WATERWhat Was Old Is New Again

2015 NWRA & NSIA Joint Convention November 22-24, 2015Holiday Inn Convention Center - Kearney, NE

On behalf of the Nebraska Water Resources Association (NWRA) and Nebraska State Irrigation Association (NSIA), we would like to invite you to attend the 2015 Nebraska Joint Convention. The convention will take place at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Kearney, Sunday, November 22 through Tuesday, November 24.The conference committee has worked hard to provide a great line-up of national and local speakers on a wide variety of topics.

On Sunday evening NSIA will hold a Board of Directors meeting. On Monday the NSIA annual members meeting will be held and the conference will then kick-off with a welcome from Senator Galen Hadley. During Monday’s General Session, Robert Glennon, one of the nation’s preeminent experts on water policy and law, will be our keynote speaker. Following Mr. Glennon, water professionals will deliver their perspectives on the economics of water and the impact planning has on ensuring water sustainability for the future.

On Tuesday morning the NWRA annual members meeting and Board of Directors meeting will be held. Tuesday’s General Session will feature discussions on how effective water management begins with modern technologies and the implications of climate change on Nebraska’s water resources.

The convention also offers a two-day tradeshow featuring all the latest products, services, and equipment.

LODGING INFORMATIONPlease contact Holiday Inn Convention Center directly to reserve a room and be sure to identify yourself as an NWRA/NSIA Annual Convention attendee to receive the group rate of $84.95 (plus tax). Rooms will be held for the convention until November 2, 2015.

Holiday Inn Convention Center110 Second Avenue, Kearney, NE

1- 855- 496- 8637, Ext.101 $84.95 plus tax per night

QUESTIONS?Please contact Diane: NSIA1233 L incoln Mal l , Suite 201Lincoln, NE 68508402-476-0162diane@h2oboy.net

Approved for 8.25 hours of CLE for attorneys

MONDAY PROGRAMSMORNING 1ST SESSION: 9:15 – 10:30 AM America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About ItKEYNOTE: Robert Glennon, J.D., Regents’ Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona

Are we running out of water? Water policy expert Robert Glennon knows the answer to this critical question. Glennon goes in-depth on the irony and tragedy of America's water crisis and reveals the extravagances and inefficiencies that are sucking the nation dry. Glennon argues that our water problem is very real and if not addressed, our water shortages will not only impact the environment, but every aspect of American life. Because virtually every major business uses water as an input in their direct operations or their supply chain, businesses need a better understanding of the risks and opportunities in water.

Energy companies and their trade associations in oil and gas, as well as hard rock mining, need to grasp the importance of water in the context in which they operate. Water usage is also a primary concern to food suppliers. Cities in search of water often approach farmers about purchasing some of their water rights. Water usage also affects pesticide and fertilizer suppliers and manufacturers, feed and seed suppliers and producers and farm implement dealers. State and local governments and agencies, and their umbrella organizations that cross state boundaries also need to understand the impact of water consumption, as well as green-conscious organizations looking toward the future. Using an economical perspective, Glennon offers suggestions on what we can do to reclaim and conserve this finite resource and why we must look at water as both a commodity and fundamental human right.

MORNING 2ND SESSION: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PMThe Economics of Water in Nebraska, Panel Presentation •Mark McHargue, Vice-President of Nebraska Farm Bureau, Farmer and Irrigator from Central City • Rick Kubat, General Counsel, Government Relations for MUD• Dave Cookson, Bruning Law Group: NRDs – use and success of occupation tax in Republican River• Lyndon Vogt, General Manager, Central Platte NRD

LUNCHEON PROGRAM: 12:30 – 1:15 PMNational Water Resources Association UpdateRepresentative from National Water Resources Association

AFTERNOON 1ST SESSION - HISTORY OF WATER POLICY IN NEBRASKA: 1:30 – 3:00 PM From Diggers to Drillers, A NET Connects program produced in partnership with the Nebraska Well Drillers Association and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Public Health.

