The next monthly River Talk is scheduled for Wed. Jan. 27, 7 p.m. at Barker’s Waterfront Grille. Molly Wick with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will present, “Next Stop, Clough Island: A Story of Conservation and Restoration in the Heart of the St. Louis River Estuary.”

A special bonus River Talk that features a different river than usual will be held on Wed. Feb 3, 7 p.m. in the Erlenbach Lecture Hall, first floor of Swenson Hall, University of Wisconsin Superior. Adventurer Natalie Warren will present, “Hudson Bay Bound.”

Wisconsin Sea Grant Director James Hurley was part of a team of researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wisconsin-Madison who have developed a technique to distinguish where mercury comes from in the Great Lakes. The chemical “fingerprinting” technique can also be applied elsewhere.

Water and sediment in the three rivers that converge in Milwaukee, Wis., and the city harbor contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria in greater amounts than in bacteria isolated from the city’s hospitals, a Wisconsin Sea Grant researcher and her colleagues have found. The researchers are concerned these environmental “hotspots” for drug-resistant bacteria could harm human health by increasing the incidence of bacterial resistance in medical centers, and they urge people not to use antimicrobial products in their homes.

The traveling photography display that celebrates Wisconsin’s waters will make a stop at the Monona Public Library for the month of January.

Beginning in 2016, the one-year fellowship will provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy.

As Thanksgiving 2015 approaches, take a moment to be thankful for Wisconsin’s water resources.

The next monthly River Talk is scheduled for Wed. Nov. 18, 7 p.m. at Barker’s Waterfront Grille (Barker’s Island Inn, 300 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.) Erika Washburn, director of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve; Jen Hauxwell, assistant director for research and student engagement for Wisconsin Sea Grant; and Jesse Schomberg, interim co-director of Minnesota Sea Grant will present, “The Story Behind the River Talk Sponsors: What the Heck is a National Estuarine Research Reserve and a Sea Grant?”

Wisconsin Sea Grant researchers have found that the sandstone bluffs in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore increase in the probability for rogue waves by reflecting and focusing wave energy. They also found that if one rogue wave was observed, others aren’t far behind.

Our informal “River Talks” for 2015-16 begin in October and will be held monthly through February at the Barker’s Waterfront Grille at Barker’s Island Inn in Superior, Wis., then will move across the estuary to the Vikre Distillery in Duluth, Minn. The series will end for the year in May.

The first River Talk, “Bringing Climate Change Home: Implications for the Twin Ports,” is scheduled for Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at Barker’s Waterfront Grille (Barker’s Island Inn, 300 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.) Hilarie Sorensen with Minnesota Sea Grant will discuss the effects of climate change on the St. Louis River.

Our David Hart and three co-investigators successfully submitted a proposal to NOAA to conduct a pilot workshop about ecosystem services in the St. Louis River watershed and western Lake Superior region, spanning the border of northwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Minnesota.