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Lake Conservation Webinar Series: Conservationists' perspectives of governance in the Iowa Great Lakes
*This webinar will take place May 9, 2023, at 1:00 Central/2:00 Eastern.*

Multiple activities within watershed boundaries impact the quality of freshwater systems. Since many of these systems are managed by complex governance structures, there is a need to understand how social settings and interactions between stakeholders can impact governance. This presentation examines stakeholders' perspectives of governance in the Iowa Great Lakes region. These lakes are a valuable freshwater system because they are a popular tourist destination and drinking water source for communities, but they reside in a watershed with large amounts of agricultural production and development. Because of these various interests, conservationists must work within a complex governance structure to protect these Lakes. This presentation examines conservationists' perspectives on the region's environmental pressures, barriers they encounter, and solutions within this system. Our results highlight the difficulties of working with this system to mitigate environmental pressures as well as possible solutions.

May 9, 2023 02:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Speakers

Austin Holland
Assistant Professor, Community & Regional Planning @University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Austin Holland is an Assistant Professor at the College of Natural Resources and an Extension Specialist at the Center for Land Use Education at UW-Stevens Point. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa. His work focuses on using applied social science and geographic information systems to better understand conservation policy and programs in hopes of improving them. His previous work has examined federal agricultural policy, local ecological restoration, and governance of freshwater systems. Current projects examine climate change's impacts on tourism and collaborations on private land conservation.