Please contact Alison Bressler at [email protected] with inquiries. 

Location: Carpenter Farms, 2534 E US-223, Adrian, MI 49221

• The Advisory Group participated in a hayride around Carpenter Farms to learn about farming practices and get to know fellow members better over donuts and cider at the barn.
• Hosted by Abby Carpenter (Advisory Group Member)

This meeting includes a combination of short presentations from regenerative agriculture educators at U of M and MSU and a farmer in the WLEB. The goal of this meeting was to develop a shared understanding of regenerative agriculture as an Advisory Group.

• Meeting Notes (PDF)
• Participant Agenda (PDF)
• Slides (PDF)