An existential appeal to "Shake things up" in socioecological systems research … Earlier this month, I attended a three-day international symposium called "Boundary Spanning: Advances in Socio-Environmental Systems Research," which was hosted by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis.

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Rich Batiuk retired after 33 years at the Chesapeake Bay Program and many of his colleagues gathered at a party, hosted by Beth McGee, at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for a series of skits, songs, and speeches honoring Rich. There was a huge turnout. Bob Orth, Ken Moore, and I represented the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) team that Rich has interacted with for three decades. We witnessed some amazing singing by Roy Hoagland, Emily Trentacoste and Matt Johnson.

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The Maryland state agencies initiated the inaugural "Maryland State of the Coast: Connecting People, Innovation and Opportunity" conference from May 21-23, 2018. This conference brought scientists, resource managers and practitioners together to discuss the coastal issues in Maryland. The conference was held at the Hyatt in Cambridge on the Choptank River. State of the Coast conference room during a break. Image credit James Currie. Bill Dennison and Don Boesch listening at the conference.

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In April, Emily Nastase and I had the opportunity to travel to Olympic Valley, California to attend River Rally 2018. River Rally, hosted annually by River Network, is a national conference for river and water champions. It brings together hundreds of people from across the United States and around the world who care about rivers and water issues. Participants this year included NGO staff and volunteers, academics, federal agencies, foundation representatives, and community leaders.

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Raleigh Hood asked Bob “JJ” Orth, Jon Lefcheck, Cassie Gurbisz and me to conduct a panel presentation and discussion at the 2018 Chesapeake Research and Modeling Symposium. This conference, sponsored by the Chesapeake Research Consortium, NOAA and the National Science Foundation, was held in Annapolis on 12-14 June 2018. Larry Sanford was the panel moderator and JJ, Jon, Cassie and I jointly presented the results of our Submerged Aquatic Vegetation synthesis (SAV SYN) team.

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I briefly summarized the workshop by highlighting the components of scale that were discussed in relation to island drought: spatial scale, temporal scale and complexity scale. In terms of spatial scale, we had discussions of global influences on island drought: El Niño/Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation and Sahara dust storms.

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We recently completed a series of eight ecological drought workshops in partnership with US Geological Survey (USGS) colleagues. These workshops were held in the following regions: Alaska, Hawaii, Northwest US, Southwest US, North Central US, South Central US, Northeast US, and Southeast US. In the Southeast workshop held in Raleigh, NC, Brent Murry who is based in Puerto Rico, highlighted the unique vulnerability of islands to drought.

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Modeling of Climate Change Consequences for Phase III Watershed Implementation Plans … June 14, 2018 … The consequences of global climate change are already evident in the Chesapeake Bay and watershed, at least in terms of warmer water temperatures and sea-level rise, and will influence virtually every aspect of the structure and function of the ecosystem in the coming decades.

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The Brisbane skyline, as seen from our hotel balcony. Image credit: James Currie … I recently had the opportunity to travel with Dr. Bill Dennison to Brisbane, Australia. We planned to conduct a variety of interviews with scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers on the Healthy Waterways Project. It was to be my first time ‘down under,’ and I was excited to glimpse the southern hemisphere. When we arrived, the first thing that struck me was the heat.

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The Great Lakes are a naturally interconnected group of basins that hold 90% of freshwater in North America. Keeping that water healthy is key to having waters for swimming, beaches for relaxing, and scenic vistas for the surrounding communities. Healthy fish stocks attract tourists to the area and support First Nations communities.

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