News from Your Stones River Watershed Association. September 2008.
 
The big news this month is our second Watershed Summit on Short Mountain, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 19-21. This is actually two meetings in one: Friday will feature the Tennessee Blueways Summit and focus on recreational use of rivers. Saturday will feature a packed program of presentations on watershed issues, and Sunday will find the remaining stalwarts hammering out an action agenda for the coming year.
 
We're pleased to announce our Saturday morning program will include presentations by Milo Pyne, Senior Regional Ecologist with NatureServe and Dr. Bridget Jones, Executive Director of Cumberland Region Tomorrow.
 
The whole thing takes place on top of Short Mountain, east of Woodbury. We're fortunate to have the use of the Short Mountain Bible Camp, which sits at 2000 feet with fantastic views of the countryside below. Plan to come for the whole event, or just for the day.
Complete information and a registration form can be found on the event website: http://watershedsummit.pbwiki.com. I've also attached the schedule and registration form to this message.  For questions email summit@stoneswatershed.org or call Mayo Taylor at 615-890-2081.
 
Coming attractions:
 
Saturday, September 13. Percy Priest Clean Up, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is the second massive cleanup activity planned by the Nashville Clean Water Project with support from radio station Lightning 100. You may have seen recent news features about the tons of trash that have piled up on the islands of Percy Priest over the years. This is your chance to help remedy the problem, and spend an interesting morning on the lake. Complete information, including how to register and where to report, can be found on the event website: http://teamgreenonline.com/events/nashville-clean-water-project-percy-preist-lake-clean-up
 
Saturday, September 27, 9 a.m. Fun Float from Percy Priest Dam to the Cumberland River. We will put in just below the dam from the parking lot on the south side of the river and float to Heartland Park, just before the confluence with the Cumberland. BYOB-bring your own boat plus water and a lunch. This is an easy 6-7 mile float and should be beautiful with the leaves starting to turn. For more information and to let us know you are coming please contact Diane Persbacher: diane@propson.com.
 
35th Natural Areas Conference, Tues-Friday, Oct. 14-17. This major national conference is in Nashville this year, hosted by the Tenn. Dept. of Environment and Conservation. It's sponsored by the Natural Areas Association and the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils. For complete information: www.naturalarea.org/08conference/.
 
Fall Color Float, Saturday, Nov. 1. This will be our annual joint event with the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association. Place TBA. Watch for more information.
 
2008 Summit for a Sustainable Tennessee - November 13-16 at Lipscomb University in Nashville. Sponsored by the Tennessee Environmental Council. Last year's meeting featured some excellent presentations and the proceedings are held in the impressive and beautiful facilities of the Institute for Sustainable Practice (http://sustainability.lipscomb.edu/) at Lipscomb.