In the homesteading days, Nebraska was believed to be part of the "Great American Desert." The success of those early settlers depended almost entirely on their ability to find a reliable water source. Those who did have a knack for finding water sometimes augmented their income digging wells for others. From those humble beginnings launched a well drilling industry that has become a world leader in development and protection of Nebraska's groundwater resource.

How Water Issues Have Evolved (Or Have They?), Panel of Presentation • Tom Knutson• Stan Staab• Ron Wolf• Loren Taylor

AFTERNOON 2ND SESSION - WATER PLANNING AT THE STATE LEVEL: 3:30 – 4:30 PM PANEL PRESENTATION• Jeff Fassett, Director, Department of Natural Resources• Jim Macy, Director, Department of Environmental Quality • Greg Ibach, Director, Nebraska Department of Agriculture • Tim McCoy, Deputy Director, Game & Parks Commission• Aaron Thompson, Area Manager, Nebraska-Kansas Bureau of Reclamation

AFTERNOON 3RD SESSION - NEBRASKA’S NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICTS, AN ASSESSMENT: 4:30 – 5:00 PMKEYNOTE: Ann Bleed, Ph.D., P.E. Emeritus, Faculty Fellow with the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute

DINNER PROGRAM, 7:00-8:30 PMGovernor invited to speak during dinner program.

TUESDAY PROGRAMSMORNING 1ST SESSION – IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR NEBRASKA: 9:00 – 10:00 AMKEYNOTE: Kimberly Morrow, Climate Change Resource Specialist, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGY – SPONSORED BY NEWBA: 10:30 – 11:45 AMNEWBA Panel • Chris Striby, Domestic Sales Manager, Senniger Irrigation, Inc.• Brad Dunbar, Regional Sales Manager, Lindsay Corporation• Ken Quandt, Market Development Manager, McCrometer• Ryan Schon, Service Manager, DuPont Pioneer Encirca

WATER LEADERS ACADEMY: 11:45 AM – 12:00 PMKEYNOTE: Lee Orton, Executive Director, NSIA

LUNCHEON PROGRAM: 12:00 – 1:00 PMMission and Vision of the Rural Futures InstituteChuck Schroeder, Executive Director, Rural Futures Institute at the University of Nebraska

KEYNOTE SPEAKERROBERT GLENNON is one of the nation’s preeminent experts on water policy and law. The recipient of two National Science Foundation grants, Glennon serves as an advisor to governments, corporations, think tanks, law firms, and NGOs looking to solve serious challenges around water sustainability and planning.

Glennon is the author of Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It, which has become a go-to resource for environmental policy

stakeholders nationwide. Unquenchable received a Rachel Carson Book Award for Reporting on the Environment from the Society of Environmental Journalists. He is also the author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters.

In 2014, Glennon and two co-authors collaborated with the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution to explore solutions to broken federal and state laws that are contributing to worsening water shortages in California and other Western states. Their groundbreaking report, Shopping for Water: How the Market Can Mitigate Water Shortages in the American West, received widespread national attention and is viewed by many as a game-changer for water policy moving forward.

Glennon contributes regularly to national print media including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He has been a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan, The Diane Rehm Show, C-SPAN2’s Book TV, and numerous National Public Radio shows. He has been a commentator for American Public Media’s Marketplace, and he was featured in the 2011 feature-length documentary Last Call at the Oasis.

Glennon is a Regents’ Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. He received a J.D. from Boston College Law School and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from Brandeis University. He is a member of the bars of Arizona and Massachusetts.

THANK YOU TO OUR KEYNOTE SPONSORS!

