The Rivers and Streams Technical Committee put together another informative workshop for the 2008 MNRC this year called Connecting People to Their Watersheds. Various speakers who have insight with their communities and watershed groups shared their mixed experiences and provided for audience and panel member discussions on how to get more public involvement. I am planning on posting notes from this session on the Rivers and Streams web page or possibly a video of the session for those who were unable to attend. Our focus will turn to next year's MNRC workshop at the January 08 R&S meeting.

I have been working with Paul Calvert and his editing crew on getting the Stream Fact Sheets posted. There are eight fact sheets completed which will be available soon.

Ange Corson, MO AFS Rivers and Streams Technical Committee Chair

North Central Division

Technical Comittees Page - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23

Centrarchid - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23&sid=31

Esocid - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23&sid=32

Ictalurid - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23&sid=34

Rivers and Streams Technical Committee - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23&sid=59

Walleye - http://www.ncd-afs.org/Default.asp?mid=23&sid=33

Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Now available on the internet

http://www.seafwa.org/proceedings.htm

AADAP - Aquatic Animal Drup Approval Program, USFWS - http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/aadap/home.htm

Information about Didymo (a.k.a. Rock Snot) and it's potential spread in Missouri from David Moore, Forest Ecologist, Mark Twain National Forest

National Aquaculture Association :: One Industry, One Voice

August 30, 2007

APHIS Funding VHS Activities - http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

APHIS is making $1.5 million in contingency funds available for activities related to the control of VHS, including surveillance and compliance, education and outreach, and confirmatory testing.

APHIS is providing $891,000 for surveillance of wild fish populations in the 8 States bordering the Great Lakes (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), as well as the 11 States bordering those states (Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Vermont). That money will also be used for activities related to the compliance of the Federal Order in the 8 states bordering the Great Lakes. APHIS will be providing $250,000 to the APHIS Legislative and Public Affairs office to develop an education campaign to promote biosecurity efforts to protect fish culture facilities and to address vectors of disease transmission not easily controlled by regulatory actions. Finally, APHIS will be providing $359,000 to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) to support confirmatory testing and to develop the infrastructure to ensure that NVSL can act as the national reference laboratory for aquatic animal diseases.

The surveillance will be risk‑based and focus on the States in the Great Lakes watershed and those States in the surrounding watershed. APHIS will develop cooperative agreements with State Departments of Natural Resources, State Departments of Agriculture, Tribal agencies, and other appropriate agencies for surveillance and compliance efforts. Surveillance data collected in the coming months will give APHIS more information on VHS to better target future surveillance and regulatory actions.

USFWS Research publications - http://biology.usgs.gov/faer/pubs.html

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus is an extremely serious pathogen of fresh and saltwater fish, and is causing an emerging disease in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/vhs/vhs.shtml

WI DNR VHS web site - http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/vhs/

Recent VHS activites in WI

vhs_midwest.html

Letter from AFWA and ASA to Secretary of USDA about VHS funding

VHS ad from APHIS

Whirling Desease Web sites

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/microbes/whirling.shtml

http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/others_whirling_disease.php

http://www.tu.org/site/c.kkLRJ7MSKtH/b.3596607/

http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/