Come to Seattle for ERF 2003!

The scientific program is set, the field trips are planned, the workshops have been arranged, the audio–visual equipment is warming up, and the coffee is brewing! It’s time to make your final plans for travel to Seattle for ERF 2003!

The Shape of the Conference

For anyone who has attended ERF conferences in the past, you will find the ERF legacy of high-quality scientific presentations in a relaxed atmosphere continues in Seattle. At the same time you will notice that we have designed a somewhat different conference. The Conference-at-a-Glance table (see page 5) will show you the shape the conference will take.

We have arranged the schedule so that the pace of scientific sessions remains steady over the week. Key symposia and presentations are scheduled from Monday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, culminating with overlapping sessions with the LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) group on Thursday. The poster session is not only fully integrated into the scientific program, but will run as one session from Sunday through Wednesday, so you won’t have to fit your poster viewing into a 24-hour window of opportunity. On Tuesday, the poster viewing session has been moved from the traditional evening wine and canape time to a session at lunchtime. The closing event on Thursday evening will be one to remember. Because of the time difference, you will be hard pressed to return to East Coast locations that day, so plan to stay and enjoy the party, see the students rewarded for their hard work, win prizes, and find out who creates the best posters – professionals or students!

The Native American Experience

The icon of the ERF 2003 conference, as exemplified by the artwork of Marvin Oliver, is the Native American contribution to understanding our estuaries. This understanding fits our theme of the confluence of ocean, land, and culture, and will be evident through scientific sessions and after-hours activities throughout the week.

We were very pleased to invite several prominent Native American leaders and artists to participate at various times throughout the conference. Although we have strong hopes that the tribal members will join us, we also respect the timetable that drives tribal interactions with the natural resources of the region. When the salmon are running, the tribal drummers are fishing not drumming. Although the timetable for tribal participation in the conference will remain uncertain until the final days, I suggest that you plan to attend the opening (President’s) reception on Sunday night and the opening plenary sessions on Monday morning. Also, don’t miss the Tuesday evening excursion to Tillicum Village; I can guarantee you will create memories to last a lifetime.

Some Important Details

You will find a wealth of information throughout this newsletter and on the website (http://www.erf.org/). In particular look for:

• The registration form is live on the Internet. You can register for the conference, field trips, workshops, student judging, volunteer opportunities for students, and order shirts and a limited edition poster (both with the extraordinary artwork of Marvin Oliver). Go to the Federation’s website and click on the conference logo. The deadline for early registration (and a price break!) is August 1.
• The scientific program is posted on the Internet and the program sessions are searchable.
• The opportunity to sign up to judge student presentations; besides being an important service to your community, being assigned the task to examine a few posters or scrutinize a few talks in depth is very enlightening and often refreshing! Remember that we are looking for graduate students to judge undergraduate papers as well.
• Students should sign up to have their papers/posters judged, as well as consider applying to volunteer (in exchange for their registration fees); both can be done from the online registration form.
• Housing links and information are available online. Many downtown hotels are offering very favorable rates, and the University of Washington’s dormitories offer a cost-effective alternative. There are deadlines for housing that you should note. You need to make all housing arrangements yourself; we have (hopefully) provided the information to make it simple.
• Visit the “Seattle Links” page on the ERF website to find lots of pointers to important and interesting organizations and activities throughout the region. We will continue to add to and update this section of the web page.

This is it – the final stretch towards the 2003 ERF conference in Seattle has started. Members of the ERF 2003 Planning Committee and all the other committees and individuals supporting them are ready and anxious to greet you when you arrive. Until then!

Planning Committee

Conference Chair
Andrea Copping
Washington Sea Grant Program
University of Washington
acopping@u.washington.edu
206-685-8209

Program Co-Chairs
Charles Simenstad
School of Aquatic and Fishery Science
University of Washington
simenstd@u.washington.edu
206-543-7185

Steve Bollens
Department of Biology and
Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies
San Francisco State University
sbollens@sfsu.edu
415-338-3512

Conference Management
Helen Schneider-Lemay
The Schneider Group
helens@sgmeet.com
254-776-3550

ERF Headquarters
Joy Bartholomew
Executive Director
jbarth@erf.org
410-586-0997

Posters
Jim Brennan
Metro King County Department of Natural Resources
jim.brennan@metrokc.gov
206- 296-8341

Workshops
Alan Mearns
NOAA HazMat
alan.mearns@noaa.gov
206-526-6336

Publicity
Mary Getchell
Puget Sound Action Team-National Estuary Program
sredman@psat.wa.gov
360-407-7315

Field Trips
Jacques White
People for Puget Sound-Restore America’s Estuaries
Jwhite@pugetsound.org

Student Activities
Jan Newton
Washington Department of Ecology
newton@ocean.washington.edu
360-407-6675