Salton Sea Summit Begins At UC Riverside's Palm Desert Center

PALM DESERT, CA — The fifth biannual Salton Sea Summit was underway Friday at UC Riverside's Palm Desert center, where researchers, policy makers and community organizations gathered to discuss environmental matters, projects and policies involving the Salton Sea region.

The two-day summit focuses on projects and ongoing developments addressing environmental and human health challenges facing the region.

It will feature seven panels, with Friday's panels focusing on the Colorado River, habitat projects, and public access and recreation. A poster reception session will also be held, in which UCR will showcase its research on topics relevant to the region. Presentations during the poster reception will include the "Safer Salton Sea Water Project," "Lithium in the U.S. - Mexico Borderlands: between political intentions and community expectations," and "AI Based High-Resolution Earthquake Catalog for the Salton Sea Geothermal Region."

Saturday's panels will include topics such as dust and pollution control, community health, lithium energy and long-term planning.

Among the participating panelists will be Jessica Neuwerth, executive director of the Colorado River Board of California; Imperial Irrigation District's Water Department Manager Tina Shields; Steve Mitchell, supervising engineer of the Engineering Program Support section within the state Department of Water Resources Salton Sea Restoration Office; Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Executive Director Elizabeth King; and Joe Shea, who leads the state's Salton Sea Program at the California Natural Resources Agency.

To register for remote or in-person attendance, visit na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=882963&.

More information can be found at saltonseasummit.ucr.edu/.