METRO WATERSHED PARTNERS NINTH ANNUAL BOAT TRIP Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 8:00 – 11:30 a.m.
BIRDING AND RIVER HISTORY ABOARD THE MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM RIVERBOAT – Departing from Watergate Marina 2500 Crosby Farm Rd., St Paul 55116 map: https://goo.gl/maps/GgTdr
Parking is available in the dirt lot before the gate at the marina, or in the Crosby Park lot, about 200 yards past the marina on Crosby Farm Rd. Since parking is limited, and the boat will depart on time, plan to arrive early; carpool if that’s a possibility for you. Please don’t leave valuables in your car.
Complimentary snacks, coffee and water will be served.
RSVP requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/birding-and-river-history-with-metro-watershed- partners-tickets-25351926294
SCHEDULE: 8:00 a.m. Convene at Watergate Marina 8:15 a.m. Board the Magnolia Blossom 8:30 a.m. Departure 8:45 a.m. Welcome and introductions
9:00-10:30 a.m. Two concurrent 45-minute sessions; group divides in half and attends both sessions. Session A: "A Confluence of American Icons" - John O. Anfinson, Superintendent, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (NRRA), National Park Service (NPS). Superintendent Anfinson will speak about this year's National Park Service Centennial and our local national park on the Mississippi River. He will reflect on the power and frustrations of having two of the nation's greatest icons here within the context of the last century of the NPS. And he will look ahead to the next century for the NPS, the NRRA, and partnerships like the Watershed Partners.
Session B: "Birds and Birding on the Mississippi River" - Gordon Dietzman, Park Ranger, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, National Park Service. Gordon will highlight representative birds seen on the Mississippi River, the importance of the river as bird habitat, and discuss tips on how to go "birding." He will bring a tub of binoculars and help us find and appreciate birds! (You may also bring your own binoculars.)
10:30-11:00 a.m. "Photographic Scavenger Hunt"—Angie Hong, Water Resource Educator for the East Metro Water Resources Educational Partners. Angie will lead a scavenger hunt, using cell phone cameras to capture photographic evidence of the flora and fauna on the river.
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Free time for socializing and networking
11:30 a.m. Disembark at Watergate Marina
ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS:
John O. Anfinson became Superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in August 2014. John has been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 25 years. He is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (2003), River of History (2003) and many articles about the Mississippi River. More recently, John helped initiate the Asian Carp Task Force for Minnesota and serves on the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center Citizen Advisory Board. From 1980 to 2000, John worked for the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers, as a cultural resources specialist and District Historian. He moved to the National Park Service in June of 2000. John is a founding board member of Friends of the Mississippi River and of the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. John holds a PhD in American History from the University of Minnesota.
Gordon Dietzman holds a BA degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (with an emphasis in environmental interpretation) from the University of Wisconsin--Green Bay. Professionally he has worked as a park ranger with the National Park Service for over eight years, where he specializes in wildlife. He spent a decade working at the International Crane Foundation in southern Wisconsin where he led education programming on the conservation of endangered birds and their habitats in both the United States and Southeast Asia. He is also an avid wildlife photographer, birdwatcher, wilderness canoeist and hiker.
Angie Hong coordinates the East Metro Water Resource Education Program, which is hosted by the Washington Conservation District, with eighteen city, county and watershed organization partners. She holds a M.S. degree in Natural Resources Science and Management with an emphasis on Environmental Education (UM Twin Cities, 2004) and a B.S. in Zoology (UW Madison, 2000).
The Mission of the Metro WaterShed Partners is to promote a public understanding that inspires people to act to protect water quality in their watershed.