Upper Mississippi River Sub-Basin report card workshop newsletter
The Upper Mississippi report card workshop newsletter was published in November. Potential indicators for an assessment of management goals for the Mississippi River were determined at a workshop for the Upper Mississippi River Sub-Basin in September. This is the first in a series of newsletters that will document progress toward completing the report card through stakeholder meetings in all 6 sub-basins of the Mississippi River. The final list of indicators will be determined by several factors, including data availability and how well they represent achievement of management goals. Results form each sub-basin will be refined and integrated into a report card for the entire Mississippi River Basin.
Expanding the Firelands Coastal Tributaries Report Cards
Caroline Wicks and Alex Fries traveled to Sandusky, Ohio, where they conducted a training on producing report cards for the Firelands Coastal Tributaries Watershed Program. This work is a continuation of the first two report cards for Old Woman Creek and Pipe Creek that IAN conducted last year. These small watersheds flow primarily south to north, draining into Lake Erie. While these streams are freshwater, they do include an estuary section, where water is exchanged with Lake Erie. This year's work included transferring the report card analysis and production to the Erie Soil and Water Conservation District, who is the primary producer of these report cards, as well as planning for a new report card for Mills Creek.
Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference in San Diego
IAN was in full force at this year's Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference in San Diego, California in early November. Our team gave nine oral presentations, one poster, and coordinated a session titled "Science communication strategies for ecosystem-based management." Adrian Jones and Tracey Saxby also joined us for a planning session for the new IAN web site. In addition to highlighting some of the great work our project staff have been engaged in, CERF provides a great opportunity to learn from informative talks and catch up with colleagues and friends in the coastal science community. UMCES has a foundational history with CERF and we were happy to take part again this year.
Anthony Kung visiting IAN
Anthony Kung is visiting IAN for six months. He is a PhD candidate at the International WaterCentre and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Anthony's thesis is about managing environmental conflicts. He is interested in how IAN's science communication addresses conflict. Anthony grew up in Melbourne, Australia, graduating from the University of Melbourne in Law and Environmental Engineering. Previously, he worked as a research assistant at the Melbourne Law School, and in environmental impact assessment at Coffey Environments. He moonlights as a debating and public speaking coach. Anthony is also involved in a water and sanitation project in Ilahita, Papua New Guinea. This is Anthony's first visit to the USA. He'd like to walk its National Parks and get acquainted with America's craft beer industry (probably as two separate activities).