Dennis M. Allen
dallen@belle baruch.sc.edu

The ERF Governing Board is a marvelous body of dedicated individuals who are willing to commit considerable energy and thought to the Federation's mission. This was certainly evident at our recent meeting. Elected officers, Affiliate Society Presidents, and ex officio members tackled several tough issues and made many good decisions about the future of our journal, finances, member services, conferences, and role as an effective communicator of estuarine and coastal science. We had thoughtful discussions about the services that we provide to our members and the coastal community at large. We explored ways to move our journal to an even higher level of excellence and increased our commitment to promoting the relevancy of our members' work to the future well being of our coasts. Some highlights of our most recent deliberations are detailed below.

Communicating Science to Managers: An Electronic Newsletter Venture
An agenda item that generated lots of enthusiasm was a proposal to initiate a succinct electronic newsletter tentatively named "Estuarine Science News." Building on previous Board discussions about how the Federation can strengthen the link between science and management in coastal systems, Members-at-Large Holly Greening and Peter Doering presented the Board with a proposal to develop synopses of research results from Estuaries (and perhaps other coastal research publications) and distribute these as a quarterly newsletter. The intent is to provide scientific information that may be useful to the challenges of coastal resource managers in a timely and concise manner. In this pilot project, we plan to engage the services of a professional science writer to work with Board members, the journal editors, and the authors of the papers selected for inclusion.
ERF will send the articles to multiple coastal management organizations that already distribute electronic newsletters. After the first four issues, a survey of those readers will be conducted to measure effectiveness and usefulness to managers. The Board made a commitment to fund the pilot study, but efforts are already underway to attract external support for the project.

Communicating about National Coastal and Ocean Policy
The Governing Board's growing interest in increasing the Federation's role as a source of scientific information for decision makers was also evident in our discussion of the activities of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP). As you may recall, the USCOP is charged with making recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national policy on a broad range of coastal and ocean issues to the President and Congress this coming summer. Last winter, the Federation participated in the public process and provided preliminary comments about the need to increase the availability and use of scientific knowledge in managing coastal systems. This fall, I drafted a letter that identified specific concerns and suggestions for the USCOP to consider in developing new strategies for addressing the management of living marine resources, pollution and water quality, research-monitoring and exploration, education, and technology and marine operations.
At the recent ERF Board meeting, we revised the draft and decided that the Governing Board would jointly submit it to the Commission in early November. Although the assessments and recommendations contained in that letter represent those of the Board, we hope that after having a look at the document on the ERF web site, members will reinforce some of the points and express their own feelings in personal letters to the USCOP. The Commission is very receptive to ideas as to how the federal government's role in the future of our oceans and coasts can be improved. They encourage more participation by scientists, educators, and managers in the closing months of the public comment phase of their work.
In the USCOP letter, we concur with the Commission's Mid-term Report conclusion that our coasts, oceans, and marine resources are in trouble and that development of a comprehensive National Ocean Policy is of utmost importance.
The ERF Board suggests the need to make fundamental changes in the current fragmented approach to studying and managing our coastal and ocean systems. We suggested that a national ocean policy council working with the National Academy of Sciences may be a means by which much needed national strategies for environmental research, monitoring, and education could be developed. We expressed concern that, given the trend of increasing human use of the coasts, the nation has not made sufficient investments in acquiring the scientific information necessary to support the level of decision-making that we are facing today.
ERF's letter suggested increased funding for understanding the human and natural dimensions of biocomplexity and effects of climate change, cumulative impacts of disturbances, and mechanisms by which changes in environmental changes (?)occur. The letter identifies other target areas for study and expanded support.
Other points addressed included the need for future policy to place more emphasis on linking land-use and the management of aquatic systems, the value of setting achievable goals to reduce fisheries harvests and pollutant inputs, and the advantage of establishing peer review as a standard procedure prior to the approval and implementation of major management initiatives or programs.
We also emphasized the critical need to improve support for training new scientists, advancing career development of young professionals, and fostering interactions between scientists, engineers, economists, and social scientists so that the next generation can effectively address complex issues and assist with policy development.

More Federation Business
The Board dedicated an entire day to discussing the current status and future our journal Estuaries. We reviewed the many significant accomplishments that Steve Threlkeld, Scott Nixon, and the journal staff have engineered in the last five years, took a critical look at our shortcomings and challenges, identified directions for the future, and made procedural and financial commitments to get us there. New Co-Editor in Chief Carlos Duarte provided provided helpful perspective that framed this discussion. An Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting this winter to develop a set of recommendations for the Board's consideration next spring. In the meantime, we are always interested to hear your comments and suggestions for fully establishing Estuaries as the international journal in estuarine and coastal science. ( Maybe ? yes, and give the page numbers where it can be found - both for the name change announcement and for STT article.) Additional news about the journal appears elsewhere in this issue on pages -- and --.)
Among other topics that the Board discussed were: co-sponsoring international conferences, improving the scope and usefulness of the ERF web site, reactivating Committees to accelerate progress on several fronts, and renewing the contracts of our excellent employees. We approved a balanced operating budget for 2003 that sets revenues and expenses at nearly $1 million.
Another important Board action was the decision to increase the number of Members at Large from two to four, pending the members' agreement that a constitutional change is acceptable. (See President-Elect Linda Schaffner's article for more information.) This change represents an effort by the Board to increase the participation of members representing different backgrounds and careers.

