FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT

OCTOBER 24-26, 2002

UCONN AVERY POINT, GROTON, CT.

Hosted By

Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut

Long Island Sound Foundation

State of Connecticut, Department Environmental Protection

Coast Guard Academy

Co-Sponsored by

Connecticut Sea Grant New York Sea Grant

MEETING SITE:

The Fall 2002 NEERS meeting will be held jointly with the biannual Long Island Sound Research Conference, at the Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut in Groton, Connecticut. The campus is located at the waters edge with a commanding view of Long Island Sound, The Race, and Fishers Island. Sessions on Thursday and Friday will be held in the large theatre in the Academic Building. Just follow the signs once you are on campus. Besides the conference, other reasons to visit southeastern Connecticut include historic Mystic (with its Mystic Seaport museum) and two world-class casinos: Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.

The meeting will begin Thursday morning. All day Thursday and part of Friday will feature oral presentations relating to Long Island Sound and its watershed. Part of Friday afternoon and all of Saturday morning will focus on topics appropriate to NEERS, but not about Long Island Sound. Seventy-five abstracts were submitted, so the meeting promises to be full to the brim. Plan to attend, even if you did not submit an abstract.

SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS:

Oral presentations will be limited to 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for discussion. Poster presentations will be on display for the duration of the meeting, and highlighted during a special poster session. Reports of work in progress as well as completed work and reviews of relevant subjects are encouraged. Students may compete for the Ketchum and Rankin awards for oral presentations, or the Dean Prize for posters (see below). Every NEERS presenter must be (or become) a NEERS member. Contact NEERS Treasurer , (603-862-2175) if you are unsure if your membership is current.

PROJECTION:

To facilitate the smooth running of the meeting, we are requesting that everyone planning to use Powerpoint who has a Thursday oral presentation, plan to submit their presentation at least THREE DAYS before the beginning of the meeting. We plan to be strict about this time table. This may be done by mailing a CDROM, zip disk, or sending the file as an attachment of an email to Bob Whitlatch Department of Marine Sciences, 1080 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340. Those with presentations on Friday and Saturday may load their presentations onto the meeting’s computer during the breaks at the meeting. Make sure you do this well ahead of your time slot. No one should plan to use their own computer for their presentation. Everyone should plan to bring overheads as a back-up in case of a technological crisis.

POSTERS:

More than 20 abstracts have been submitted for the poster presentation. With this number of posters, we plan to have active poster viewing at the receptions on both Thursday and Friday in the late afternoon. Poster presenters are urged to put up their posters on Thursday in order to have maximum exposure. The poster boards are 3’x5’ and may be mounted either vertically or horizontally. We will supply materials for mounting your poster to the board, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer.

STUDENT PRIZES:

Prizes will be awarded to students chosen by the judging panel in the following categories: graduate student oral presentation (Buck Ketchum Prize, $100), undergraduate student oral presentation (Stubby Rankin, $100), graduate and undergraduate student poster presentation (David Dean Prize, $100). Papers and posters are judged by a committee in terms of overall effectiveness, scientific content, and quality of the presentation. Students are encouraged to review the scoring criteria on the NEERS website. (www.neers.org and select “student center” then “presentation judging criteria”). Students who have won an award are not eligible for that award again. NEERS appreciates contributions towards the endowment fund for these prizes, so give generously when you pre-register. Free Banquet tickets are provided for students who are competing for the awards.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES:

After the Thursday afternoon session, there will be a reception in the Marine Sciences Building. Enjoy drinks and hors d’oevres as you tour the new building and visit with old and new colleagues. Take this opportunity to look at some posters as well.

Friday will feature a SOCIAL along with POSTER VIEWING, followed by the AWARDS BANQUET from 7:00-9:00 PM. After dinner enjoy our own PRIVATE PARTY WITH DJ (9:00 PM until Midnight) at the Branford House, our on-campus mansion. For those who prefer not to dance, side rooms will be available for less high volume activities.

OTHER MEALS:

The cost for lunch (Thursday and Friday) and continental breakfast is included in the registration fee. Without the pressure of finding off-campus dining, the lunch breaks should be a good opportunity to look at posters and our waterfront campus (hope for beautiful New England Fall weather).

