The 2nd International Coastal Resilience Symposium was hosted by the National Coastal Resilience Laboratory (LANRESC) in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, from September 2-5, 2025. This symposium brought together over 200 researchers, managers, and practitioners to share their work and make connections with colleagues working to create more resilient coastal ecosystems and communities.

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Global Sustainability scholars and other UMCES interns get a tour of the busy Horn Point Lab! 

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In the Pacific Northwest the leaves are changing colors, the mountains are capped with snow, and salmon have once again returned to the streams and rivers to spawn.

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Over the summer I had the good fortune of accompanying Judy O'Neil and a score of other scientists on a two-day research cruise off the coast of Ocean City and Assateague Island. The purpose of the cruise was to gather data on offshore harmful algal blooms (HABs), whose appearances are becoming more frequent with increasing global temperatures and excess nutrient runoff.

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Last week marked the beginning of the new Fall semester, and the start of our second annual MEES Environment and Society course. This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce students to various approaches for studying environment and society interactions.

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This past March I had the pleasure of attending both the Citizen Science Association’s biennial conference (CitSci2019) and the 2019 National Monitoring Conference. Going to back-to-back monitoring conferences presents an opportunity to highlight the similarities and differences within one seemingly homogeneous topic. I attended the CSA 2019 conference with Alexandra Fries and Suzi Spitzer.

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Lake Erie is one of five Great Lakes between the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes form the largest freshwater system on the planet, containing approximately 1/5 of the world's freshwater supply. Lake Erie is the southern most Great Lake located downstream of Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, but upstream of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The great lakes at night from above. Photo National Weather Services.

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Last month, Caroline, Alex, and I attended the Citizen Science Association (CSA) conference, CitSci2019, from March 13-16th in Raleigh, North Carolina. This conference was a great opportunity for us to learn more about what is happening in the field of citizen science, network with other professionals, and share updates on some of the projects that we are involved in at IAN.

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Last month we put the finishing touches on a year-long effort to develop a monitoring program for volunteers who collect data on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) throughout the Chesapeake Bay. The new program is called Chesapeake Bay SAV Watchers. Throughout this project, we collaborated with various stakeholders, including SAV experts, volunteer monitoring coordinators, and citizen scientists.

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Earlier this month, Bill, Katie May, Vanessa, and I travelled to Portland, Oregon to attend the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) conference from March 19-23. We were all excited for the opportunity to learn from researchers and practitioners who work in the social sciences, and to absorb new ideas and approaches that will help us enhance IAN’s capacity to do work that spans natural and social science disciplines.

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