Early registration for water events due by Sept. 20

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Back-to-back water events are coming to Lincoln's downtown Holiday Inn in early October.

The UNL Water Center and University of Nebraska College of Law co-host a daylong Water Law Conference on Oct. 6. The Water Center then joins with the U.S. Geological Survey's Nebraska Water Science Center to present a daylong Greater Platte River Basins Symposium at the same location on Oct. 7.

Though the two events are separate, a discounted registration fee is being offered to individuals who attend both conferences. Early registration, due by Sept. 20, is $120 for one conference or $200 for both. Registration after Sept. 20 is $155 for one, $235 for both. Registration information is available online at http://www.watercenter.unl.edu.

The Oct. 6 conference focuses on Nebraska water law and will feature a variety of speakers and topics tailored to the practicing bar, but which will also be of benefit to anyone interested in water law, said conference organizer Lorrie Benson, assistant director of the UNL Water Center.

Tentative topics include an overview of property rights to water by UNL law professor Sandi Zellmer; conservation easements by Jesse Richardson of Virginia Tech University; and Clean Water Act enforcement by Patricia Miller of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region Seven.

Other conference sessions include issues and impacts of transactions that involve water, boundary disputes, updates on recent Nebraska water law cases, Endangered Species Act law and application, practicing before state agencies, and designing integrated management plans to simplify water transfers.

Continuing legal education credits for attending the conference have been approved for Nebraska and are pending for Iowa and Colorado.

On Oct. 7, the Water Center and USGS Nebraska Water Science Center host a Greater Platte River Basins Symposium as a separate event at the same location.
The symposium focuses on water-related research and innovative programming in the Niobrara, Platte and Republican river basins. Robert Hirsch, a national expert in water science and policy and USGS hydrogeologist, opens the symposium with "Perspectives on Hydrology and Water Management in a Changing World."

The remainder of the morning examines management of water resources beyond the state's current integrated management planning requirements. A diverse panel of experts considers differing angles to future water management, including sustainability and resilience, legal frameworks, human dimensions, whether we have the science needed, possible scenarios for the future, and reality checks.

Attendees can choose from 20 presentations by researchers on topics ranging from basic hydrology to economics to wetlands to fish and wildlife issues. A formal poster session offers several dozen posters on a wide range of water-related topics.

For more information, contact Benson at lbenson2@unl.edu or (402) 472-7372.

- Steve Ress, UNL Water Center

More details at: http://go.unl.edu/uoq