Call for Board Nominations - March 1, 2003 Deadline
The Board also charged the Nominations Committee with developing a slate of candidates for approval at the spring meeting. I strongly encourage you to suggest the names of colleagues that you would like to see become the future leaders of the Federation. Past President Anne Giblin is chair of the Nominating Committee and would like to hear your suggestions for President-Elect, Secretary, and Member at Large by March 1, 2003.

Future ERF Conferences - ERF 2007 site chosen
Meeting in downtown Seattle gave the Governing Board an opportunity to become familiar with the setting and site for the 2003 conference - and, friends, you won't want to miss this one. The first-class meeting facilities at the Convention Center and the diversity, excitement, and conveniences of the city surrounding it are fabulous. More importantly, Andrea Copping and the 2003 conference planning team are committed to making this an outstanding scientific program. Details and the call for abstracts are provided elsewhere in this Newsletter. I highly recommend that you make an extra effort to join us in Seattle in September.
Plans for the 2005 Conference in Norfolk, Virginia are already underway with Co-Chairs Linda Blum and Bob Christian working with Joy Bartholomew and the ERF headquarters staff to finalize contracts and set the stage for the scientific program.
The Governing Board is also thrilled to announce the selection of Providence, Rhode Island, as the site of the 2007 Conference. Giancarlo Cicchetti and Jim Latimer have volunteered to co-chair the conference. Our admiration and thanks go to the many ERF members who contribute to the consistent success of our conferences.

The ERF Scientific Awards: Call for Nominations - Deadline April 30
One of the highlights of our 2003 conference will be the conferring of the four Estuarine Research Federation Awards. We invite you to nominate candidates for the following awards:

· Odum Lifetime Achievement Award for a sustained record of important contributions to our understanding of estuaries. Chair: Candace Oviatt e-mail address
· Cronin Award for an estuarine scientist early in his or her career who has shown great promise with work carried out during the first six years past the Ph.D.Chair: Nancy Rabalais e-mail address
· William L. Niering Outstanding Educator Award for excellence in teaching in estuarine and coastal science. Chair: Marshall Pregnall, e-mail address
· Donald W. Pritchard Award for the best physical oceanography paper published in Estuaries (2001 - 2002). Chair: Alan Blumberg, e-mail address

Nominations for the Odum and Cronin awards will take the form of a 1- or 2-page letter describing the candidate's qualifications. Contact Marshall Pregnall for information about how to submit a nomination package for the Outstanding Educator award. Multiple endorsements are welcome but selections will not be based on popularity. There are no restrictions on the professional affiliations or geographic locations of candidates, and they need not be members of ERF. Nominations are due before April 30, 2003. The Chairs of the Award Subcommittees are eager to hear from you. Please contact them for more specific instructions regarding the nomination process.

DIACES Symposium for Recent PhDs
ERF was a proud co-sponsor of the first Dissertations Symposium for the Advancement of Coastal, Estuarine, and Great Lakes Science (DIACES) in late October. DIACES was organized by C. Susan Weiler (Whitman College, WA) and primarily supported by NOAA. Additional contributions came from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), which enhanced the international composition of the symposium, ERF, and other organizations.
Representatives from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, IAI, and ERF joined 40 enthusiastic young scientists for an intensive week of scientific presentations, communication and teambuilding skills training, panel discussions, and working group activities.
Many thanks go to Sue and her staff, the agency representatives, and Joy for arranging an experience that will no doubt result in career-long friendships and scientific collaborations among the diverse group of participants. Based on what we saw, we have every reason to believe that the future of our profession will be in good hands. We hope to convene DIACES symposia every other year. Early career scientists are encouraged to register their dissertations at the web site, and apply for the next symposium as soon as the announcement is made next year.

What's Next?
The short answer is: more than one Board can tackle. In trying to decide how to prioritize and address the many projects that we have already identified, we are becoming more aware of the benefits of increasing the number of members involved in the Federation's business. The number of individuals who are all already participating in journal and conference activities exceeds 100. With our expanding interests in education and "science to management," there's room for dozens more. Our multi-faceted Education Committee has generated a long list of goals for providing educational information and other services to audiences at all levels. Please let us know how and when you would like to get involved.
Thanks for renewing your membership or joining us for this first time in 2003. Your financial and other support for advancing our science and communicating what we know about estuaries and coastal systems are more important than ever.