15th Annual Meeting
June 3-5, 2015
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Designing 21st Century Grasslands: Fire, Water, Conservation, & Carbon
Join us for the 15th Annual Meeting of the American Ecological Engineering Society! This year the conference theme is Designing 21st Century Grasslands: Fire, Water, Conservation, & Carbon. The program will include invited speakers, technical presentations, posters and exhibits, field trips, and networking opportunities.
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Meeting Agenda
Monday, June 3, 2015
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Registration, Hilton Knoxville, 501 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
Detailed Agenda with Technical Sessions
Field Trips
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
Native grasslands are the least conserved and most altered landscapes on earth. The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County, OK is the largest unplowed prairie preserve in the US. A herd of 2,500 buffalo range freely and a controlled patch-burning program not only helps maintain the prairie but helps influence where the buffalo preferentially graze. The ranch that formed the heart the preserve had a long history of conservation, and activities in recent years have included stream restoration projects. On the way to the preserve, we'll stop at land managed by OSU through controlled burns, and see the tools used and a demonstration of techniques.
Tri-State Mining Area
The Tri-State Mining Area (OK-MO-KS) is one of the largest Super Fund sites in the country, the legacy of years of lead and zinc mining. In Oklahoma the Tar Creek subarea of the site is on Quapaw Nation land, and seven other tribes are downstream of the superfund site with waters influenced by the former mining area. Bob Nairn and students from the University of Oklahoma have constructed wetlands to treat mine drainage from the site. The Quapaw Tribe recently led the reclamation of one parcel and they are positioning themselves to lead additional future reclamation projects. The Quapaw are also working with propagation and restoration of sensitive freshwater mussel species. We'll tour all these activities.
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Ecological Design & Economic Development in Oklahoma City
Participants on this tour will visit a range of low-impact development and green infrastructure projects in the Oklahoma City area. Redesign of a portion of the Canadian River to become the "Oklahoma River" boating district was central to the redevelopment and economic revitalization of a large chunk of downtown Oklahoma City. In 2011 US Olympic rowing and kayaking moved their headquarters to the area. In spite of this success, water quality remains an issue at times. We'll tour these projects and explore the potential for integrating urban ecological infrastructure and economic development.
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Student Design Competition
The Student Design Competition at this year's AEES conference will be an ecological design project, in keeping with the principles of AEES's Certified Ecological Designer program. The project will involve a local Stillwater site and will require the integration of engineering with human use and ecological enhancement. As such, design teams may wish to reach out to students in multiple disciplines to participate. Information on the specific project as well as suggested tools will be sent to registered design teams approximately three weeks before the conference begins so teams can familiarize themselves in advance.
The actual assignment of the project will take place at a design competition meeting on Tuesday evening, June 2. Each team, which may be comprised of 2-6 members, will have two days to complete their design report. Design results will be displayed and winners announced on Friday, June 5 during the lunch AEES membership meeting.
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