The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

World Wetlands Day 2003: USA

World Wetlands Day at Idaho State University

The Center for Ecological Research and Education and Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University held a World Wetlands Day celebration on 4 February 2003 in honor of the signing of the International Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran. This was the first time WWD was formally celebrated at ISU and the event was well attended by students and faculty at ISU, as well as the general public.

A presentation by Dr. Paul Hook, Montana State University, was used to kick off the celebration. Dr. Hook described the global distribution of wetlands and history of wetland loss, in addition to a discussion on services provided by wetland ecosystems and the need for protection of our remaining wetland resources. Following the seminar, exhibitors and graduate students working on wetland projects were on hand to interact with WWD attendees. Exhibitors included the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, educators with Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Ducks Unlimited, and Intermountain Aquatics.

The event concluded with a slide show on the Wetland Resources of Yellowstone National Park. Heidi Anderson, NPS biologist, provided a description of the unique floral and faunal communities of Yellowstone's wetlands and presented slides depicting the diversity of wetland habitats that exist within the park. The event received local coverage by the news media and resulted in two write-ups describing wetlands and the WWD celebration; both appeared in the Idaho State Journal. Event sponsors included the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists, the Ramsar Convention Bureau, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Center for Ecological Research and Education, and Biology Graduate Students at ISU.

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted 25 March 2003, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.