Wednesday agenda: October 14, 2026

Welcome: 8 - 8:30 a.m.

Morning Plenary: 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

Speaker information coming soon

Break/Refreshments: 9:30 - 10 a.m.

Concurrent Session #1 (10 - 11:30 a.m.)

Track 1: Wetlands

Wetlands Care for Us so We Must Care for Them: A Qualitative Study on Tribal Cultural Ecosystem Relationships with Wetlands in Nagaajiwanaang (Fond du Lac Reservation)
Giovanni Delgado-Ortiz, University of Minnesota Center for Changing Landscapes

Assessing Phosphorus Retention and Release in a Stormwater Wetland
Joe Bischoff, Barr Engineering Co.   

Feedlot Effects on Water Quality in the Streams and Wetlands of the Minnesota River Basin
Sophie Terian, University of Kansas

A Long-Term Monitoring Strategy to Evaluate Water Quality Responses to Agricultural Nutrient and Irrigation BMPs in a Groundwater-Dependent Riparian Wetland River of North-Central Minnesota
Daniel Whitney, Central Minnesota Irrigators/Northwest AqwaTek Solutions

Track 2: Stormwater Econ and Community Engagement

Evaluating the Economic Benefit of Converting Stormwater BMP Outlets from Passive to Active
Cory Anderson, Barr Engineering Co.

How Data and Economics Can Maximize the ROI of Conservation and WQ Efforts
Mike Kinney, Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District

Stronger Together: A Watershed Organization's Blueprint for Cross-Sector Stormwater Solutions
Carl Almer, EOR, Inc.

Making Complexity Clear: Building Shared Understanding for Stormwater Rates
Jacob Strombeck, AE2S and AE2S Nexus

Track 3: Special Session

The State of Salt: What Will it Take to Address Chloride Pollution in Minnesota Waters? 

Jessica Wilson, City of Edina

Track 4: Northern Lakes

Wildfire-induced Shifts in Water Quality Sustained for Four Years Post-fire in Northern Minnesota Lakes
Shawnee McMillian, Natural Resources Research Institute

Burn Severity Influences Lake Water Quality Responses After Two Northern Minnesota Wildfires
Liana Sweezer, Natural Resources Research Institute - University of Minnesota

The Future of Lake of the Woods Brightens: Sediment Indicators Support Reduced Internal Load Potential
Mark Edlund, St Croix Watershed Research Station, Science Museum of Minnesota

Legacy Phosphorus and Eutrophication in our Border Waters – Steps Toward Understanding Dynamics and Implications for Management in the Rainy River – Lake of the Woods Watershed
Anna Baker, USGS

Track 5: Ag BMPs

What Cover Crop Planting Rates Reduce Erosion and Nitrogen Loss in Corn-Soybean Systems? 
Robert Fowler, University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water and Climate

Cost-effectiveness of a Pay-for-performance Cover-crop Program: A Case Study of the Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Protection Program in Minnesota
Shunkei Kakimoto, Applied Economics, University of Minnesota

Regional Differences in Soil Health Practice Perspectives and Adoption by Minnesota Farmers
Sarah Roth, University of Minnesota 

What Happens After Conservation Implementation? Evidence from Dobbins Creek near Austin, MN
Benjamin Lundeen, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)

Lunch: 11:30 - 12:15 p.m.

Lunch Plenary Talk: 12:15 - 1 p.m.

Speaker information coming soon

Break/Refreshments: 1 - 1:15 p.m.

Concurrent Session #2 (1:15 - 2:45 p.m.)

Track 1: AIS and Fish

The Accidental Restoration: Carp Barriers, Winterkill, and a Lake’s Unplanned Comeback
Andrew Edgcumbe, Carver County Water Management Organization

Development and Validation of Quantitative PCR Assays to Detect Aquatic Invasive Species in Minnesota Waters Using eDNA
Kaitlyn Madden, Water Resources Sciences - University of Minnesota 

Priority AIS Detection with Field-portable DNA Metabarcoding Workflow
Andrew Wood, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesot 

Preventing Future Fish Kills From Potable Water Releases
Ryan Granlund, City of Duluth  

Track 2: Stormwater

Stormwater Filtration at Agate Bay: A Case Study
Stephanie Eytcheson, Natural Resources Research Institute 

When Maintenance Matters: Evaluating CDS Unit Performance in an Urban Lake Watershed
Carolyn Eckstein, Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board

