This newsletter summarizes the report by the same name that represents the climate change vulnerability assessment project conducted by Conservation International in the Verde Island Passage in 2009. It reviews the multiple impacts that threaten the natural resources of this area, while focusing on climate change effects in particular.

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This two-page flyer, created in collaboration with the National Park Service's National Park of American Samoa, will be distributed by the park to Samoan community and church groups and schools, as well as to park visitors, to promote good stewardship and sustainable use of the unique and fragile natural resources found in these remote South Pacific islands.

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Nitrogen pollution has been a primary cause of a degraded Chesapeake Bay ecosystem for over a century. Since the Clean Water Act of 1972, Bay monitoring programs have measured the amount of nitrogen coming from human activities and on land (urban, suburban, rural, and industrial) and from natural cycling in the water column. This information is used to evaluate management actions for nutrient reduction.

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Vast areas of the globe's coastal zone have experienced significant declines in ecosystem health. Deteriorating water quality, loss and alteration of vital habitats, and reduced populations of fish and shellfish are some of the major changes recorded. Establishing and running an effective assessment program is a complex process that necessitates strategic collaboration and partnerships between many individuals and agencies.

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In this chapter, we describe the logistics of designing a monitoring program to obtain data within an integrated coastal assessment framework. We begin with the challenge of explicitly defining program goals and objectives, and describe the role of conceptual models and diagrams in facilitating this process. We next describe the selection of a subset of physical and chemical indicators for monitoring ecosystem status and trends.

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This chapter discusses how to create the physical communication products needed to broadcast the messages within a communication strategy (see Chapter 4). To determine the kind of product needed, several different elements should be considered, including the background of the audience, the size of the audience, and the amount of time available to produce the product. The products discussed are conceptual diagrams, newsletters, presentations, websites, posters, and books.

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This chapter continues the discussion of ecological indicators but with the specific application of producing ecological report cards. It explains the reasons for producing report cards, the steps to produce indicators based on ecological thresholds, and the process of combining indicators into overarching indices. Ecological report cards, like the indicators that they are based on, are one of the most important products for directing data collection and analysis.

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This chapter provides an overview of the process of developing, producing, and releasing an ecological forecast, which is supported by statistical analysis and models that underpin forecasts (see Chapters 8 and 9). Areas discussed in this chapter include why you may consider conducting ecological forecasting, some of the essential elements of a forecasting program, and some of the challenges you may face.

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Vast areas of the globe's coastal zone have experienced significant declines in ecosystem health. Deteriorating water quality, loss and alteration of vital habitats, and reduced populations of fish and shellfish are some of the major changes recorded. Regardless of the differences between cultures, climate regions, and population pressures, integrated management and assessment is required to solve coastal environmental problems.

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The intertwined cultural and natural history of the National Park Service (NPS) Kalaupapa National Historical Park (KALA) on the Hawaiian island of Molokai is represented in this poster intended for local and visitor audiences. For more than one hundred years, Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients were forced into exile on this remote peninsula. The unique native plants and animals found here are challenged by invasive species, overfishing, pollution, and climate change.

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