REGISTRATION FORM2015 NWRA & NSIA JOINT CONVENTION

November 22-24, 2015 - Holiday Inn Convention Center - Kearney, NE

NAME ____________________________________________________ MEMBER (NWRA____) (NSIA____)

AFFILIATION ____________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ______________________________________ CITY ______________ STATE _____ ZIP ______

TELEPHONE _______________________________ E-MAIL______________________________________

REGISTRATION FEES

REGISTRATION FEE BEFORE NOVEMBER 12 ________ X $220 $__________

REGISTRATION FEE AFTER NOVEMBER 12 ________ X $255 $__________

ADDITIONAL MEAL TICKETS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 - LUNCH ________ X $40 $__________

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 - DINNER ________ X $60 $__________

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 - LUNCH ________ X $40 $__________ TOTAL $__________

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: NSIA - 1233 Lincoln Mall, Suite 201, Lincoln, NE 68508

For registration questions contact Diane Snapp at 402-476-0162.

It is preferred that payment in full by check or money order accompanies the registration form. Registrants who do not send a check or money order with their registration forms and do not cancel will be invoiced for $255. A cancellation and/or refund request must be received in writing by November 12.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 227:00 PM NSIA Board of Directors Meeting MONDAY, NOVEMBER 238:00–9:00 AM Nebraska State Irrigation Association Annual Membership Meeting

9:00–9:15 AM Opening Session and Welcome

9:15–10:30 AM Morning 1st Session: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It

10:30 AM BREAK – Tour Exhibits

11:00–12:15 PM Morning 2nd Session: The Economics of Water in Nebraska

12:30–1:15 PM Luncheon Program National Water Resources Association

1:30–3:00 PM Afternoon 1st Session: History of Water Policy in Nebraska

3:00–3:30 PM BREAK – Tour Exhibits

3:30–4:30 PM Afternoon 2nd Session: Water Planning at the State Level

4:30–5:00 PM Afternoon 3rd Session: Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts, An Assessment

6:00–7:00 PM Reception Hosted by Holiday Inn Convention Center

7:00–8:30 PM Dinner

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 248:00–8:30 AM Nebraska Water Resources Association Annual Membership Meeting

8:30–9:00 AM Nebraska Water Resources Association Board of Directors Meeting

9:00–10:00 AM Morning 1st Session: Implications of Climate Change for Nebraska

10:00–10:30 AM BREAK – Tour Exhibits

10:30–11:45 AM Conservation Technology Sponsored by NEWBA

11:45–12:00 PM Water Leaders Academy

12:00–1:00 PM Luncheon Program Rural Futures Institute

Approved for 8.25 hours of CLE for attorneys

BECOME A MEMBER!MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION FORM

Name of Business: ____________________________________________

Contact Name: _______________________________________________

Phone: _____________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

Email: ______________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

City:________________________ State: ___________ ZIP: ___________

Type of Membership DUES

□ Individual $80

□ Business/Professional $205

□ Agribusiness $205

□ Associations/Organizations $205

□ State/Regional Organizations $205

For information on becoming a member of NSIA, contact the NSIA office at 1233 Lincoln Mall, #201, Lincoln, NE 68508 or call 402.476.0162.

521 F irst Street PO Box 10

Milford, NE 68405

Your NWRA membership is an investment to support you, your organization and the people in your organization. The NWRA offers what no other association offers in the area of water policy—a growing and vibrant Association of active and informed members representing a diverse but unified and influential voice in the legislative, judicial and administrative arenas, that also reaches out to educate and inform the citizens of Nebraska about our water resources.

The NWRA is a member in the National Water Resources Association (National WRA) and have two board members that actively participate in the National WRA. The National WRA is a nonprofit federation of state organizations concerned with the appropriate management, conservation, and use of water and land resources on a national scope. As a member of the NWRA you will also have the benefit of membership in the National WRA, which provides you with timely information on what is happening at the national level in Congress and with the EPA, federal funding, FERC, the Water Resources Development Act and the Endangered Species Act. You will also receive Irrigation Leader magazine and Water News Daily that will provide you with the latest news articles, press releases and discussions about western water related issues.