A free public presentation Wednesday, February 22, will summarize the discussions of a conference on the status of Lake Erie, next week at the University of Windsor.

The Lake Erie Millennium Network will bring together more than 100 scientists, resource managers and citizens to take stock of current research into the ecosystem in and around the lake. The theme of the meeting, February 21 to 23, is “The Status of Lake Erie: Understanding the nearshore and its connections.”

Topics under consideration range from invasive species and algal blooms to climate change and chemical pollutants.

Wednesday’s keynote by Jeffrey M. Reutter is entitled “The State of Lake Erie in a nutshell, and why we should care.” Dr. Reutter is a former director of four programs at Ohio State University: the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, the oldest freshwater field station in the United States; the Ohio Sea Grant College Program; the Center for Lake Erie Area Research; and the Great Lakes Aquatic Ecosystem Research Consortium.

His address will run 5:30 to 6 p.m. in the Ambassador Auditorium, CAW Student Centre. Attendance is free, but limited to the first 100 registrants. Register now on the event website.

Learn more about the Lake Erie Millennium Network and its eighth binational meeting.