EcoCheck was formed in 2004 as a partnership between the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was created by Drs. Bill Dennison (UMCES) and Bob Wood (NOAA) to develop ecological forecasting and environmental reporting capacity in the Chesapeake Bay.

Read more

One of my favorite things to do in the world is to share these stories of people on convergent journeys, journeys like the one you are on with the Willamette River. The International RiverFoundation (IRF) promotes river restoration, protection and sustainable management of rivers and watersheds. Our vision is a world in which the rivers and watersheds are healthy and sustainably managed.

Read more

I attended the biennial Within Our Reach conference, held on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon. The conference kicked off with a film night, "Willamette Through Film". Three short films were shown in a chronological sequence. The first film from 1939 was sponsored by the Isaac Walton League. They didn't have enough money for a soundtrack so it was a silent film. But Dr. Stan Gregory from Oregon State University provided an entertaining running commentary.

Read more

The 'Within Our Reach' conference held in Corvallis, Oregon and focused on the Willamette River, did several things extremely well. One thing was the 'book ending' of the science and technical aspects with more socially relevant aspects; the film night at the beginning and the poetic reflections of Kathleen Dean Moore at the end. Kathleen provided one of the most compelling verbal nature essays I have ever heard.

Read more

The sad news that Dr. Peter Oliver passed away on 20 November 2012 arrived during our week of Thanksgiving. There was some solace in learning that after many months of medical insults (e.g., chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc.), Peter’s last moments were not painful. We also can give thanks for having had the wonderful opportunity of working with Peter over the past 15 years.

Read more

In September, America’s Great Watershed Initiative (AGWI) held a summit in St. Louis, Missouri to develop more coordinated management of the Mississippi River Basin. AGWI is an initiative primarily led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), although the management of the initiative itself is up for discussion. The summit brought together stakeholders with many perspectives to work on common management, communications, and assessment frameworks for the Mississippi River Basin.

Read more

Peter Oliver gave his final lecture entitled "Effectively communicating wicked problems--emotion, ethics, action and those funny little things called facts" at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Read more

Dr. Peter Oliver gave his "Retirement Lecture" at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland, Australia on 23 August 2012. I provided the introduction to Peter's lecture and the text of that introduction is what comprises this blog post. Peter provided a thought provoking, funny and well delivered talk, with audience participation and interaction. He also sang songs, culminating in 'Dugong Rock'.

Read more

For nearly ten years the IAN symbol and image libraries have been provided completely free for any use, so long as the appropriate attribution was included. For many users this has not been a problem - all that was required was a short credit to IAN and a link to our website.

Read more

Today I learned of the untimely death of my colleague Scott Nixon from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. There will be eloquent eulogies in the ensuing weeks and months, as Scott had a profound impact on many students and colleagues. While I will leave the eulogies to those former students and colleagues who knew Scott well, I did have a wonderful experience with Scott in October 2007 in Madrid, Spain that I am reflecting on.

Read more