Welcome to Vermont
8:00 - 8:15 p.m.
Vermont ingenuity brought us the maple syrup and merino wool industries, the platform scale and the snowboard. So if California has Silicon Valley, why can't Vermont, one of the greenest states in the union, have a Green Valley? Vermont's governor, James H. Douglas, has joined forces with University of Vermont president Daniel M. Fogel to turn the Green Mountain State into an incubator for green technologies like alternative wastewater systems, renewable energy and innovative green businesses. We'll hear an update of just what it takes to make the Green Mountain State really green.
Emcee: SEJ's 2006 Conference Chair Nancy Bazilchuk, Freelance Writer, and former long-time Environment Writer, The Burlington Free Press
Speakers:
Governor James Douglas
Daniel Mark Fogel, President, University of Vermont
Location: Emerald Grand Ballroom

The "Real Scoop" on Vermont
8:15 - 9:00 p.m.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield mixed down-country ingenuity with a healthy dollop of rich Vermont cream and came up with Vermont's most famous export, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream. But the duo also aggressively pursued a social mission by donating 7.5 percent of their pre-tax profits to social causes, and made sustainable farming a cornerstone in their success. We'll hear about their efforts to build a sustainable enterprise in a small New England state — and using the success of that endeavor to further social causes, such as fighting wasteful defense spending. Oh, yeah, we'll get some ice cream too!
Speaker: Ben Cohen, Co-Founder, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream
Location: Emerald Grand Ballroom

SEJ's Journalism Awards Presentation
9:00 - 10:30 p.m.
Join us as we recognize the year's best environmental writing in the fifth annual SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Judging panels of distinguished reporters, editors and journalism educators combed through nearly 200 entries to choose 26 finalists representing the best environmental reporting in print and on television, radio and the Internet. We'll also take a moment to present a special award to SEJ's volunteer of the year.
Presenters:
Dan Fagin, Associate Professor of Journalism/Associate Director of the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, New York University
Ilsa Setziol, Environment Reporter, KPCC-FM, Southern California Public Radio
Stolberg Award Presenter: Tim Wheeler, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Location: Emerald Grand Ballroom

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Thursday, October 26: In the field, Sheraton Burlington Hotel

Registration at Sheraton Burlington Hotel
6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Please check in at registration upon arrival to obtain your conference materials and name badge. Your name badge will be needed for access to some events. Sign up for lunch breakout sessions, beat dinners and mini-tours at the SEJ table. If you didn't pre-register for breakfast sessions, Saturday party at Shelburne Farms or Sunday events at the University of Vermont's Billings Student Center, there may still be room — inquire at registration.
Location: Upstairs lobby area

Day Tours:
Advance registration is required for all Thursday tours, although empty seats may be filled at departure time on a stand-by basis. Departure times vary and are listed below. All full-day tours include lunch and beverages. Please dress for possible inclement weather and bring rain gear and extra drinking water. Only the Camel's Hump tour includes strenuous hiking. None of the other tours do. But, for those with special needs, the Montreal and Lake Champlain tours are best for wheelchair accessibility.

Board buses outside the Sheraton Burlington's downstairs lobby. Attendees staying at other hotels must board at the Sheraton. Please note the time of departure and plan to arrive at least 30 minutes earlier. Coffee and carry-on breakfast items will be available for purchase in the Sheraton Burlington downstairs lobby prior to boarding tour buses. Thursday tours will return to the Sheraton Burlington hotel about 5:00 p.m.

Bienvenue à Montréal!
Full day, 6:30 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20
Visit one of North America's oldest, most cosmopolitan cities and see how it's addressing ecological challenges. We first drive through Vermont's Green Mountains and Québec's Sutton range. A biologist will identify fauna and explain the importance of establishing a cross-border green corridor. Our first Montréal stop: Parc Mont-Royal. We'll learn about strategies to protect "the mountain" (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted) against urban encroachment. Then it's Concordia University's rooftop greenhouse to find out about natural dyes, composting and other initiatives. At Montréal's renowned Jardin Botanique, we'll smell the roses and learn about using plants for water filtration. Finally, the Biôdome offers a gateway to the Laurentian Forest and four other ecosystems. Pack your passports. On y va!
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Saul Chernos, Freelance Writer
Julie Gedeon, Freelance Writer
Speakers:
Melissa Garcia La Marca, Sustainability Coordinator, Concordia University
Louise Gratton, Ecologist/Botanist/Nature Consultant, The Nature Conservancy
Gabrielle Korn, Director of Communications, Les Amis de la Montagne (Friends of the Mountain)
Julie Zeitlinger and Jeremy Fontana, Owners, Au Diable Vert

