ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FALL 2004 MEETING

21-23 OCTOBER 2004
BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND

JOINTLY HOSTED
BY
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
AND
US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, NHEERL,
ATLANTIC ECOLOGY DIVISION, NARRAGANSETT, RI
AND
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

CALL FOR PAPERS & PRE-REGISTRATION

MEETING SITE:

After the well attended 1996 and 2000 New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) meeting on Block Island, participants wanted another NEERS meeting on this island 12 miles out from Rhode Island mainland, and now we are giving you the opportunity! Return to the island that the Nature Conservancy calls ?one of the world’s last great places? on October 21 -23 to listen and talk about research in, management of, and education about estuarine and coastal ecosystems. You can do all this while gazing out over the Atlantic Ocean from the wraparound veranda of our meeting site, the grand hotel, ?The Spring House Hotel? – the same hotel where we met in 2000. Just a 15 minute walk from the ferry landing, Block Island’s oldest hotel is situated on a 15-acre promontory overlooking Old Harbor, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Block Island foothills.

SPECIAL SYMPOSIUM:

"Oligotrophication?" or What really happens when we attempt to reduce the flux of nutrients in estuarine and coastal systems? Nutrients are still a hot topic, so we have planned yet another special symposium on this subject, but "it’s time for a new tack". This one will not only talk about what happens when we increase nutrient inputs, but what happens when we decrease them. The goal of this session is to get us thinking critically about the benefits vs. costs of reducing nutrients in estuarine and coastal systems. We will start with a talk to set the stage and get us thinking followed by three talks on case studies in our region and end with a talk to discuss what tools and information are needed to decide what direction to go in.

The speakers will be:

• Scott Nixon, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
• David Taylor, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
• R. Lawrence Swanson, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University
• Christopher Deacutis, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Peter August, Coastal Institute, University of Rhode Island

The symposium will take place on Thursday, October 21 and will "kick-off" the NEERS meeting. We have planned the timing of the symposium program around the ferry schedule (see "Getting There" section). You can take the 11:00 AM ferry to Block Island, be on island at 12 noon, check into your room, enjoy lunch at the Spring House dining room, then be ready for the first talk at 1:30 PM in Victoria’s Parlor of the Spring House. If you are staying at the Spring House Hotel, the lunch is included in your package plan. If you are not staying there, you can pre-register for the symposium and lunch at the hotel for $30.00. The symposium talks will finish in time for people to catch the 5 PM ferry back to Point Judith, for the unlucky people that that have to go back to the mainland that day. The symposium will continue with a panel discussion, ending at 5 PM. The symposium discussion will immediately continue at the Welcoming Social. (Registration for the symposium is included in the registration for the NEERS meeting.). Contact symposium organizers (401-782-3101) or (401-294-6821) if you need more details.

ESTUARINE DISCUSSION GROUP IN THE EVENING (EDGE):

At the previous NEERS meeting on Block Island we had a "fireside discussion group" about shallow water systems and it was a well attended gathering around the fireplace in one of the Spring House Guest Houses. It was an informal chance to talk and exchange ideas. We would like to continue this tradition at this meeting after dinner on Thursday. It should give us a chance to expand on some of the issues brought up at the symposium held earlier in the day. The suggested topic is: what do we have (& what do we want to have) for observing (monitoring) systems throughout the NEERS region, are they useful for looking at secondary production and how can we best merge monitoring and modeling programs to enhance both? So come be on the "cutting edge" and join us Thursday in the Spring House Hotel’s Bristol Guest House from 8:30PM on! Contact discussion group organizer for more information.

SATURDAY MORNING SPECIAL SESSION:

Saturday morning will start with a 2 hour session devoted to scientific writing and publishing that will be run by Stephen Threlkeld, the Managing Editor of ?Estuaries?, the journal of our national & international society, Estuarine Research Federation (ERF). During the session, Steve is planning on giving a short presentation on writing and peer review, trying a few exercises with the audience, and end with discussion and final comments. If you have a sample of your writing that you would be willing to submit for evaluation, contact contact (401-874-6886). Steve will be around during the whole NEERS meeting, so if you would like to talk to him or go over a manuscript with him – here is your chance!

SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS:

Contributed oral and poster presentations are scheduled for Friday morning and afternoon and Saturday morning, October 22nd and October 23rd. Each oral presentation will be limited to 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for discussion. Poster presentations will be displayed for the duration of the meeting and highlighted during the special poster session Friday afternoon. Ferry note: Friday’s session will start about 8:00 AM, and the first ferry over to Block Island arrives about 10:00. So if you are coming by ferry, you must arrive sometime Thursday in order to be there for the beginning of the session (see "Getting There" section for details.)
Contact NEERS Program Chair with any program questions (207-622-8205 x119).

POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS:

To avoid Powerpoint presentation delays at the Block Island NEERS meeting we will load all the Powerpoint presentations onto an IBM-compatible laptop well before each session. To do this, please bring your Powerpoint presentation on an IBM-compatible CD (NOT a zip or flash disk) to MJ James-Pirri at the projection desk at the NEERS meeting by at least the evening before your talk. Please make sure your disk can be read, before you give it to MJ. If you can’t get it on an IBM-compatible CD, contact MJ and she will find a solution. If you have any questions, contact or call her at 401-874-6617. But please note: you must contact MJ by 5 pm Monday (October 18) because after that she will be en route or on island.

STUDENT PRIZES:

Prizes will be awarded to students chosen by the judging panel in the following categories: graduate student oral presentation (Bostwick (Buck) Ketchum Prize, $100), undergraduate student oral presentations (John (Stubby) Rankin, $100), graduate student poster presentation (David Dean Prize, $100) and undergraduate student poster presentation (Scott Warren 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. 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.

STUDENT TRAVEL FUNDS:

NEERS, with the additional generosity of Maine Sea Grant and Rhode Island Sea Grant, gave student travel awards, to help cover travel and lodging costs for this Block Island NEERS meeting. As always, NEERS greatly appreciates donations to our William (Bill) Niering Student Travel Endowment fund.

BUSINESS MEETING:

This will take place at 5:10 pm on Friday, OCTOBER 22. President Marshall Pregnall will become past President and President-elect Pam Neubert will be suitably inaugurated. It is presidential election time, not only for the United States but also for NEERS. Come and vote! A slate of NEERS candidates and their statements will soon be made available to you. Nominations for officers are also welcome from the floor. Also, catch the latest news from ERF, and get the first details about the spring 2005 NEERS meeting being held on Cape Cod & organized by Sandy MacFarlane.

REGISTRATION:

Pre-registration for this meeting for members is $50 and includes the Oligotrophication Symposium. Student pre-registration is only $25. The pre-registration rate for non-members is $75. The Pre-registration deadline is OCTOBER 7. You can pre-register from the link on the meeting index page and follow that with a check made out to "NEERS" and mailed to NEERS Treasurer Dave Burdick at the given address. On-site registration is $70 for members, $35 for students, and $95 for non-members. The NEERS registration desk will be open at the Spring House Hotel on Thursday from 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM, that evening from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and on Friday morning from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon. This is Dave’s last meeting as Treasurer, so show your appreciation for all his hard work over the last four years, & pre-register on the web! If you haven’t already, you also can pay your NEERS dues for 2004. If you haven’t paid by this meeting, you can expect a dunning letter.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

The Spring House Hotel, known to Islanders as "the Jewel" for 140 years, will be familiar to NEERSians since the Fall 2000 NEERS meeting was held there. It offers Victorian charm and elegance in comfortable accommodations in two adjacent historic buildings. The dining room offers exquisite meals with majestic ocean views. All accommodations, meals, and meeting events will be at the Spring House Hotel, 1 Spring Street, Block Island, RI. Spouses, significant others, friends, and children are welcome. NEERS has an all-inclusive price package that includes a room with a queen bed or 2 twin beds, private bath, phone, and 3 meals a day for $125 per night plus tax for Thursday and Friday night (and Saturday night subject to availability). Additional adults in a room are each $80 per night plus tax, which includes 3 meals a day. Some of the rooms are actually two room suites or studios with a sofa bed. We encourage you to share hotel rooms in order that the Spring House Hotel can accommodate all NEERS attendees. You can stay at the Spring House on Wednesday for $99 plus taxes which covers your room and continental breakfast the next morning. (You can check out "downtown" restaurants for dinner Wednesday night.) The 3 meals that come with Thursday’s and Friday’s stay are lunch and dinner that day and breakfast the following day. (If you arrive Thursday evening, you get a lunch at the end of your stay.) Please make your reservations directly with the Spring House Hotel, at 1-800-234-9263 or (401) 466-5844 (a local call from Rhode Island’s South County) and identify yourself as attending the NEERS meeting. The Hotel would appreciate reservations by Saturday OCTOBER 2nd. Find out more about the Spring House Hotel at their web page: www.springhousehotel.com