BUSINESS MEETING:

The Business meeting will be held after the last presentation on Friday afternoon. This is an election year, and NEERS is getting a jump on Congress by electing our officers in October. All NEERS members (students included) are allowed to vote. We are also voting on changes to our constitution. A copy of the proposed revision is included after the meeting program in this mailing. Read it over before attending the business meeting and voting.

FIELD TRIPS:

There will be a choice of three field trips on Saturday afternoon. Sign up sheets will be available at the registration desk:

1. Tour the Coast Guard Academy including the Science Building and waterfront (with the Science boat and the sailboats used for cadet training). With some luck the training ship Eagle may be in port. Learn about the academic program for the cadets and internship opportunities they have.
2. See the SET Demonstration at the Barn Island Tidal Marshes. Over the past half century the 350 acre complex of tidal marshes at Barn Island in Stonington, Connecticut, has been the site of numerous studies on various aspects of tidal marsh and estuarine ecology. These marshes include the most thoroughly documented marsh restoration project on Long Island Sound and a marsh accretion site established four decades ago. This trip will highlight the recent establishment of Surface Elevation Table (SET) sites which track marsh elevation and relative-sea-level-rise across a broad spatial and plant community type range.
3. Join Project Oceanology for an on-the-water program on Long Island Sound to explore some of the topics that have been discussed during the conference. Come with us for a tour of our new facilities on the Avery Point Campus before we head out to have a hands-on experience aboard Enviro-Lab. Once underway, we will conduct a number of procedures to examine physical, chemical and geological conditions before we set and retrieve an otter trawl to determine what lives there. Dress for the weather and come prepared to lend a hand! (We need a minimum of 15 passengers to run this program.)

REGISTRATION:

The pre-Registration fee for this meeting is $65 for NEERS members, and $45 for students. Included in this fee: all breakfasts (Thurs. - Sat), all coffee breaks, lunches, Thursday and Friday receptions, Friday post-banquet party, and field trips. All this in addition to 75 presentations! The pre-registration deadline is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11. Pre-register on the web at www.neers.org (select ?meetings?, then ?fall 2002 meeting?). It is a HUGE help to the organizing committee to know about how many people will attend, plus you save money. PLEASE PRE-REGISTER. Follow-up your pre-registration with a check made out to NEERS mailed to Dr. David Burdick, Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, 85 Adams Point Road, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. Alternatively, you may mail the enclosed registration form to Dave. Use this opportunity to make sure your NEERS dues are paid.

ACCOMODATIONS:

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn, New London. We also have some space at the hostel accommodations of Project Oceanology. See details on attached lodgings page.

GETTING to UCONN Avery Point:

From the North or South. Interstate #95 to exit 87, rt. 349 (Clarence B. Sharp Highway). Continue south (towards Long Island Sound) until the second traffic light. Turn right on to Rainville Ave (there should be a sign here directing you to UCONN. At the next light, turn left (Benham Road). Continue past Pfizer (big buildings and tanks, etc.) until you arrive at the entrance to UCONN, Avery Point, approx. 1.5 miles. Go in the main entrance (marked University of Connecticut). Be sure to obey the 20 mph speed limit, the campus police are strict about this. At the first opportunity turn right into the parking lot to park your car. Proceed (on foot) past the campus police station (gatehouse from the old estate), and Academic Annex to the larger Academic Building. Enter the near side of the building and up to the Theatre landing on the second floor. We plan to have signs to help guide you in.

From Long Island, the Cross Sound Ferry is a restful way to travel. Reservations: (631)-323-2525. After leaving the ferry parking lot in New London, cross train tracks, turn right at signal. Follow signs to Providence to merge onto Interstate #95 North. Cross the Gold Star Bridge over the Thames River to Groton, and proceed as described above.

QUESTIONS?

Contact NEERS Program Chairman and Local Organizer, , Department of Marine Sciences, 1080 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340, 860-405-9140. She will be away (from her email and phone) from mid-September until the first week of October. If you can’t wait to have your question answered contact phone: 860-405-9166.