The Historic Hudson River: Cleanup Controversy at a Superfund Mega Site
Full day, 7:00 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20
At 200 miles long and 23 years old, New York's Hudson River Superfund site is one of the nation's biggest and oldest toxic waste sites. Its complexity and cost only add to the controversy. We'll explore this scenic and historic river on the eve of a long-anticipated cleanup, with walking and boat tours that include General Electric's plants and other points along the most contaminated stretch of river, where PCB-laden muck is to be dredged. We'll meet with federal, state and local officials, scientists, legal scholars, advocates and those affected by the pollution and the proposed cleanup.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Dan Shapley, Editor/Reporter, Poughkeepsie Journal
Roger Witherspoon, Contributing Editor, US Black Engineer and Information Technology Magazine
Speakers:
Richard Bopp, Environmental Geochemist, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Tom Brosnan, Atlantic Branch Manager, Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
David Carpenter, Director, Institute for Health & the Environment, State University of New York at Albany
Robert Foley, Hudson River Case Manager, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
John Haggard, Manager, Hudson River Program, General Electric Company
Martha Judy, Associate Professor, Vermont Law School
Dave King, Senior Project Manager/Director, Hudson River Field Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Aaron Mair, Founder and President/Chairman, Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation and the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center
Merrilyn Pulver, Supervisor, Town of Fort Edward, New York
Dennis Suszkowski, Science Director, Hudson River Foundation
A representative from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation TBA

From Cow Power to Urban Farms: Sustainable Agriculture in the 21st Century
Full day, 7:15 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20

SEJ conference coordinator Jay Letto, center, tours the Burlington Intervale Compost Products site for conference planning purposes. Intervale is Vermont's leading compost operation, recycling 20,000 tons of waste each year. © Photo by Cheryl Dorschner / The University of Vermont.

It's no longer true that Vermont has more cows than people. Yet agriculture is still a huge part of the state's culture and economy. This tour will take participants to the leading edge of sustainable agriculture. We'll start with a visit to Blue Spruce Farm in the heart of the Champlain Valley's dairy country, where 1,500 cows do double duty, making milk and electricity. A methane digester converts their manure into fuel and fertilizer. The methane is burned to generate electricity that the local utility markets as "cow power." From there we will go just four miles to the Dancing Cow Farm, an organic dairy farm that also makes its own cheese. It's a mirror image to the very large Blue Spruce operation. We'll finish the day at the Intervale in Burlington, an incubator for small-scale sustainable agriculture. Originally settled by Vermont pioneer Ethan Allen, the Intervale is now home to more than a dozen urban farms and community supported agriculture enterprises. The Intervale Foundation also runs a farm viability project that offers technical assistance to farmers who need help starting or expanding sustainable farms.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
John Dillon, Reporter, Vermont Public Radio
Anson Tebbetts, Reporter, WCAX-TV, Burlington, VT
Speakers:
Ernie Audet, Co-Owner, Blue Spruce Farm
David Dunn, Senior Energy Consultant, Central Vermont Public Service Corporation
Karen and Steve Getz, Owners, Dancing Cow Farm
Vernon Grubinger, Extension Professor, and Director, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Vermont
Allen Karnatz, Co-Director, Champlain Valley office, Vermont Land Trust
Kate Lampton, Executive Director, Champlain Valley Greenbelt Alliance
Gil Livingston, Vice President of Land Conservation, Vermont Land Trust
Will Raap, Founder/Chairman of the Board, The Intervale Foundation
State Representative David Zuckerman, Co-Owner, Full Moon Farm, and Chair, House Committee on Agriculture

Conservation Past, Present and Future
Full day, 7:30 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20

Rolf Diamant, superintendent of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, explains that like its previous owners, the government carefully manages the 550 acres of woodlands on the slopes of Mount Tom. © Photos by Cheryl Dorschner / The University of Vermont.

We'll visit the new (1998) Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock, a postcard perfect Vermont village. See the rolling hills that inspired one of America's earliest conservationists, George Perkins Marsh (Man and Nature, 1864), later enchanted park magnate Laurance Rockefeller, and is now a living museum to conservation history. We'll discuss Marsh's conservation influence, the Rockefeller family's national and international park legacy, and how a small town changes when a national park moves in. Then we'll take a guided hike up Mount Tom through the park's diverse forest stands for a firsthand view of land-management history and current best practices. Lunch will be in Woodstock, with extra free time for your choice of wandering the village streets, touring the Marsh mansion with its collection of memorabilia or visiting the Billings Farm and Museum, a working dairy farm adjacent to the park.
Tour Leaders:
Kristen Fountain, Staff Writer, Valley News
George Wuerthner, Freelance Writer/Photographer
Speakers:
David Donath, Executive Director, The Woodstock Foundation
Michael Kellett, Executive Director, RESTORE: The North Woods
Daniel Laven, Research Associate, Conservation Study Institute
Cristina Marts, Park Ranger, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park
Tom Slayton, Editor, Vermont Life

The Acid Test: Camel's Hump
Full day, 8:00 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20

Camel's Hump's distinctive profile is found on everything from the Vermont state seal to the state's conservation license plate. © Photo by Glenn Russell / The Burlington Free Press.

