BETHEL – Looking into a crystal ball and determining what a future with global warming holds for Maine and New Hampshire’s environments and economies along the Androscoggin River is one facet of an upcoming conference on climate change.

The Androscoggin River Watershed Council’s “Global Warming – Potential Impacts in the Watershed” will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at the Bethel Inn and Country Club’s conference center.

The conference is designed to provide and share information about global warming and how it could impact the region’s human and natural resources from the Androscoggin’s headwaters in New Hampshire to its confluence with Merrymeeting Bay in Brunswick.

It will also set the stage for discussion about how to contend with the impacts. Speakers will address environmental and natural resource impacts and provide information to help prevent or adapt to a warming climate.

Bruce Clendenning of the Granite State Conservation Voters Alliance leads off with an overview of global warming incorporating materials from former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” He will also present the New England Climate Impacts Assessment and other New England-specific data.

Jim Gallagher of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services follows with a forestry speaker about potential impacts to the watershed’s environment and recreation, tourism, and traditional and emerging businesses.

Diane Emerson of New Hampshire Fish and Game will discuss potential impacts and future plans concerning the river’s cold water fisheries.

At lunch, Paul Leveille, president of the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association, will discuss Maine and New Hampshire’s carbon footprint and how to reduce it.

“While the NHSEA wants to reach everyone in New Hampshire, they have graciously agreed to provide this discussion for both Maine and New Hampshire residents,” Susan Martin, spokeswoman for the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, stated in a report Thursday.

After lunch, avian ecologist Hector Galbraith will review evidence that natural communities have already begun to respond to global warming.