Mississippi River report card released
The Report Card for the Mississippi River Watershed was released on October 14, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. The report card measured six broad goals for America's Watershed - ecosystems, flood control & risk reduction, transportation, water supply, economy, and recreation. The report card represents a culmination of a long and complex development process that involved over 700 participants. It also represents a new milestone in the ability to report on broadly differing management goals across large geographies. This report card was produced with America's Watershed Initiative. You can find more publications from this project here.
Bita River report card workshop held in Colombia
The second workshop for the Orinoco Basin Health Report Cards occurred in August 2015 with the stakeholder engagement meeting in Puerto Carreno, in the Vichada Department of Colombia. More than 46 representatives from 25 organizations attended the workshop aimed at identifying the environmental, social, and economic indicators that will form the basis of the Bita River Report Card. Indicators were chosen based on the top values and threats identified as key to the future sustainability of the Bita River basin. Participating institutions included the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Humboldt Institute, Corporinoquia, Omacha Foundation, Fundacion Orinoquia, and WWF Colombia.
IAN hosts MEES Colloquium in Annapolis, MD
The 2015 MEES Colloquium was sponsored by IAN and held in Annapolis, MD on October 30-31. Over 130 students and faculty attended the Friday events. The theme for Friday's meeting was "Enhancing your science communication skills". The guest speaker was Ricky Arnold, former MEES graduate and current NASA astronaut. Through amazing images and time-lapsed photography, Ricky's talk took us along on his 2009 journey to the International Space Station followed by a fascinating discussion of our solar system and the unique nature of each of the planets and Pluto. Saturday was all about the students complete with PhD candidate presentations, poster awards, and a classic Bill Dennison poem.
Great Barrier Reef report card released in Australia
The Great Barrier Reef Report Card 2014 was officially released during the 18th Annual Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia on September 21 and attended by Bill Dennison, Heath Kelsey, and Jane Thomas. The Hon. Dr Steven Miles, Queensland Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef, launched the Report Card during the opening plenary session of the conference.