Great Plains and Midwest Harmful Algal Blooms Workshop: Proceedings Report
The U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Regions 5, 7 and 8 and EPA Office of Water hosted a multi-regional harmful algal bloom (HABs) workshop on February 4 - 6, 2020 at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kansas. The workshop brought together States, Tribes and agricultural partners from the Great Plains and Midwest, as well as experts on HABs prevention, mitigation and control; this fostered discussion and strengthened connections in water quality programs on challenges, research needs and opportunities for the prevention and control of HABs. The first two days of the workshop included short presentations by experts on approaches to prevent, control and mitigate HABs as well as research and funding efforts currently under way to help strengthen our understanding of HABs and effective approaches for managing them. Workshop participants also broke into small and large group discussion sessions during each day to discuss their experiences with successful prevention and control strategies for nutrients and HABs, funding opportunities, coordination and collaboration strategies and research needs. This proceedings document highlights the successes and challenges the Great Plains and Midwest workshop participants identified in managing nutrients and HABs. This document also provides a summary of key opportunities that are actionable over short- and long-term timeframes to prevent, control and manage HABs.