The Spring House main buildings are filling up fast! We suggest you consider the three guest houses on the Spring House Hotel property that will be available to NEERS (and they have nice views). Because these have 3 bedrooms plus a living room, dining area, and kitchen, these would be ideal for colleagues, labs, classes, other groups or families that want to be together. On the second floor, each house has a master bedroom with a queen bed and adjoining full bath, another bedroom with a queen bed, a third bedroom with twin beds, and the second full bathroom. The first floor has a third full bath and the rooms mentioned above, plus cable TV, dishwasher, and washer & dryer. All this for $500+ tax/house/night for four people including meals, and each extra person is $80/night including meals (up to 6 adults total). If you have a group, make your reservations with the hotel. If you have other questions or only a partial group, contact (401-294-6821).

If the Spring House and their Guest Houses are all filled, there are several other hotels still open on the island that have rooms available. The Hotel Manisses Hotel is within easy walking distance of the Spring House (466-2836 or 1-800-626-4773). The Blue Dory Inn (466-5891 or 1-800-992-7290) is in town but still walkable. For more information see www.blockisland.com

NEERS WELCOMING SOCIAL & DINNER:

The discussion generated by the Symposium on Thursday will continue at the NEERS welcoming social. Enjoy beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and the perspectives of estuarine scientists, managers, and educators, starting right after the Symposium (about 5 PM), at the Spring House Hotel on Thursday October 21. You can then enter the Spring House Hotel dining room for dinner anytime between 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Instead of pre-selected dinner choices, you will be able to order Thursday’s dinner off a special menu. The price of this dinner is included in your accommodation package.

AWARDS BANQUET:

The banquet will be held at the Spring House Hotel on Friday evening at 7 PM, preceded by socializing either on the veranda or in front of the fireplace (depending on the weather). It will include a choice of meat, fish, vegetarian or vegan (please note your selection on the registration form). The price is included in your accommodation package. The Ketchum, Rankin, Dean and Warren Prizes will be awarded at this time and all candidates for these awards will receive a free banquet ticket. (Actually, NEERS will refund to candidates the price of the banquet from your Spring House Hotel accommodation package.) If you are NOT staying at the Hotel, you can still attend the banquet for $36.25. We are planning some fun & games over dessert, so if you liked "Who Wants to Win an NSF Grant"? at the last Block Island meeting, plan to come to the banquet. Post-Banquet dance venues are being investigated. With the reputations of outgoing and incoming Presidents Marshall Pregnall & Pam (Arnofsky) Neubert at stake, there is no question that there will be serious dancing, even as the administration changes. If you are musically inclined (or even if you are not), bring instruments & voices for the NEERS band jam session which will take place after the banquet – this was a popular event at the last NEERS on Block Island!.

OTHER MEALS:

The 3 meals that are included with each night’s stay at the Spring House Hotel are lunch and dinner that day and breakfast the following day. (If you arrive Thursday evening, you get a lunch at the end of your stay.) All meals will be held in the Spring House Hotel dinning room. If you are not staying at the Spring House Hotel, but are attending the Symposium, you can pre-register for Thursday’s lunch and symposium for $30.00. Whether you are staying at the Spring House Hotel or not, when you pre-register you can add a box lunch on Saturday for $10.00 to take on the field trip, to the beach, or wherever.

GETTING THERE:

You need to either take the ferry or a plane to get to the island. The "Block Island Ferry" (401-783-4613) runs from Point Judith in Narragansett:

You should be at the ferry dock a half hour before departure. Missing your ferry is not a legitimate reason for getting your hotel deposit back, so don’t be late! The trip to the island takes about an hour and costs $18.25 round trip for an adult (and $17.25 for senior citizens, $9.00 for children). See also Block Island Ferry website for the full ferry schedule and prices and other information. (Note that Friday’s session will probably start about 8:00 AM, and the first ferry over to Block Island arrives about 10. So if you are coming by ferry, you must arrive sometime Thursday in order to be there for the beginning of the session.)

