The 5th Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 9 at Lehigh University’s STEPS Building, 1 West Packer Avenue, Bethlehem. The conference serves as a forum that brings together community watershed organizations, municipal officials, educators, students, scientists, technical experts, natural resource agency staff, industry representatives and the public to discuss effective ways to improve and protect the land and water resources throughout the greater Lehigh Valley.

This year’s conference is titled "Rising Waters: What a Wetter Pennsylvania Means for Local Communities," and will include sessions on the impacts of changing weather patterns on municipal infrastructure and natural ecosystems. As in past conferences, there will also be sessions on perennial and emerging issues associated with watershed conservation. This year’s conference will also include two half-day workshops: one on Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the other on aquatic insect identification. The conference will close with a special presentation on changing weather patterns by Pennsylvania State Climatologist, Dr. Paul Knight. Dr. Knight’s special presentation will be open free-of-charge to the public at 3:30 p.m. in Packard Lab, directly across the street from the STEPS Building on West Packer Avenue. Cost for the full day conference is $40, which includes conference sessions, a continental breakfast, BBQ luncheon and an afternoon chocolate lover’s break.

The Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference is organized by the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley and its many organizational partners. To view the conference schedule or to register online, log onto www.watershedcoalitionlv.org or http://cas.lehigh.edu/CASWeb/Default.aspx?ID=2033. For more information about the conference, contact Jim Wilson, Northampton County Conservation District Watershed Specialist at james-wilson@northamptoncd.org or at 610/746-1971.