Rainy River Watershed Program Rainy River First Nations P.O. Box 450 Elmo, Ontario P0W 1E0 Tel: (807) 482-2479 Fax: (807) 482-2603

Rainy River Community College 1501 Highway 71 International Falls, MN 56649 Tel: (218) 285-2202 Fax: (218) 285-2239

Dear Friends of the ManOMin Watershed:

Rainy River First Nations and Rainy River Community College are pleased to present the third ManOMin Watershed Conference!

The 2003 conference theme, Rainy River Basin: Our Home, Our Future, will resonate with all friends of the watershed, and we look forward to a very informative and thought provoking conference.

As many of you know, Rainy River First Nations established the Rainy River Watershed Program in 1997 to inventory, monitor, and rehabilitate areas of concerns in its traditional territory, the Rainy River Watershed.

Since the protection, conservation, and revitalization of watersheds is a collective effort, founders of the Watershed Program also wished to increase awareness and promote involvement of the basin’s residents.

In this regard, one of Rainy River First Nations proudest achievements is the international ManOMin Watershed Conference series on the environmental sustainaiblity of the larger Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota Watershed.

The name of the Conference comes from the Anishinaabe manoomin, or wild rice, a culturally significant food staple that as a result of careful management, sustained Indigenous people in the area since time immemorial.

The 2003 ManOMin Watershed Conference is a timely partnership between Rainy River First Nations and the Rainy River Community College. As historical environmental issues become increasingly important, as trans-boundary pressures on the boreal ecosystem increase, and as threats to our natural resources become more global in nature, addressing these issues seems daunting and is often beyond the means of one country or a few organizations.

Rainy River Basin: Our Home, Our Future brings together scientists, resource managers, and members of the general public who have an interest in protecting and enhancing the health of the ManOMin Basin, in particular that of the Rainy River Basin.

It offers you and your colleagues the opportunity to get the “big picture” and to share the latest information on scientific understanding on the basin’s trans-boundary environmental issues.

The conference is also intended as a networking hub, continuing the process of establishing a foundation of cooperation between Aboriginal/Tribal entities of Ontario and Minnesota, the scientific community, NGO's, business, and all levels of governments on both sides of the border.

In addition, the 2003 ManOMin Watershed Conference provides an opportunity for leading First Nations and Tribes to profile their organizational know-how and share their environmental experiences and best practices with local First Nations and Tribes interested in environmental management.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference.