STATE OF THE BAY CONFERENCE 2026
TAKING PLACE
Ocrober 7, 2026
Doubletree Hotel and
Conference Center
1 Wenona Park Place
Bay City, MI 48708
The premier event showcasing Saginaw Bay, its tributaries and the people and organizations that are working to protect, restore and conserve it.
Every two years, the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) and its partners provide a focus on Saginaw Bay and its Watershed through the State of the Bay conference. The purpose of the conference is to highlight educational initiatives, restoration, community development and conservation activities occurring across the watershed and related to our river systems and coastal areas, as well as provide an update on research and emerging topics of interest. Hear from researchers, educators, nonprofits, and more on three tracks of focus: Environmental Education, Community Development, and Watershed Issues and Management.
KEYNOTE
Dr. Lynne Heasley
Lynne Heasley is an environmental historian in the School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University. She serves on the advisory boards of the University Center for the Humanities and the Native American Affairs Council at WMU, as well the boards for the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance, and the Forest History Society. She has done research in West Africa and the Kickapoo Valley of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, but today her work focuses on the “more-than-human worlds of the Great Lakes.” She writes on her website: “Making sense of complex ecocultural relationships, and care for community well-being, are both deep concerns in my research and writing. These include land and water tenure; conditions of injustice and justice; different kinds of knowledges, perspectives, sense of place; and especially our troubled relationships with land, water, and the other beings we share these with.” Heasley is also an avid photographer, and some of her work is featured around the Library of the Great Lakes website! Learn more about Lynn Heasley and her new book - The Accidental Reef - at lynneheasley.com
SPONSORS
CONTACT US
For other questions and comments email info@saginawbaywin.org
or
The Conservation Fund
Great Lakes Office
P.O. Box 734
Bay City, MI 48707
989-892-9171
© 2024 by The Conservation Fund / Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network
Cover Photo Courtesy BaySail - Appledore Tall Ships, Bay City