Parking is available near the Ferry Dock in Point Judith for $5-$10/day. You will NOT need a car for the meeting. A bike is a good idea to bring (only $5.00 round trip on the ferry) or rent on island, one can easily bike most of the island in a few hours (with nice views and not too many hills!)

Directions to the Point Judith Ferry Dock:

From the South: From 95N take Exit 92; turn right onto Rte. 2; turn right on Rte. 78; at end of Rte 78 turn left onto Rte.1. Take "Galilee/Pt. Judith" exit on Rte. 1 (sign will say BI Ferry). Turn right off exit and then right onto Rte 108. After about 3 miles, take the right hand exit for Block Island Ferry and Galilee. When the road ends, take a left. The ferry is located at the Galilee State Pier, across from the Department of Environmental Management.

From the North: From 95S take Exit 9 (Narragansett) to Rte 4; follow Rte 4 which turns into Rte 1; take Rte 108 Exit from Rte 1. Continue on Rte 108 for 3 miles to right hand turn for Block Island Ferry and Galilee. When the road ends, take a left. The ferry is located at the Galilee State Pier, across from the Department of Environmental Management.

See the Block Island Homepage for airplane and other information.

FIELD TRIP & EXPLORING:

Since Block Island has been designated as one of the "12 Last Great Places" in the Western Hemisphere by the Nature Conservancy, we would be remiss if we didn’t give you time to roam the island or take a field trip. Please note that on Thursday you can take the 9 am ferry over to Block Island and have a couple of hours to explore on your own before the Symposium & lunch at 12:30. Bring your bike to do some sight-seeing or to get to the Island’s many nature trails. There are some nice beaches, so don’t forget your swimsuit! Also, we are planning a van tour for Saturday afternoon that would still allow us to catch the 3PM ferry to the mainland. The cost of the field trip is included in the registration fee.

THE ISLAND:

Block Island contains a variety of habitats, such as morainal grasslands, coastal bluffs, sand & cobble beaches, salt & brackish ponds, sand dunes, and various freshwater wetland ecosystems. Twenty-four percent of the island’s land is preserved as open space. Block Island is home to over 40 rare or endangered species and natural communities. It has been called the best birding site in North America during the fall migration (so bring your binoculars). It is also one of the few sites of the endangered American Burying Beetle. Check out more about Block Island through The Nature Conservancy’s web page or the Block Island Homepage. Tours of the town may be given by NEERS Honorary Member and one time Block Island summer resident Bernie McAlice.

QUESTIONS

of EPA (401-782-3101) and of URI (401-294-6821 ) are again running another NEERS meeting in Rhode Island (will our luck hold out for a SIXTH time?), with Charles Roman of NPS in for his second time (croman@gso.uri.edu, 401-874-6886). Contact the local organizers with general questions but please note: you can only reach the local committee through Tuesday, October 19. After that we will be enroute or on island. You can leave a message at the Spring House at 1-800-234-9263 or (401) 466-5844 (a local call from Rhode Island’s South County), but by then our options will be limited. Contact Hilary Neckles, NEERS Program Chairperson, with program concerns (hilary_neckles@USGS.gov, 207-622-8205 ext.119).

of EPA (401-782-3101) and (401-294-6821 ) are again running another NEERS meeting in Rhode Island (will our luck hold out for a SIXTH time?), with of NPS in for his second (401-874-6886). Contact the local organizers with general questions. Contact the local organizers with general questions but please note: you can only reach the local committee through Tuesday, October 19. After that we will be enroute or on island. You can leave a message at the Spring House at 1-800-234-9263 or (401) 466-5844 (a local call from Rhode Island’s South County), but by then our options will be limited. Contact , NEERS Program Chairperson, with program concerns (207-622-8205 ext.119).

NEERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

Marshall Pregnall, President & ERF Representative
David Burdick, Treasurer
Cindy DelPapa, Secretary & ERF Correspondent
Pam Neubert, President-Elect
Linda Deegan, Past President
Gail Chumura, Member-at-large
Giancarlo Cicchetti, Member-at-large
Hilary Neckles, Program Chairperson
Alan Young, Historian