September 28-30, 2007

Oaks Hotel · Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The Saturday morning and afternoon sessions will present information concerning the challenges South Dakotans will face from climate change.

Late Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning, conference participants will work on developing a "South Dakota Climate Challenge Document" via facilitated break-out sessions in four topic areas (Agriculture, Energy, Fish/Wildlife, and Tribal Initiatives).

Late Sunday morning the break-out sessions will report and the document will be finalized.

The conference organizers and co-sponsors anticipate that the conference will be a useful forum for expanding information on the problems posed to South Dakota's economy and culture by climate change. In addition, we anticipate the conference will be a useful forum for developing practical approaches for both addressing the threats and for exploiting the opportunities within South Dakota posed by climate change. The recommendations derived during the conference will be useful tools for South Dakota politicians and decision makers who will have to draft policies to address climate change issues.

South Dakota Campus Climate Challenge Regional Gathering - Sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and the Indigenous Environmental Network

[click here for details - this is a free workshop, but separate registration is required]

Reception and Mixer - Sponsored by FreshEnergy, St. Paul, MN

Conference registration and background materials will be available at the reception

Registration, Rolls & Coffee

[First opportunity to select no-host lunch choice]

Welcome & Keynote Introduction

Tom France, Director, National Wildlife Federation, Northern Rockies Natural Resource Center, Missoula, MT and Chris Hesla, Executive Director, South Dakota Wildlife Federation, Pierre, SD

Congressional Perspective - Lynn Tjeerdsma (Staff to Senator John Thune), Sioux Falls, SD ["Biofuels Possibilities in the 2007 Farm Bill"]

9:35 am – 12:10
[Coffee break from 10:20– 10:40 ...
last opportunity
to select no-host
lunch choice.]

PANEL: The Challenges of Global Warming

Panel Members:
• Dr. Matthew Hansen, Co-Director, GISc Center of Excellence, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD ["Convergence of Evidence for Global Warming," 9:35-10:20]
• Dr. Evert Van der Sluis, Professor, Department of Economics, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD ["Economic Expectations for Agricultural Producers from Climate Change", 10:40-11:25]
• Dr. W. Carter Johnson, Professor of Ecology, Department of Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape & Parks, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD ["Climate Change, Prairie Wetlands, and Ducks", 11:25-12:10]

An interactive Q&A period will follow each presentation

1:30 pm – 2:45

PANEL: Solutions to the Global Warming Challenge

Panel Members:
• Patrick Spears, Co-founder and President of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy (COUP), Rosebud, SD ["Tilting Toward the Wind", 1:30-1:45]
• Norm Tofflemire, Coop & Membership Director, SD Farmers Union, Huron, SD ["Wind and Solar Options for the Individual Agricultural Producer", 1:45-2:00]
• Michael Bowman, Wheat/Corn/Alfalfa Producer, Bowman Family Farms, Wray, CO and 25x'25 Coalition ["25% Reduction in Emissions by 2025: America's Energy Future", 2:00-2:15]
• Karen Updegraff, Research Scientist, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 57701 ["Farmers, climate change and the C-Lock System", 2:15-2:30]
• Timothy Rose, Media Relations Director, Fresh Energy, Saint Paul, MN ["Improving Public Policy on Climate Change Through Effective Communication", 2:30-2:45]

An interactive Q&A period will follow each presentation

FACILITATED BREAK-OUT SESSIONS - These four sessions will address major topics and develop sections of the South Dakota Climate Challenge Document

Moderator: Ginny Tribe, Professional Facilitator, Inc., Missoula MT

• Agriculture - Chairperson: Norm Tofflemire, Coop & Membership Director, SD Farmers Union, Huron, SD
• Energy - Chairperson: Elizabeth Burleson, Professor, University of South Dakota School of Law, Vermillion, SD
• Fish/Wildlife - Chairpersons: Shelly Deisch, Wildlife Biologist, SD Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks and Curt Robertson, Hunter Education Coordinator, SD Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks
• Tribal Initiatives - Chairperson: Patrick Spears, Co-founder and President of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy (COUP), Rosebud, SD