I returned from the ERF 2007 conference extremely grateful for the Distinguished Service Award given by ERF for my 9+ years as Managing Editor. When I was being recognized and given the award and the very beautiful fish print made by Wendy Allen, I was so moved that I promptly forgot to give even a simple thank you to the Plenary audience.

I hope I will be forgiven for that oversight, but many of you know that I was to complete a very important task at that point in the Plenary program, that being the recognition of several individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to peer review. It turns out that the peer review awards have become very important to me – ERF 2007 in Providence was the third conference at which I had been given the chance to give the Peer Review awards – and I had long thought that it was important to recognize the individuals whose contributions to the journal were never recognized. 

This year, we recognized Scott Warren, Lisa Lucas, Darcy Lonsdale, Suzanne Ayvazian, Pete Sheridan, Larry Sanford and Bob Virnstein for their contributions to peer review in Estuaries and Coasts.  They were given a small stainless steel thermos imprinted with our society logo and the words “Estuaries and Coasts” and “Awarded in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Peer Review!”.

These individuals were among several hundred reviewers and editors the journal relied upon during the two years since the Norfolk conference to consider manuscripts for publication in the journal. As I say whenever I get the chance, the contributions that volunteer peer reviewers make to the quality of the journal are an important part of the journal’s successes in recent years.  The contribution that a timely, well-crafted and argued review makes to the progress of science is inestimable, but I have always viewed it as the sine qua non of the scientific endeavor. Without the highest quality of peer review, the very process of scientific reporting is undermined by individuals and journals who do not maintain high standards for what appears in print.

As such, peer review is where individual effort pays off most handsomely for both the entire discipline and the journal.  I thank these awardees for their contributions to peer review. And, lest I forget a second time, I also thank you for the opportunity to serve as Managing Editor of Estuaries and Coasts.