March 2006

Each ERF President has an agenda and priorities to address during her or his term. One of mine is to improve the interrelationship between the Federation as an organization and its members. As a teacher and ecologist, I am a firm believer in the idea that such interrelationships can be strengthened through better knowledge of the parts and how the parts interact.

Dear Federation Members:

The news of 2005 featured many stories with a scientific and often a coastal twist.

At the continental scale powerful hurricanes devastated coastal regions. The storms changed the lives of millions and altered ongoing research work. Our meteorological predictive tools improved demonstrably in recent years, saving numerous lives.

NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research/ Coastal Ocean Program (CSCOR/COP) sponsors competitive research programs that provide scientific information, tools, and predictive capabilities to assist decision makers in meeting the challenges of managing our Nation's coastal resources (www.cop.noaa.gov). The following represents recent program activities.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Congratulations to Michael Poirrier, University of New Orleans, for winning the position of President-Elect in the recent election. GERS first electronic election was made possible by a revision to the bylaws made during ERF 2005 in Norfolk, VA. The current GERS board consists of Paul Montagna (President), Chris Onuf (Past-President), Michael Poirrier (President-Elect), and Greg Stunz (Treasurer). All officers serve a two-year term.

By the time this newsletter appears in your mailboxes, the Spring 2006 meeting of the New England Estuarine Research Society will be close at hand. It will be held at the Nantasket Beach Hotel and Conference Center in Hull, Massachusetts from April 6-8. NEERS President Pam Neubert and John Brawley are the organizers.