14TH ANNUAL
St. Louis River Summit
March 6-8, 2024
In the 14th year of the St. Louis River Summit, we are offering a full in-person gathering at the Yellowjacket Union on the campus of UW-Superior. In 2024, the Summit program will feature two days of in-person sessions on March 6 and 7 at the Yellowjacket Union and a selection of field trip options on March 8.
The Summit features a single main session track of speakers as well as art displays and an evening poster session.
View the Summit agenda summary below.
The call for abstracts is open!
We are now accepting submissions for oral presentations, networking sessions, posters, and artwork.
To submit, please use the forms linked below.
Note the earlier deadline for oral presentation and networking session descriptions this year.
Submit an Oral Presentation abstract (Due December 7, notification of acceptance by January 1)
Submit an abstract for a Networking Session (Due December 7, notification of acceptance by January 1)
Submit your artwork to be displayed at the Summit (Due January 30, accepted on a rolling basis)
Submit an abstract for a Poster (Due January 30, accepted on a rolling basis)
If you would like to volunteer an idea for one of the field trips happening on March 8, please reach out to staff at the Lake Superior Reserve.
2024 Summit Cost & Registration
Join us in celebrating the St. Louis River Estuary.
- General Admission $60. This gives participants access to all programs and events of the Summit, and includes provided lunch on March 6 and 7.
- Students FREE. Students of any grade level or status may attend all of the Summit at no charge.
Registration for this event will open in January 2024. Please check back here for the registration link.
Registration provides access to the following:
- Inspiring keynote and panel discussions
- Presentations about current St. Louis River work
- In-person poster session
- Networking sessions
- Optional in-person field trips
- Access to any recorded presentations that speakers choose to share
What is the St. Louis River Summit?
The Summit is a multi-day opportunity to learn and share about the St. Louis River.
Like an estuary, the St. Louis River Summit is a place where people meet and mix. It provides a diversity of solutions and strategies for a healthy St. Louis River watershed and nourishes the community with education and outreach opportunities. Since 2010, the St. Louis River Summit has brought together key audiences working in the region.
The Summit provides many learning opportunities.
Join us in learning about the following:
- The status and findings of current research
- The results of implementing projects
- Ideas and status of future work
- Ways that people are connecting with the river
2024 St. Louis River Summit Overview
REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS
The Lake Superior Reserve strives to make programming accessible and accommodating to all in attendance. We invite you to make our event planning team aware of accommodations and/or accessibility requests that will allow you to participate fully in this event. Please reach out to Karina Heim at karina.heim@wisc.edu or (715) 399-4089 with any requests or questions about accommodations at this year’s Summit.
Agenda at a Glance
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
Morning
Welcome
Keynote Address
Oral Presentation
Lunch
Afternoon
Oral Presentations
Evening
Poster Session (in Swenson Hall, next door to the Yellowjacket Union)
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
Morning
Networking Sessions
Oral Presentation
Lunch
Afternoon
Oral Presentations
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
Morning
Field Trips
Session Descriptions
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
At the St. Louis River Summit, we encourage speakers from across disciplines to share their knowledge in a space where everyone learns together. It is tradition at the Summit for oral presentations to be featured as the main program in a single track. This event clusters submitted talks on a variety of river-related topics into sessions across multiple days. This year, session talks will be delivered live in-person at the Yellowjacket Union on the UW-Superior campus. The session full schedule will become available in early February.
NETWORKING SESSIONS
People with shared interests and unique knowledge have a lot to talk about when they come together! The Summit strives to support collaboration on timely topics to the St. Louis River community by creating space for networking sessions. These sessions are established through the submission of an abstract indicating interest in hosting a conversation or smaller work session during the Summit. This year, networking sessions will be held concurrently during the program in small rooms at the Yellowjacket Union. Session topics will be announced in early February.
POSTER & ART SESSION
All registered Summit attendees are welcome to attend the event’s poster session, where presenters highlight updates from new and ongoing projects connected to the St. Louis River area. Back by popular demand, we are also issuing a call for artist submissions at the poster session! Art and poster submissions will be featured alongside each other. This session is an opportunity to connect with colleagues and community members. This year, the poster session will be hosted in-person in the large open foyer space of Swenson Hall (next door to the Yellowjacket Union) in the early evening of March 6. Light refreshments will be served.
IN-PERSON FIELD TRIPS
The Summit is once again offering an opportunity for attendees to get out and experience this amazing place! We have all new field trips planned for this year.
Field trip details coming soon!
March 6 and 7 in-person Summit events at the Yellowjacket Union
This year, two days of the Summit main session, networking sessions and the poster session will be held in-person at UW-Superior’s Yellowjacket Union (YU) on March 6 and 7. The YU is located on the UW-Superior campus. Get directions to YU. All sessions will be held on the second floor of the YU, except for the poster session which for the first time is moving to Swenson Hall which is the building next door to the west of the YU. It takes about 5 minutes to walk from the YU second floor to the poster session venue in Swenson Hall. An elevator is available to reach the second floor of the YU and accessible parking is available. There will be signage to help you find your way to the YU’s Great Room and adjacent rooms where events are being held.
PARKING
Parking is available at no charge in select UW-Superior parking lots 2 and 11, shown on this map. You may park in either of these lots without requiring a pass or payment. Please do not parking in any space with a yellowjacket symbol or a sign indicating it is reserved for another use.
RESTROOMS
Restrooms, including a gender neutral bathroom, are located on the same floor just down the hall from the rooms where Summit events are taking place.
COVID-19
Currently, the Yellowjacket Union is not requiring the use of masks inside their building. We encourage Summit attendees to monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and for the safety of all please do not attend if there is reason to believe you may have COVID-19.
SUMMIT SPONSORS
The Summit would not happen without the generosity of event sponsors. To become a Summit sponsor, please contact Jim Gharrity at james.gharrity@wisc.edu.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUMMIT?
Contact:
Karina Heim, Coastal Training Program Coordinator
karina.heim@wisc.edu
A NOTE ABOUT ADVOCACY AND THE ST. LOUIS RIVER SUMMIT
The St. Louis River Summit is intended to facilitate shared community dialog related to socio-ecological issues and natural and social science in the St. Louis River estuary. The Summit is organized and financially supported by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, with help from many generous sponsors. As a part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension and the NOAA-led National Estuarine Research Reserve system, the Reserve itself does not engage in advocacy and as state employees, staff follow clear guidelines. The views of presenters and sponsors who participate in the Summit are theirs or their organizations and do not represent the views, mission or work of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve.