ADVISORY/ Top Environmental Scientists to Address Wetlands Restoration At Coastal Marsh Research Symposium; Mass. Government-industry Partnership to be Recognized.

Business/Environment Editors

ADVISORY...for Wednesday-Thursday (Nov. 29-30)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

EVENT:      TOP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS TO ADDRESS WETLANDS
            RESTORATION AT COASTAL MARSH RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM; MASS.
            GOVERNMENT-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP TO BE RECOGNIZED

DATE:       Wednesday, Nov. 29 - Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000

TIME:       9-5pm Wed., 6-8pm Wed. (reception/dinner)
            9-4pm Thurs.

LOCATION:   Sheraton Inn
            Plymouth, MA

CONTACT:    Dominic Slowey
            The Hubbell Group
            781-878-8882

Local and national environmental experts will address the depletion of Massachusetts' wetlands and present their research regarding wetlands restoration at the Coastal Marsh Research Symposium at the Sheraton Inn in Plymouth. The goal of the two-day event is to arrive at a unified research agenda to improve our understanding of coastal ecosystems.

The participants will also discuss the progress of the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (CWRP) and the emerging role of the private sector in partnering with government and scientific researchers to restore wetlands.

CWRP, established in Massachusetts in 1999 by The Gillette Company, the Mass. Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, combines corporate contributions with federal and state funds to restore wetlands and other aquatic habitats. The federal government under the auspices of Coastal America, a multi-agency partnership, has adopted the program and is expanding it nationwide. Coastal America will recognize CWRP and The Gillette Company during a dinner reception Wednesday night.

The wetlands science panel includes Dr. John Teal of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dr. Robert Buchsbaum of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Dr. David Burdick of the University of New Hampshire, Dr. Michelle Dionne of the Welles National Estuarine Research Reserve and Dr. John Portnoy of the National Park Service. Research institutions attending include Harvard University, MIT, Brown University, the University of Massachusetts, the New England Aquarium, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the National Biological Survey. The symposium is being organized by the Commonwealth's Wetlands Restoration & Banking Program, which is the first statewide wetland restoration program in the nation.