The crew member's guide to the health of our waterways is now available for free in PDF format from IAN Press. The crew member's guide to the health of our waterways … This short book (~100 pp.) was the first of a series of four books produced as part of the Healthy Waterways campaign in Southeast Queensland. It was published in 1998 and was a key component of the campaign in a variety of ways. First, the book was inexpensively priced to encourage wide dissemination.

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The fifth National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER 2013) was held near Chicago, Illinois July 29-August 2, 2013. UMCES was the local sponsor for the forth National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration in Baltimore, Maryland in 2011, and our name tag lanyards were beads to advertise that NCER 2015 will be in New Orleans. A new conference feature was introduced for the start of each concurrent session - a short exercise/stretching video (XBYTES) that was really fun and relaxing.

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The Society for Conservation Biology sponsors a biennial conference and their 26th International Congress for Conservation Biology 2013 was held at the Baltimore Convention Center. I attended the session "Advancing Science-informed Ocean Management Decisions Through Ecosystem Health Report Cards". The session was organized by Melanie McField, Smithsonian Institution, Jason Vasques, Coral Reef Alliance and Liz Whiteman, California Ocean Science Trust.

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On 27 June 2013, Caroline Wicks presented the STAR seminar in anticipation of the 2012 Chesapeake Bay report card release. The seminar was entitled 'Enhancing the Chesapeake Bay report card with new indicators and new methods'. In capturing the discussion following the seminar, I have converted the discussion into a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Caroline Wicks presenting at the STAR seminar on June 27, 2013. Credit:

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The Maryland Coastal Bays report card launch was held on 27 June 2013, on a Mickey Fins balcony overlooking the Coastal Bays waterways. It was a gorgeous day with a nice breeze and stupendous views. Dave Wilson, the Executive Director of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, was the Master of Ceremonies for the report card launch. Bud Church, President of Worcester County Commission, welcomed everyone and acknowledged the elected officials in attendance.

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On 17 June 2013, I traveled to The Water Institute of the Gulf (TWIG) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to discuss the development of a Coastal Louisiana report card. The discussion centers around developing indicators of sustainable landscapes and resilient communities for coastal Louisiana. We established a strategy of providing annual coastal updates and biennial report cards ahead of the next Master Plan (2017).

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On April 13, I was a speaker at the report card launch of the Choptank and Miles-Wye Rivers, sponsored by the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy in Easton, Maryland. The launch was held in the beautiful Talbot County Historical Society auditorium. Tim Junkin, the Executive Director of Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, was the Master of Ceremonies. The event was very well attended, with well over a hundred people in attendance, far exceeding expectations.

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New ways of looking at data promise to give a clearer picture of the effects of restoration in the ecosystem. People have worked hard to bring the Chesapeake Bay back to health. Yet, why is it so difficult to see the results? The IAN program’s Chesapeake Bay Report Card for 2011 gives the bay a D+.

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I traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a two day workshop at the relatively new, The Water Institute of the Gulf (of Mexico). I have been to Baton Rouge several times over the past few years, most recently to work with the State of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on the 2012 Master Plan. My role in that project was co-chair of the Science and Engineering Board. The other co-chair on that Board is now the CEO of the Water Institute, Dr. Chip Croat.

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The IAN team (Simon Costanzo, Bill Dennison, Jane Thomas and Brianne Walsh) traveled to Prince William Forest Park for a workshop on 8 March 2013 with National Park Service staff. IAN is initiating a new series of Natural Resource Condition Assessments for the National Capital Region of the National Park Service.

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