• IFC President - Hal Beecher, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife;
• IFC Local Host, Kevin Mayes, Texas Parks and Wildlife

Water allocation issues can pit multiple stakeholders and agencies with contending views against each other. Learn how to assess and build consensus in these situations. Professor Larry Susskind, author of Negotiating Environmental Agreements (1999) and Breaking Roberts Rules: The New Way to Run your Meeting, Build Consensus and Get Results (2006) offers a 2.5-hour highly interactive short course explaining creative methods for finding balance between science, diverse interests, and laws and policies.

A 30-minute networking break will be incorporated into the session, with refreshments in the Booth/Poster area.

Lunch - Plenary

Keynote Address
Texas: A New Model of Environmental Flow Protection
Robert Puente, former Texas Legislator and CEO of the San Antonio Water System (SAWS)

Click here to read the abstract!

This three-person panel will summarize each of their three papers prepared in advance on the "state of the art" in instream flow science, policy and public dialogue, respectively, to help provide a foundation for discussion. Moderated discussion will follow to build on these leaders' work and expand the context for subsequent conference sessions.

Featured panelists:

• Larry MacDonnell, P.C., water attorney and consultant, former director of the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado School of Law.
• Mark Smith, Director, Eastern U.S. Freshwater Program, The Nature Conservancy.
• Professor Geoffrey E. Petts, Vice-Chancellor, University of Westminster, and Editor of River Research and Applications.

What do you think are the major trends, obstacles and opportunities that most significantly affect the ability to resolve instream flow problems? Participants will weigh in on this question and others in a pre-conference survey that will build on the Instream Flow Council's International Instream Flow Program Initiative. Speakers will present the results of the pre-work and foster discussion to ensure a solid topical foundation for subsequent conference discussions.

Small group discussions (at pre-assigned tables) aimed at identifying the most important lessons learned thus far about solving instream flow problems in the U.S. and Canada. Building on the expertise and experience of the conference participants, the goal will be to identify "cutting edge" strategies and resources that others might find helpful in response to particular obstacles and opportunities.