The Visions of a Sustainable Mississippi River Conference will be held in Collinsville, Illinois, from August 10-13. According to the hosts (the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, and The Nature Conservancy), the conference “will attract diverse participants with interest in our nation’s largest river, including stakeholders in the recreational, navigation, and agricultural sectors, researchers, and natural resource professionals.”  The conference will have four focus areas:

• ecosystem services and economic value;
• flood plain connectivity, flood control and hydrologic regime;
• ethanol production; and
• clean water uses and threats.

The conference will include a session, “Policy Forum:  Presentations to Elected Officials and Other Decision Makers,” on the last morning of the conference.  The goal of that session is to summarize the proceedings of the conference, and present key policy issues to an audience of elected officials and other decision makers governing the Mississippi River basin.

New Reports

• The Cleanup War Chest: State Bond Financing for Environmental Initiatives and Brownfields Redevelopment
• Environmental and Economic Benefits of the Maryland Historic Tax Credit Program
• Revitalizing Older Cities Summit Report
• Brownfields Redevelopment Toolbox for Disadvantaged Communities
• Removing Market Barriers to Green Development: Principles and action projects to promote widespread adoption of green development practices (January 2009)
• Mothballed Sites and Local Government Acquisition: How State Liability Protections, Eminent Domain Reforms, and Cost Recovery Authority Can Spur Local Government Action to Acquire and Redevelop Difficult Brownfields Sites