Video and Blog Highlights
Videos
- Jeff Allenby presented the latest Science for Citizens seminar titled "Chesapeake Bay High Resolution Land Cover Project". The video recordings are available on IAN's website and YouTube.
- Bill Dennison's SAV Synthesis Talk on YouTube.
Blogs
IAN receives Gold Star Partnership Award
IAN received a Gold Star Partnership Award from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) at their annual end-of-year event in Ocean City, MD. IAN was recognized for their contribution in building credibility with both scientists and stakeholders, synthesizing data, communicating results, and developing solutions to environmental problems. In addition, IAN chairs and hosts the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the MCBP. At the same meeting, IAN and MCBP released the 2016 Coastal Bays report card, with both hard copies and the updated Coastal Bays report card website. The grades were slightly improved in the northern embayments, but continued to degrade in the southern embayments.
Ecological Drought in the Northwest United States
The Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (CSCs) have chosen the emerging climate science field of Ecological Drought as a research focus area. This newsletter highlights the outcomes of two, one-day workshops sponsored by the Northwest CSC held in Portland, OR, and Boise, ID, as part of a series of meetings held at each of the nation's eight CSCs. The threat of ecological drought in the Northwest United States has the potential to result in major ecological, social, and economic impacts. The diverse ecosystems of the Northwest are shaped by unique topography and weather patterns, and each landscape is threatened by ecological drought on a local and regional level. As climate change influences temperature, precipitation, and circulation patterns within the region, drought conditions may become more prevalent across the region, further stressing the ability of managers to conserve or restore these unique ecosystems.
Everglades region workshop newsletters released
In August 2017, IAN staff Alexandra Fries, William Nuttle, Caroline Donovan, Heath Kelsey, and Emily Nastase led workshops in southern Florida to meet the Everglades region teams and begin the RECOVER 2019 System Status Report and Everglades Report Card. The goal of the workshops was to identify topics, indicators, and narratives for these documents. In collaboration with region PI's, a newsletter was created for each region to summarize the workshops and outline the future of this project. Click a region name to view that workshop newsletter: Southern Coastal Systems, Greater Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, and Northern Estuaries.
IAN at the Maryland Water Monitoring Conference
Bill Dennison, Suzi Spitzer, Alex Fries, and Caroline Donovan attended the annual conference for the Maryland Water Monitoring Council at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum, Maryland on Friday, December 8th. The conference theme was 'Managing water quality in a changing world' and included keynote speeches about the 2016 Ellicott City Flood and a 10,000 year record of climate and water quality in Chesapeake Bay. The annual conference is a great way to network with colleagues, participate in concurrent sessions, and interact with water quality sponsors throughout the state. Bill participated in the session "Communicating challenges and successes in a changing world" with our friend and colleague Steve Raabe (OpinionWorks). Caroline Donovan, an outgoing Board Member, supported the Student-Professional Networking Session, which occurred for the second year in a row.