BEMIDJI, Minn. – A natural resources presentation entitled “Reconnecting Rivers: Removing the Dam Concrete” is scheduled for 3-4 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation, an off-campus facility located at 3801 Bemidji Avenue North.

This Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium presentation is open to the public and free of charge.

Presenting will be Luther P. Aadland, Ph.D., natural resources program consultant with the Stream Habitat Program, Division of Ecological Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Fergus Falls, Minn.

Aadland will discuss the ecological impact of dam removal. The United States has over 76,000 dams in its rivers and many have become structurally unsound or have reservoirs that are filled with sediment. Dam removal is a means of eliminating maintenance costs and the potential for catastrophic structural failure, while restoring the rivers’ fisheries and ecological health, notes Aadland.

The presentation should be of interest to both natural resource professionals and anyone who is interested in river quality as it pertains to ecosystems, sports fishing and recreational uses.

The talk is part of an on-going series of Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium presentations, usually offered on the third Monday of each month. Groups helping organize the natural resources consortium include the BSU Center for Environmental, Earth and Space Studies; the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Norbord Minnesota; the Chippewa National Forest; the Leech Lake Division of Resource Management; Ainsworth; and the Red Lake Reservation.

For more information, or to be added to a mailing list for the natuaral resources presentation series, contact the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at (218) 755-4900, toll free, (888) 738-3224, via e-mail at cri@bemidjistate.edu or on the Web at http://www.cri-bsu.org.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
March 17 – 3-4 p.m. – Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation hosts “Reconnecting Rivers: Removing the Dam Concrete,” a presentation of the Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium. Location: CRI; 3801 Bemidji Ave. N.; Bemidji, Minn. Cost: free, open to the public. For information: (218) 755-4900; (888) 738-3244; http://www.cri-bsu.org.