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NEERS BUSINESS MEETING – PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

VOTE EARLY and VOTE OFTEN. The Fall meeting will also be an election meeting and in addition to selecting a new suite of NEERS Officers, we will be voting on a few changes to the Constitution and reviewing an Operations Manual. The changes are needed to make the Constitution more closely reflect how NEERS works and the Operations manual is needed because we now have enough activities that it is difficult for everyone to keep straight who does what by when. In 1994, we modified the Constitution to conform to non-profit regulations. This time we need to change a few things to be consistent with how NEERS actually does business. The major changes are specifying that the NEERS President attends the ERF Governing Board meetings, specifying all the NEERS positions, identifying the Standing Committees, authorizing the NEERS Board to make ad hoc committees as needed, and changing the timing of notifying the membership about Constitutional changes. By changing the notification time to coincide with when we normally mail out meeting information, NEERS will avoid an extra mailing that costs us over $600. The Operations Manual describes the nuts and bolts of who does what and when to keep NEERS running. The proposed new Constitution is included as part of this mailing; the draft of the Operations Manual will be available for your consideration at the meeting.

CONSTITUTION

As Amended October 2002

NAME:

The name of this organization shall be the NEW ENGLAND ESTUARINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (NEERS).

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this organization shall be to bring together persons actively engaged in estuarine and coastal research and management for informal discussion and scientific exchange. NEERS is organized as a nonprofit society and shall be operated exclusively for educational purposes.

ORGANIZATION:

Not withstanding any other provisions of these articles, the organization is organized exclusively for one or more of the purposes as specified in Section 501 (e) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal income tax under IRC 501 (c) (3) or corresponding provisions of any subsequent tax laws.

No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of any member, trustee, director, officer of the organization, or any private individual (except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services tendered to or for the organization), and no member, trustee, officer of the organization or any private individual shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the organization's assets on dissolution of the organization.

In any taxable Year in which the organization is a private foundation as described in IRC 509 (a), the organization shall distribute its income for said period at such time and manner as not-to subject it to tax under IRC 4942, and the organization shall not (a) engage in any act of self-dealing as defined in IRC 4941 (d), (b) retain any excess business holdings as defined in IRC 4943 (c), (c) make any investments in such a manner as to subject the organization to tax under IRC 4944, or (d) make any taxable expenditures as defined in IRC 4945 (d) or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws.

MEMBERSHIP:

Membership is open to those whose activities are consistent with the purpose of the organization. There shall be four classes of membership: active, student, honorary, and emeritus. Active membership is open to those persons who are professionally engaged in estuarine science or management, or persons who are engaged in study of the estuarine and marine environments, or other activities consistent with the purpose of the organization. Student members must be students in good standing at any level of educational activity. Only active and student members are entitled to vote in the affairs of the corporation, to serve as directors or officers, or to be counted toward a quorum in any meeting of the membership. Honorary membership may be conferred by the Executive Committee upon persons recognized for outstanding work or interest in the field of estuarine research and/or education. Any NEERS member who is at least 65 years of age and has been an active NEERS member for at least 10 years may request emeritus membership. Honorary and Emeritus members shall not be required to pay dues.

Application for membership shall be in writing in such a form as the Executive Committee shall prescribe, and shall be submitted to the Secretary. The Secretary shall confer membership upon receipt of dues.

DUES:

The Executive Committee shall set dues. Any change will be subject to the approval of the membership at a business meeting. Dues are due and payable to the Treasurer at, or before, the spring meeting. Members who owe dues for two years will receive notice of the fall meeting but will automatically be dropped from membership, if still delinquent after the fall business meeting.

MEETINGS:

Meetings shall be held semiannually, during the spring and fall. One meeting in each year may be a general meeting with the Estuarine Research Federation. One must be, or become, a member in order to give a scientific presentation at the meeting, unless invited by the President.

ATTENDANCE:

Attendance of business meetings shall be limited to members in good standing, except visitors may attend (but not vote) with the approval of the President.

OFFICERS/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

The elected officers of NEERS shall consist of a President, a President-elect, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Terms of office shall be two years. Individuals elected to the office of President/President-elect shall not be eligible for election again to that office. The individual elected as President-elect will acquire the duties of President two years subsequent to the date of election. The Secretary and the Treasurer may be reelected to the same office, but may serve no more than two consecutive terms in that capacity.

