SOLEC '98

The third State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference will be held on October 21, 22 and 23 in Buffalo, New York.

Two themes will be discussed at the conference:

• SOLEC Indicator List - a list of indicators is currently being pulled together (from many sources) to be used in determining the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The indicators will cover a broad spectrum of subject areas such as open waters, nearshore waters, coastal wetlands, land by the lakes, socio-economics/land use, stewardship, and human health. The list will be discussed at length at the conference and will continue to be reviewed/modified for a period after SOLEC 98.
• Biodiversity Investment Areas - areas that should be protected (or at least increase the awareness of them) because of their unique properties or because of high biodiversity. Three separate regions will be examined: aquatics, coastal wetlands, and land by the lakes.

Please note that attendance to SOLEC 98 is by invitation only, but information or papers regarding this and previous SOLEC conferences may be obtained from this web site.