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	Gretchen C. Daily

We all live on a crowded planet that is getting more crowded all the time. So how should we practice conservation, keep plant and animal species from going extinct and preserve the economic, social and aesthetic benefits that nature provides to humans?

The answer, according to ecologist Gretchen C. Daily, cannot be to create many new reserves where the environment is protected in a natural state, untouched by humans.  There is not enough room. Instead, Daily told a University of Minnesota audience on June 13, the answer has to be to look for ways the plants and animals we most need can survive in coexistence with agriculture and other human  activities.

Read an Aug. 9, 2011, New York Times profile of Daily. View video of Daily’s presentation, listen to audio of the talk or download a podcast. View slides from the lecture. Read a Finance and Commerce newspaper account of Daily’s talk. View archived video from past lectures.

And the answer to protecting nature in the face of human population growth,  Daily said, almost certainly will involve putting a

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A documentary on the Minnesota River – River Revival: Working Together to Save the Minnesota River – will be broadcast at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, by KARE-11 TV.

The documentary was produced by the Water Resource Center at Minnesota State University Mankato and hosted by Ron Schara.

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What is a watershed? How can you plan and manage the land in a watershed – either rural or urban — to improve the cleanliness and purity of the water that flows off it? How do you track and measure your results?

About 120 people attended Watershed Summit 2011: Managing Water on the Land from a Watershed Perspective, a daylong conference hosted Saturday, March 12, by the Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League and the Freshwater Society.

More than a dozen speakers offered insights and practical experience on ways local governments, state and local agencies and individual citizens can work to improve water quality in Minnesota.

Groups represented by the speakers included: the Minnehaha Creek, Buffalo Red River, Bois De Sioux  and Capitol Region watershed districts; the Scott County Soil and Conservation District; the University of Minnesota; the Nature Conservancy, the Minnesota Center for  Environmental Advocacy; the Agricultural Water Resources Coaliton; Clean Up the River Environment; the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

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Visit the Patagonia store on Grand Avenue in St. Paul between March 10 and 31, and help the Freshwater Society win a grant of up to $5,000 from the outdoor clothing company.

Patagonia is holding a Vote Your Choice campaign that allows customers to learn more about three local nonprofits devoted to sustainability or the environment. And customers are allowed to vote which of the three – Freshwater, Redesign Inc. and the Voyageurs National Park Association – will get a grant of $2,500, which will get $1,500 and which will get $1,000.

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The West Metro Water Alliance will host the last in its 2011 series of educational workshops on Wednesday, Sept.  21, at Brookview Community Center, 200 Brookview Parkway in Golden Valley.

Dr. Patrick G. Welle of  Bemidji State University will be the keynote speaker. His topic will be, “Sustaining Socio-Economic Values of Lakes: Findings on Water Clarity and Lakeshore Properties.” His recent research includes economic analysis of values to property owners of reducing pollution to impaired lakes in selected watersheds in Minnesota.

Titled Path to Clean Water – Understanding TMDLs and Watershed Planning, this final forum will begin with an introduction to Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies. Other topics will include TMDL Implementation: Moving from Load Reduction to Resource Development; Protecting Non-Impaired Resources; and Crafting an Effective Environmental Education and Outreach Program.

Cost for the workshop is $10. To register, go to www.hennepin.us/waterforums.

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Learn about how watershed districts in Minnesota are governed and what they do. And, most important, learn how citizens can work through local watershed organizations to improve water quality in the lakes, rivers and streams around them.

On Saturday, March 12, the Izaak Walton League and the Freshwater Society will sponsor a workshop titled “Managing Water on the Land from a Watershed Perspective.”

For more information, an agenda and registration details, go to the web site of the Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League.

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