Evaluating the Flow Hydraulics and Sediment Removal Efficiency of a Stormwater Sedimentation Vault in Duluth, MN
Vivek Dhakal, University of Minnesota Duluth

Establishing a Stormwater Credit Bank for Downtown Shakopee Infrastructure: Treatment Train Design and Performance Outcomes
Mathew Cox, Kimley-Horn and Associates 

Track 3: Special Session

An Altered Hydrology: Storage and Drainage in the Minnesota River Basin

Andrew Hillman, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

Track 4: Modeling and Tools

ArcGIS Dashboards: Because you can Only Look at so Many Spreadsheets! 
Ali Chalberg, Rice Creek Watershed District

Model Comparison: HEC-RAS versus Two Common Stormwater Collection Systems Models
Caroline Burger, Carollo Engineers 

The Asset Explorer Tool: Developing an Interactive, Map-based Approach to Best Management Practice (BMP) and Infrastructure Management for the Metro Blue Line Extension (BLE) Project
Allegra Johnson McKee, Young Environmental Consulting Group

A Demonstrated Modeling Approach to Evaluate Watershed-Wide Implementation of Multiple ALCS Outlets
Janna Kieffer, Barr Engineering Co.

Track 5: Navigating Minnesota's Water Future from History to Horizon

Mind the Gap: Where Clean Water Act Rulemaking Fails to Meet the Science and Legislative Intent in Defining Waters of the United States and the Biodiversity Left Unguarded
Susan Colvin, Minnesota State University

Raising the Grade of Minnesota's Water Infrastructure
Lisa Breu, ASCE MN

Water Use Trends in Minnesota (1988-2023)
Reid Brown, University of Minnesota, MN DNR Water Regulations Unit, MN Sea Grant

Defining Water Risk for Minnesota
Carrie Jennings, Freshwater

Break/Refreshments: 2:45 - 3:15 p.m.

Concurrent Session #3 (3:15 - 4:45 p.m.)

Track 1: Infrastructure and Resilience

Beneficial Water Reuse in the Midwest
Kathleen Smith, Hazen and Sawyer

Using the Geomorphic Approach to Advance Clean Water-Funded Culvert and Bridge Replacement Projects in Minnesota
Salam Murtada, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

The Infrastructure Crossroads: Managing Urban Natural Systems at Mid‑Lifecycle
Fred Rozumalski, Barr Engineering co.

Reconnecting the Whitewater River to Its Floodplain: A Case Study in Flood Reduction and Resilience in St. Charles
Meghan Funke, WHKS & Co.

Track 2: Stormwater and Alum

Dredging Impacts on Phosphorus Release from Stormwater Ponds
Emma Squires, University of Minnesota- SAFL

Mapping Sediment to Plan Smarter: A Practical Bathymetric Survey Approach for Urban Stormwater Ponds
Jeremy Siudzinski, City of Minneapolis

28 Years Evaluating Success of the Tanners Lake Alum Treatment Facility in Maplewood, Minnesota, USA
Lyndsey Flaten, Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District 

Wake Boat Impacts on Alum Effectiveness in a Residential Minnesota Lake
Kate Lucas, Barr Engineering  

Track 3: Special Session

Envisioning a Minnesota Flood Center: Interactive Workshop

Nick Olson, Minnesota Department of Transportation

Track 4: Innovative Monitoring and Modeling

Refining TMDL Reduction Estimates Through Long-Term Monitoring and Watershed Modeling, Coon Creek Watershed, MN
Michael Frett, Stantec

MPCA’s Continuous Nitrate Sensor Network: Program Updates and Preliminary Data Analysis
Mike Walerak, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Building Biological Monitoring Capacity at the Local Level
Chase Vanderbilt, Coon Creek Watershed District 

Minnesota Lake Lookout: A Participatory Science Network to Monitor Chloride and Cyanobacteria Blooms in Rural Minnesota Lakes
Hilarie Sorensen, Minnesota Sea Grant

Track 5: Tools for Sediment and Nutrient Transport and Trend

Using Machine Learning to make Fluvial Sediment Predictions in Minnesota StreamStats
Joel Groten, U.S. Geological Survey

Defining Critical Bed-Transport Thresholds to Predict Sediment-Loading Days per Year in Agricultural Watersheds
Ashlyn Cowgill, University of Minnesota 

Review of Trend and Load Analysis Tools for River and Stream Water Quality
Steve Kloiber, Metropolitan Council

Using Watershed Models to Support Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Planning
Maddie Keefer, Tetra Tech

Conference Adjourns: 4:45 p.m.