The sixth annual Assiniboine River Basin Initiative Conference, “Managing Water on the Agricultural Landscape,” will be held Wednesday and Thursday in the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Minot.

The conference is expected to bring more than 70 representatives from North Dakota, Saskatchewan an Manitoba together for the day and a half conference.

“Over the course of the last year, ARBI has been engaged on the landscape across the basin with a multitude of stakeholders,” said Wanda McFadyen, ARBI executive director. “This conference is ARBI’s opportunity to invite the stakeholders to come together and provide them with not only updates on ARBI’s work, but present a cross-section of speakers on a variety of topics relating to water management. We are also pleased to be working with the International Souris River Plan of Study and the International Souris River Board, who will be hosting meetings immediately following the conference, including a public input meeting on Thursday evening.”

The conference will begin with keynote speaker Don Flaten, University of Manitoba, who will discuss processes and beneficial nutrient, soil and water management practices that control losses of phosphorus from agricultural land to surface water in the northern Great Plains.

On Thursday morning, Jennifer Verleger, assistant attorney general, North Dakota State Water Commission, will provide an update on the federal “Waters of the United States” rule.

Other speakers and panels will cover Saskatchewan’s Agricultural Water Management Strategy, the International Souris River Plan of Study, natural infrastructure planning for floods and agency updates. The Wednesday evening banquet will include a suite of speakers, capped off by Weston Dressler, former Winnipeg Blue Bomber and Saskatchewan Roughrider player and North Dakota native.

ARBI is a not-for-profit corporation that represents interests of stakeholders across the Assiniboine River Basin and aims to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability through collaborative actions.