University of Vermont professor emeritus Hubert (Hub) Vogelmann is credited as the man who first sounded the alarm on the dangers of acid rain. © Photo by Cheryl Dorschner / The University of Vermont.

Vermont is filled with mountains, but only one appears on the state quarter: Camel's Hump. Registered as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service, and "preserved in a primeval state" in a 19,500-acre state forest, Camel's Hump has still not escaped the ravages of pollution. University of Vermont scientists began studying the effects of acid rain here over 20 years ago and research continues to this day. On a hike up the mountain we'll visit research sites and explore the impact of acid rain on plants, animals and trees.
Tour Leaders:
Madeline Bodin, Freelance Writer
Kristin Carlson, Environmental and Political Reporter, WCAX-TV, Burlington, VT
Speakers:
Jim Andrews, Research Herpetologist, Reptile and Amphibian Atlas Project, Middlebury College
Charlie Cogbill, Independent Academic, Sterling College
Jim Kellogg, Aquatic Biologist, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Paul Schaberg, Research Plant Physiologist, USDA Forest Service
Erick Titrud, Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Protection Unit, State of Vermont
Hubert Vogelmann, Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

Man on the Mountain
Full day, 8:30 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20
Visit picturesque Stowe and Stowe Mountain Resort as we examine the recreation and preservation issues that affect all mountaintops, and are exemplified by Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, and the Long Trail, the nation's oldest long-distance hiking trail. We'll take a golf-cart tour of Stowe's environmentally friendly golf course, which features recycled water for the course, wetlands management, a black bear travel corridor, specially managed wildlife areas and some of the most beautiful views of Vermont. We'll talk with conservation leaders about the challenges involved in protecting the summit, such as coexisting with ski areas, managing high elevation water quality issues, limiting the effects of the more than 40,000 hikers who cross the summit every year, and resolving the conflict caused by communications towers and wind turbines — an issue that has divided the environmental community. These and other challenges face not only this beautiful peak, but also countless other precious ridgelines across the nation.
Tour Leaders:
Susan Allen, Editorial Writer, The Burlington Free Press
Jennifer Rabinowitz, Freelance Writer
Speakers:
Rob Apple, Planning Manager, Spruce Peak, Stowe Mountain Resort
Tom Gray, Director for Communications and Outreach, American Wind Energy Association
Lisa Linowes, Executive Director, Industrial Wind Action Group
Chris Kilian, Vice President and Director, Vermont Advocacy Center, Conservation Law Foundation
John King, President, Vermont Public Television
Chris Rimmer, Director of Conservation Biology, Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Ben Rose, Director, Green Mountain Club

Keeping a Patchwork Forest from Unraveling
Full day, 9:00 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20
Vermont is the nation's third most forested state, behind its neighbors, Maine and New Hampshire. These fabled forests are largely family-owned, and are within a day's drive of 70 million people, many of them eager to escape to the woods for a weekend... or forever. Development pressure is extreme, and the forest is increasingly being converted to other uses, with grim consequences for wildlife and communities. Forestry can play a critical role in maintaining a relatively intact forest, or it can be the first step in a process of liquidation. We'll visit active and recent logging operations to witness firsthand the not-so-obvious differences between forests managed for long-term sustainability and forests managed for more immediate commercial goals. We'll discuss group green certification, learn about the prospects of the local timber industry in light of foreign competition, examine fragmentation impacts on wildlife habitat, and discuss the ramifications of Timberland Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs), the controversial new owners of millions of acres.
Tour Leaders:
Jane Braxton Little, Freelance Journalist
Steve Long, Editor/Publisher, Northern Woodlands
Speakers:
David Brynn, Director, Green Forestry Education Initiative, University of Vermont
Charles Levesque, President, Innovative Natural Resource Solutions
Susan Morse, Program Director, Keeping Track
Sean Ross, Forestry Operations Manager, The Lyme Timber Company
Michael Snyder, Chittenden County Forester, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation

Lake Champlain: Ecosystem at Risk
Full day, 10:00 a.m. departure, lunch included, $20

Water quality issues are important in northern Vermont where stormwater runoff in the watersheds ends up in the state's largest body of water — Lake Champlain. Farm effluent is one of many issues. © Photo of manure spreader by Cheryl Dorschner / The University of Vermont.