The President shall serve as NEERS representative to the Governing Board of the Estuarine Research Federation (ERF). If the President is not available, the President-elect or a member of NEERS designated by the President shall be the representative. The President shall also appoint one member of NEERS to serve as NEERS Historian, one member of NEERS to serve as Program Chair, and two members of NEERS to serve as at-large representatives on the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the President-elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the immediate Past-President, the Program Chair, the Historian, and the two at-large members. A member of the Executive committee can be replaced if they miss two consecutive meetings and a simple majority of the Executive Committee votes to remove them from office. When a vacancy on the Executive Committee exists, the Executive Committee shall have the power to fill a vacancy in any elected or appointed office. These vacancies will be filled only to the end of the particular Executive Committee member's term. The Executive Committee may create ad hoc and standing committees as needed, such as a Local Arrangements, Nominating, Awards, Web Site, Newsletter, etc. A quorum, which consists of a simple majority of the Executive Committee members, must be present before business can be transacted or motions made or passed.

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

The President shall preside at all meetings of the membership and of the Executive Committee. If the President is unable to preside, the President-elect or a President pro-tem chosen by the Executive Committee may conduct the meeting.

The Secretary shall:

1. work with the meeting organizers and the Program Chair to issue an announcement of the meeting and call for papers;
2. maintain an up-to-date list of the members which shall be named to the membership annually in the fall;
3. maintain and have available a copy of the Constitution and the Operations Manual available for the information of any member;
4. record minutes of NEERS business meetings and Executive Committee meetings;
5. correspond with the Estuarine Research Federation;
6. prepare a Secretary's report for each NEERS business meeting.

The Treasurer shall:

1. collect, disburse, and account for all monies, including those pertaining to dues and meetings;
2. maintain bank accounts;
3. maintain records of dues payments by NEERS members;
4. update the membership list;
5. prepare a Treasurer's report for each NEERS business meeting.

The Program Chair, in conjunction with the local organizing committee, and with help from officers of the Society shall plan and carry out each NEERS meeting. The Program Chair shall be responsible for implementing the Society policy with respect to meeting conduct and content. With the approval of the Executive Committee, the Program Chair shall have the power to initiate new ideas in meeting format, topic selection, and any other area he/she believes will add to free information exchange in an informal atmosphere. The Program Chair shall receive and review abstracts, and have final responsibility for all aspects of each NEERS meeting.

The President-elect shall preside at NEERS and NEERS Executive Committee and attend Estuarine Research Federation Board meetings if the President is not available.

The immediate Past-President shall chair the Awards and Nominating Committees and may have other duties as specified in the Operations Manual.

The Historian shall maintain the historical documents of the Society.

The Members-at-Large are to represent the members of NEERS at Executive Committee Meetings.

In addition to the duties described above, all members of the Executive Committee may have additional duties specified in the Operations Manual.

STANDING COMMITTEES:

The standing committees shall be the Operations Manual, Nominating, Awards and Local Arrangements Committees.

The Operations Manual Committee shall be responsible for continuing updates of the Operations Manual to enable the corporation to better meet its broad objectives as stated above.

The Nominating Committee shall submit a slate of officers to the Secretary for inclusion in the meeting announcement. The immediate Past-President is Chair of this committee.

The Awards Committee shall oversee the awarding and development of all awards. The immediate Past-President is chair of this committee.
The Local Arrangements Committee shall select an appropriate facility for the meeting in conjunction with the Executive Committee and the Program Chair. The Executive Committee and the Program Chair shall choose the chair of the Local Arrangements committee. They serve usually for one meeting.

ELECTIONS:

Elections of officers shall be by simple majority of the members present and voting at an election business meeting, which normally will be held in even- numbered years. Voting will be by secret ballot, which shall be counted and destroyed by the out-going Executive Committee. Only the names of the elected officers shall be announced. In case of a tie, the out-going President shall cast the deciding vote.

AMENDMENTS:

Amendments to the NEERS Constitution shall be circulated to all members by mail at least three weeks prior to meeting dates. Adoptions of these amendments shall be by two-thirds of the members present and voting at the meeting.

ACCOUNTING:

The annual accounting period will end December 31 each year.

DISSOLUTION:

In the event of dissolution, any assets of NEERS shall be distributed to a fund, foundation or corporation organized and operated exclusively for the purposes specified in section 501 (e) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.