Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory will soon co-host its annual event convening audiences across academia, government, and the agricultural community to share the latest scientific information about algal blooms.

The 2026 “Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science” Conference is set for Sept. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event, now in its tenth year, will be held in Toledo at the Delta Hotels, located near The University of Toledo’s Medical Campus.

Alongside the conference this year, the state and its partners will host an in-person Ohio Domestic Action Plan (DAP) workshop the following day, Thursday, Sept. 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The DAP workshop will focus on actions being taken under the implementation phase of the action plan – a “road map” for reducing nutrient runoff into Lake Erie. Participants are invited to attend both events.

This year’s conference will also include a student poster session, featuring student researchers working on projects related to algal blooms or related topics.

At the conference, research and outreach leaders will present findings from recent studies and identify important areas of uncertainty. Expected audiences include academic researchers, municipal, state, and federal agencies, and farmers interested in the latest algal bloom science and technology. Members of these communities are especially encouraged to attend, but all are welcomed. Students, with a discounted price of admission, are especially encouraged to attend.

“Ohio Sea Grant continues to co-host this event and promote it on its website because the program has become known as a trusted, ‘go-to’ resource for unbiased, fact-based information,” said Dr. Christopher Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab.

The conference will feature a total of six expert speakers across a morning session titled “Water Management to Address Nutrient Loss and Transport” and an afternoon session titled “Watershed-scale Impacts and Legacy Phosphorus Fields.” The event will also convene a panel on human dimensions tied to nutrient losses and blooms.

The event is made possible by a steering committee that includes Ohio State University Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, and academics within The Ohio State University’s Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering. Other partners include the Center of Great Lakes and Watershed Studies from Bowling Green State University’s Department of Biological Sciences and The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center.

For more information about the event and a full agenda, visit Ohio Sea Grant’s website. Individuals interested in earning Ohio EPA Contact Hours for this conference can complete a form on the event’s web page.

Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.