Spend the day exploring the environmental threats to Lake Champlain, the nation's sixth largest freshwater lake and a laboratory for research on eutrophication, invasive species and the conservation of historic sunken vessels. In the morning we'll look at innovative efforts to stem urban and suburban stormwater pollution. Then we'll board the University of Vermont research vessel Melosira to explore Burlington Bay. We'll analyze water samples, scout the bay's fish population and use research equipment to look below the waves at a 150-year-old sunken sailing canal boat.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Tom Henry, Environment Writer, The Toledo Blade
Candace Page, Environment Reporter, The Burlington Free Press
Speakers:
William Bowden, Patrick Professor of Watershed Science and Planning, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont
Art Cohn, Executive Director, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Maritime Research Institute
Mary Watzin, Professor, and Director, Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont

Green Sneakers and Blaze Orange: Can Traditional Conservation and Environmentalism Coexist?
Half day, 12:30 p.m. departure, snack included, $20
Hunters and anglers were the early leaders of the conservation movement in America, but many now feel like outsiders in today's environmental movement. This tour will have two stops: The Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Champlain, where hunters and birders often inhabit the same space; and a shooting range where journalists can try their hand at a round of skeet and talk with folks who hunt, fish and trap. The tour will explore one of the burning issues of our time: How can consumptive users and non-consumptive users harmoniously share our increasingly limited natural resources?
Tour Leaders:
Matt Crawford, Staff Writer, The Burlington Free Press
Mark Neuzil, Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of St. Thomas
Speakers:
Jim Shallow, Conservation and Policy Director, Audubon Vermont
Mark Sweeny, Refuge Manager, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Scot Williamson, Vice President, Wildlife Management Institute
Steve Wright, Regional Representative, National Wildlife Federation
Tim Zink, Deputy Director, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Independent Hospitality Receptions, Newfangled Cars and Exhibitor Sneak Peek
5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday evening get ready for a big bash! Independent Hospitality Receptions will be rocking the conference center, hosted by universities, environmental groups and automakers with a few of the newest alternative-fuel vehicles right in the Sheraton's spacious exhibition hall. The vehicles offer a teaser to sign up for your personal Friday and Saturday test drives. Exhibitors will have booths set up, too. Check back here soon for the 2006 vehicle list.
Locations: Exhibition Hall, Emerald Ballroom I, II, III, Diamond Ballroom I, II

Talk Back to Your Car
8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Are the car companies really "going green"? What's the latest on ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen power? Will American cars ever get 40 miles per gallon? Join Jim Motavalli, editor of E/The Environmental Magazine, and Jamie Lincoln Kitman, New York bureau chief for Automobile Magazine, as they discuss new automotive technologies with representatives from leading carmakers, including Ford and DaimlerChrysler. Before you get behind the wheel, get the full scoop on what you'll be driving in this lively interactive session.
Moderator: Jim Motavalli, Editor, E/The Environmental Magazine, and Author, "Forward Drive: The Race to Build Clean Cars for the Future"
Speakers:
Jamie Lincoln Kitman, New York Bureau Chief, Automobile Magazine
Representatives from Ford, GM and others TBA
Location: Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall

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Friday, October 27: Sheraton Burlington Hotel
870 Williston Road, Burlington. Phone 802-865-6600.

Each year, SEJ welcomes a diverse group of attendees to its annual conference, including representatives of business, government and environmental groups as well as working journalists, academics and students. Because non-journalists are here, you may see or hear responses to presentations that you might not expect from mainstream journalists. Please bear in mind that these responses — like the presentations themselves — do not necessarily reflect the views of SEJ or any of its members.

Please note that SEJ members will be given preference in question-and-answer sessions.

All day, 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks
9:00 - 9:15 a.m.
Emcee: SEJ's 2006 Conference Chair Nancy Bazilchuk, Freelance Writer, and former long-time Environment Writer, The Burlington Free Press
Speakers:
Daniel Mark Fogel, President, University of Vermont
Geoffrey Shields, President, Dean, and Professor of Law, Vermont Law School
Location: Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall

Opening Plenary: Corporate Green
9:15 - 10:45 a.m.
From Main Street to Wall Street, American businesses are embracing sustainability and touting their environmental credibility — pledging to buy and sell organic, recycle more and pollute less. Can corporate giants like Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola make the world a better place while also burnishing the bottom line? Fortune 500 executives discuss how and why they've gone green, while Segway's visionary inventor outlines his plan for providing clean water and power to the world's poor. Meanwhile, a leading environmental writer wonders if Big Business and technology can truly deliver sustainability.
Moderator: Tim Wheeler, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Speakers:
Linda Fisher, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont
Dean Kamen, Founder/President, DEKA Research & Development Corporation
Bill McKibben, Author, "The End of Nature" and other books
Andrew Ruben, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Sustainability, Wal-Mart
Jeff Seabright, Vice President, Environment and Water, Coca-Cola Company
Location: Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall

Beverage Break, Exhibit Displays and Auto Industry's Ride & Drive Sign-up Opportunities
10:45 - 11:15 a.m.
Grab a cuppa, sign up for a Ride & Drive demonstration and browse through exhibits.
Location: Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall