IALE-North America Newsletter
SUMMER 2017 | VOLUME 32.2
The US-IALE Newsletter is a biannual publication containing updates on the industry, the Association, and the Annual Meeting. Previously, the newsletter was in PDF format (view the archives). Beginning in the Fall of 2017, the US-IALE Newsletter highlights are emailed to our subscribers (join our mailing list) and the complete newsletter can be viewed online here.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- President's Message
- Thanks to outgoing Web Guru Matt Viehdorfer
- Recap of the 2017 US-IALE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland
- NASA-MSU Program 20th Anniversary
- Student News and Notes
- Membership News: Notes from the Outgoing Membership Liaison and Message from the New Member Liaison, Amélie Davis
- Policy Committee News: Policy Workshop Report
- 2018 Annual Meeting in Chicago
- Communications Committee News
- 2017 Awards Update
- Foreign Scholar Travel Award
- Benefits of Membership
- Current US-IALE Officers
President’s Message
Hello US-IALE,
I hope you had a fun and productive summer - wherever your adventures in landscape ecology led you - and that your autumn is off to a great start. I’m thrilled to share with you three exciting initiatives that we are undertaking this year. First, the Executive Committee and I, along with President-Elect Dr. Janet Silbernagel, are exploring ways to build stronger connections for landscape ecologists across all of North America. We invite everyone to consider expanding our United States Regional Association of IALE to include Canada and Mexico in a new North American Regional Association of IALE. Greater inclusiveness with our neighbors will allow us to reach underrepresented scientists, practitioners and students in North America, especially Mexico, and increase the diversity of our membership. If you have colleagues from Canada or Mexico who would enjoy joining us, please share their names and contact information with me. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas for building the new consortium. Thank you, Dr. Tom Edwards (Secretary General IALE International), for guiding us with helpful feedback on potential next steps. Second, our Communications Committee, chaired by Dr. Yolanda Wiersma, has redesigned our web presence through a new partnership with Delaney Meeting & Event Management. The new website (http://www.usiale.org) is mobile-ready with a number of new features: Non-member visitors will easily find compelling information about our US-IALE organization, resources about our field, and information on becoming members. The website streamlines the process of renewing memberships and registering for the annual meeting as well. The site is also upgraded with new avenues for science communication through social media and news highlights sections. Lastly, I hope you enjoy reading our new HTML formatted newsletters. To date, our newsletter has mainly looked inward toward our core membership. Let’s keep doing that, while also examining opportunities for our communications to look outward toward a greater diversity of colleagues and stakeholders. I encourage all of us to work on ways to reach wider audiences and share the amazing contributions of landscape ecologists. Dr. Wiermsa and the Communications Committee are developing some great ideas to share with you soon.
Get involved! If you have ideas about how US-IALE could better serve its members, or would like to serve on one of our standing committees, please contact me at [email protected].
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago, IL for the 2018 US-IALE Annual Meeting!
—Ross Meentemeyer, North Carolina State University, US-IALE President 2016-2018
I hope you had a fun and productive summer - wherever your adventures in landscape ecology led you - and that your autumn is off to a great start. I’m thrilled to share with you three exciting initiatives that we are undertaking this year. First, the Executive Committee and I, along with President-Elect Dr. Janet Silbernagel, are exploring ways to build stronger connections for landscape ecologists across all of North America. We invite everyone to consider expanding our United States Regional Association of IALE to include Canada and Mexico in a new North American Regional Association of IALE. Greater inclusiveness with our neighbors will allow us to reach underrepresented scientists, practitioners and students in North America, especially Mexico, and increase the diversity of our membership. If you have colleagues from Canada or Mexico who would enjoy joining us, please share their names and contact information with me. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas for building the new consortium. Thank you, Dr. Tom Edwards (Secretary General IALE International), for guiding us with helpful feedback on potential next steps. Second, our Communications Committee, chaired by Dr. Yolanda Wiersma, has redesigned our web presence through a new partnership with Delaney Meeting & Event Management. The new website (http://www.usiale.org) is mobile-ready with a number of new features: Non-member visitors will easily find compelling information about our US-IALE organization, resources about our field, and information on becoming members. The website streamlines the process of renewing memberships and registering for the annual meeting as well. The site is also upgraded with new avenues for science communication through social media and news highlights sections. Lastly, I hope you enjoy reading our new HTML formatted newsletters. To date, our newsletter has mainly looked inward toward our core membership. Let’s keep doing that, while also examining opportunities for our communications to look outward toward a greater diversity of colleagues and stakeholders. I encourage all of us to work on ways to reach wider audiences and share the amazing contributions of landscape ecologists. Dr. Wiermsa and the Communications Committee are developing some great ideas to share with you soon.
Get involved! If you have ideas about how US-IALE could better serve its members, or would like to serve on one of our standing committees, please contact me at [email protected].
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago, IL for the 2018 US-IALE Annual Meeting!
—Ross Meentemeyer, North Carolina State University, US-IALE President 2016-2018
Thanks to outgoing Web Guru Matt Viehdorfer
Few of you may know him, but Matt Viehdorfer, has been the US-IALE “web guy” for over 10 years. Matt started helping US-IALE with all matters IT and web while a full time IT professional and MS student at Oregon State University. He has helped manage members, conferences, and finances. He has worked to try to keep our website up-to-date and looking good. Recently he completed a massive migration of all our databases and web materials from one server to another, making our online world more secure and reliable.
Managing our web and database is a huge task to juggle on top of a job and an MS degree. Matt has recently successfully defended his MSc and has a full time job as a research software engineer in computational biology. Since then, he has continued to offer web support in his evenings and weekends. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank him for all his years of hard work!
Managing our web and database is a huge task to juggle on top of a job and an MS degree. Matt has recently successfully defended his MSc and has a full time job as a research software engineer in computational biology. Since then, he has continued to offer web support in his evenings and weekends. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank him for all his years of hard work!
Recap of the 2017 US-IALE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland
The 30th annual US-IALE symposium drew nearly 400 landscape ecology professionals and students to the Hyatt Regency on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. The meeting in the ‘City of Neighborhoods’ and home to one of two Urban Long-Term Ecological Research sites explored topics related to “Linking Landscape Heterogeneity and Socio-Environmental Systems.”
One of the distinguishing features of these meetings every year is the student events. This year, students enjoyed a walking tour of downtown, a student-mentor lunch, a student social at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, presentation feedback and a best student presentation competition, and pick-up the tab networking at the awards banquet. Thirty-three students and young scholars were awarded conference travel support through NASA-MSU, US-IALE Student Travel and Foreign Scholar Awards. “This conference, more than any other I have attended, felt like it was truly multidisciplinary,” said one student participant. Another was specifically drawn to the conference theme, “I loved the US-IALE conference theme of branching socioeconomic and ecological work. As an ecologist, the diverse talks throughout the conference allowed me to branch out from my own specialty. The plenary talks were especially engaging and encapsulated the conference theme.” |
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Plenary talks on the science and application of landscape ecology addressed increasing scales throughout the meeting from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study project (Steward Pickett and Morgan Grove) to the Chesapeake Bay (Ann Swanson, Bill Dennison) and the international conservation efforts of The Nature Conservancy (Hugh Possingham). Other highlights included 19 special symposia and nine workshops and scientific excursions to hidden gems and world-famous treasures including the Aquarium, Inner Harbor, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
The meeting also benefitted from its proximity to the wealth of academic, government, and landscape ecology professionals in the Baltimore, Washington, and Annapolis area. Supporting partners and participants included the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), U.S. Forest Service, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Maryland Sea Grant, the Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network, and the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows program.
Research ecologists from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (Sarah Goslee), US EPA (Matt Nicholson) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (Andrew Elmore and Matt Fitzpatrick) helped to organize the meeting.
The full conference program is available in PDF format here.
-Matthew Baker (Local Host), University of Maryland Baltimore County and Todd Lookingbill (Program Chair), University of Richmond
The meeting also benefitted from its proximity to the wealth of academic, government, and landscape ecology professionals in the Baltimore, Washington, and Annapolis area. Supporting partners and participants included the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), U.S. Forest Service, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Maryland Sea Grant, the Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network, and the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows program.
Research ecologists from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (Sarah Goslee), US EPA (Matt Nicholson) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (Andrew Elmore and Matt Fitzpatrick) helped to organize the meeting.
The full conference program is available in PDF format here.
-Matthew Baker (Local Host), University of Maryland Baltimore County and Todd Lookingbill (Program Chair), University of Richmond
NASA-MSU Program 20th Anniversary
The NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Awards Program turns 20 this year. The awards are made possible by support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Michigan State University (MSU). The program has supported more than 400 students from approximately 150 institutions worldwide since 1998 to present their research and interact with leading scientists and other attendees at US-IALE meeting and IALE Congress. Numerous former awardees have made outstanding achievements. For example, 14 former awardees have won the “Best Student Presentation” awards at the US-IALE meetings. Many former awardees have emerged as US-IALE and IALE leaders, including 15 Student Representatives on the US-IALE Board, 12 Councilors-at-large, 5 Treasurers, 2 Secretaries, 11 Hosts of US-IALE meetings and World Congress, 5 Program Chairs of US-IALE meetings and World Congress, and 2 Vice Presidents of IALE.
This year, the 21 awardees had opportunities to meet at a special celebration dinner gathering with some former awardees and several former presidents of US-IALE and IALE, learn the latest developments in landscape ecology, present their research, build professional networks with other conference attendees, and collaborate on telecoupling (http://csis.msu.edu/telecoupling). They also received award certificates from Dr. Garik Gutman of NASA, and Dr. Ross (President of US-IALE). Dr. Gutman was recognized with a special “Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award” from US-IALE for his long-time support of the NASA-MSU Program.
This year, the 21 awardees had opportunities to meet at a special celebration dinner gathering with some former awardees and several former presidents of US-IALE and IALE, learn the latest developments in landscape ecology, present their research, build professional networks with other conference attendees, and collaborate on telecoupling (http://csis.msu.edu/telecoupling). They also received award certificates from Dr. Garik Gutman of NASA, and Dr. Ross (President of US-IALE). Dr. Gutman was recognized with a special “Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award” from US-IALE for his long-time support of the NASA-MSU Program.
The 2017 NASA-MSU Awards Committee consists of Jianguo (Jack) Liu (Chair), Garik Gutman (NASA), Jennifer Carducci (MSU), Gretchen Ewart (MSU), Sue Nichols (MSU), and James Vatter (MSU).
First Name |
Last Name |
Affiliation |
Zeenatul |
Basher |
USGS |
Nadine |
Bohner |
University of Guelph, Canada |
Brooke |
Cassell |
Portland State University |
Anand |
Chaudhary |
Baylor University |
Laura |
D'Acunto |
Purdue University |
Cecilie |
Friis |
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany |
Maryam |
Gharehaghaji |
University of Illinois at Chicago |
Anna |
Klevtcova |
North Carolina State University |
Altaaf |
Mechiche-Alami |
Lund University, Sweden |
Amanda |
Michaels |
North Carolina State University |
Ethan |
Miller |
Yale University |
Monica |
Noon |
Clark University |
Hogeun |
Park |
Michigan State University |
Chelsie |
Romulo |
George Mason University |
Ramon Felipe Bicudo |
Silva |
University of Campinas, Brazil |
Jing |
Sun |
Michigan State University |
Melanie |
Torres |
Murray State University |
Heather |
Triezenberg |
Michigan Sea Grant |
Madelyn |
Tucker |
Wayne State University |
Hayley |
Tumas |
University of Georgia |
Bo |
Zhang |
Univeristy of Miami |
Student News and Notes
The 2017 US-IALE annual symposium brought together students, researchers, and professionals from around the country and abroad. A big thanks to everyone who made the journey to join us in Baltimore, MD. Each year student representation at US-IALE continue to grow, and this year’s meeting was no exception with 133 students attending.
As with previous years, students took part in several networking and professional activities sponsored and organized by US-IALE. The diversity of attendees provided students with the chance to share in a wide-range of perspectives, learn about research and career opportunities, and interact in more casual formats as well. Student activities included a walking tour, student social, student workshop, and a student-mentor lunch aimed at allowing students to interact with landscape professions in foci of their interests.
Student representatives Rose Graves and Brian Pickard got the conference going with an informal walking tour to explore Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and downtown. This was a great opportunity for students to meet and chat with fellow students and see the sights and sound of Baltimore. This informal pre-conference activity has become a great way to get students interacting with their peers from the very start of the conference. If you have suggestions for where the walking tour should take place in Chicago, please let us know.
Our student-professional mixer was another huge success! The “We’ll Pick Up the Tab Social” provided a networking opportunity for students to engage with landscape professionals. Professionals purchased drink tickets for students, which were randomly distributed to all the students at the social. To redeem a ticket, students were asked to find the professional who purchased the ticket and introduce themselves. A huge thank you to all the professionals who purchased tickets and the students who participated!
This year’s student workshop, “Unleashing the power of GRASS GIS”, provided students with hands-on experience using GRASS GIS 7. GRASS is a free and open source scientific platform for geoprocessing. The workshop provided step by step tutorials to guide from basic raster and vector analyses to more complex topics such as landscape structure analysis, lidar data processing, and spatio-temporal data handling and visualization. Students were also taught how to use GRASS GIS with Python to optimize their workflows and how to leverage the integration of R with GRASS GIS for statistical analysis. The student workshop couldn’t have happened without the generous time and effort provided by Vaclav Petras and Anna Petrasova! Let us know what workshop topics you would like to see in Chicago.
Students who signed up for the Student Presentation Feedback Program should have received constructive critiques of their posters or oral presentations. This feedback program offers students great insights from IALE professionals to help improve their research and presentations. We’d like to thank everyone who provided critiques or served as a judge for determining the best student presentation and poster.
The success of student activities in IALE Asheville (2016) and Baltimore (2017) can be largely attributed to our outgoing student representative Rose Graves. She provided sound leadership and helped to organize great experiences for follow IALE students. Rose took the time to engage with as many students as possible during conferences, and made them feel integral to the success of US-IALE.
October 28th update: The student representative election results are in. Forty eight of the 109 registered student members in 2017 and 2018 voted (44% response rate) for 4 candidates. The new student representative is Erin Bucholtz from Texas A&M who got nearly 46% of the votes. Congratulations Erin and thanks to the other three candidates who put their names in the “hat.”
Next year’s IALE conference will be April 8-12, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois, and we hope that you will join us next year! We will send reminder emails as the date approaches, including information on travel awards and other student opportunities. Keep up to date with US-IALE on Facebook and share your news too!
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions.
See you in Chicago!
Brian Pickard
US-IALE Graduate Student Representative
[email protected]
As with previous years, students took part in several networking and professional activities sponsored and organized by US-IALE. The diversity of attendees provided students with the chance to share in a wide-range of perspectives, learn about research and career opportunities, and interact in more casual formats as well. Student activities included a walking tour, student social, student workshop, and a student-mentor lunch aimed at allowing students to interact with landscape professions in foci of their interests.
Student representatives Rose Graves and Brian Pickard got the conference going with an informal walking tour to explore Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and downtown. This was a great opportunity for students to meet and chat with fellow students and see the sights and sound of Baltimore. This informal pre-conference activity has become a great way to get students interacting with their peers from the very start of the conference. If you have suggestions for where the walking tour should take place in Chicago, please let us know.
Our student-professional mixer was another huge success! The “We’ll Pick Up the Tab Social” provided a networking opportunity for students to engage with landscape professionals. Professionals purchased drink tickets for students, which were randomly distributed to all the students at the social. To redeem a ticket, students were asked to find the professional who purchased the ticket and introduce themselves. A huge thank you to all the professionals who purchased tickets and the students who participated!
This year’s student workshop, “Unleashing the power of GRASS GIS”, provided students with hands-on experience using GRASS GIS 7. GRASS is a free and open source scientific platform for geoprocessing. The workshop provided step by step tutorials to guide from basic raster and vector analyses to more complex topics such as landscape structure analysis, lidar data processing, and spatio-temporal data handling and visualization. Students were also taught how to use GRASS GIS with Python to optimize their workflows and how to leverage the integration of R with GRASS GIS for statistical analysis. The student workshop couldn’t have happened without the generous time and effort provided by Vaclav Petras and Anna Petrasova! Let us know what workshop topics you would like to see in Chicago.
Students who signed up for the Student Presentation Feedback Program should have received constructive critiques of their posters or oral presentations. This feedback program offers students great insights from IALE professionals to help improve their research and presentations. We’d like to thank everyone who provided critiques or served as a judge for determining the best student presentation and poster.
The success of student activities in IALE Asheville (2016) and Baltimore (2017) can be largely attributed to our outgoing student representative Rose Graves. She provided sound leadership and helped to organize great experiences for follow IALE students. Rose took the time to engage with as many students as possible during conferences, and made them feel integral to the success of US-IALE.
October 28th update: The student representative election results are in. Forty eight of the 109 registered student members in 2017 and 2018 voted (44% response rate) for 4 candidates. The new student representative is Erin Bucholtz from Texas A&M who got nearly 46% of the votes. Congratulations Erin and thanks to the other three candidates who put their names in the “hat.”
Next year’s IALE conference will be April 8-12, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois, and we hope that you will join us next year! We will send reminder emails as the date approaches, including information on travel awards and other student opportunities. Keep up to date with US-IALE on Facebook and share your news too!
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions.
See you in Chicago!
Brian Pickard
US-IALE Graduate Student Representative
[email protected]
Membership News
Notes from the Outgoing Membership Liaison
From: Yolanda Wiersma, US-IALE Membership Liaison
June 2, 2017
More of you than might have liked got to interact with me (not because I’m not a nice person – most people say I am) due to issues with your member registration, renewal. So, I’d like to start with a HUGE apology for the snafus, and a MASSIVE thank you to all of you for your patience.
The cause of all the trouble was a server migration and technical updates of our website and online database from Oregon State. Matt, our web guy, did a load of work to make this happen, and although I don’t think it went quite as smoothly as he hoped, Matt reports that he is much happier with our current provider and the service we get. The bottom line of the migration for all of you folks was that there was a period of time when links on our website were not working properly and when people had trouble renewing their memberships. As well Oregon State cancelled all the @usiale.org email addresses (without notifying us), right when people were having trouble and trying to get in touch with either me ([email protected]) or Jessica ([email protected]). We also had a slew of duplicate payments and sign-ons. Those have been cleaned off the database thanks to diligent cross checking by Matt, Jessica and myself.
Currently our membership sits at 254 members of US-IALE (95 students and 159 professional members). This is a little lower than we’d like. I had developed some ideas for reminding members more regularly about the need to renew at the end of the calendar year, but the server migration didn’t allow that to happen. Next year for sure!
On a final note, I am going to leave the Member Liaison position to take on the role of Chair of the Communications Committee. I will work closely with the incoming Member Liaison (Amélie Davis) to ensure a smooth transition, and she will be an ad hoc member of the communications committee – which means you hopefully will get more timely reminders to renew your membership in future years.
June 2, 2017
More of you than might have liked got to interact with me (not because I’m not a nice person – most people say I am) due to issues with your member registration, renewal. So, I’d like to start with a HUGE apology for the snafus, and a MASSIVE thank you to all of you for your patience.
The cause of all the trouble was a server migration and technical updates of our website and online database from Oregon State. Matt, our web guy, did a load of work to make this happen, and although I don’t think it went quite as smoothly as he hoped, Matt reports that he is much happier with our current provider and the service we get. The bottom line of the migration for all of you folks was that there was a period of time when links on our website were not working properly and when people had trouble renewing their memberships. As well Oregon State cancelled all the @usiale.org email addresses (without notifying us), right when people were having trouble and trying to get in touch with either me ([email protected]) or Jessica ([email protected]). We also had a slew of duplicate payments and sign-ons. Those have been cleaned off the database thanks to diligent cross checking by Matt, Jessica and myself.
Currently our membership sits at 254 members of US-IALE (95 students and 159 professional members). This is a little lower than we’d like. I had developed some ideas for reminding members more regularly about the need to renew at the end of the calendar year, but the server migration didn’t allow that to happen. Next year for sure!
On a final note, I am going to leave the Member Liaison position to take on the role of Chair of the Communications Committee. I will work closely with the incoming Member Liaison (Amélie Davis) to ensure a smooth transition, and she will be an ad hoc member of the communications committee – which means you hopefully will get more timely reminders to renew your membership in future years.
Message from the New Member Liaison, Amélie Davis
Yolanda Wiersma has stepped down from her role of Member Liaison to concentrate on her new role as chair of the Communications Committee. I will be taking over as member liaison (with her help at first). I would just like to take this opportunity to thank her for her service and for being willing to help with the transition. Let me also briefly introduce myself. My name is Amélie Davis and I am an Assistant Professor at Miami University (in Oxford, OH). I have a dual appointment in the Department of Geography and the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability. I have been attending US-IALE meetings since 2008, and, Emily Minor and I will be serving as hosts for the Chicago meeting this spring. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with questions or suggestions about membership.
Policy Committee Update
Policy Workshop Report
From: Audrey Mayer, Policy Committee Chair
How can landscape ecologists engage with policy and policy-makers?
At the 2017 USIALE Baltimore conference, we had the privilege of hearing advice and thoughts on this question from four AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows: Pamela Collins (working with the US Army Corps of Engineers), Adam Rosenblatt (working with the Dept. of Energy), Dilip Venugopal (working with the US Environmental Protection Agency), and Emily Weeks (working with US Agency for International Development).
The Fellows gave us a great overview of the AAAS S&T Fellowship program. It is open to all career stages and all fields, and lasts for one year (with the possibility of applying for an extension for a second year). After your initial application (in which you state a preference for an executive, legislative, or judicial branch placement), if you are selected you go through a series of interviews with AAAS and then the agencies/Congressional offices that are interested in your application, and then you are matched with a position that is amenable to both parties. S&T Fellows benefit from a close-knit network of current and alumni Fellows, receive unique opportunities such as authoring government reports, and gain an in-depth understanding of how our Federal government works.
The Fellows encouraged anyone in USIALE who is interested in the S&T Fellowship program to contact them for advice and questions about the program. More information on the program is available here: https://www.aaas.org/page/stpf/become-st-policy-fellow
Fellows suggested a wide range of possibilities for landscape ecologists to engage with policy and policy-makers that can be tailored to an individual’s interests and comfort level. These possibilities include:
The Fellows had four key points about efficient effort:
How can landscape ecologists engage with policy and policy-makers?
At the 2017 USIALE Baltimore conference, we had the privilege of hearing advice and thoughts on this question from four AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows: Pamela Collins (working with the US Army Corps of Engineers), Adam Rosenblatt (working with the Dept. of Energy), Dilip Venugopal (working with the US Environmental Protection Agency), and Emily Weeks (working with US Agency for International Development).
The Fellows gave us a great overview of the AAAS S&T Fellowship program. It is open to all career stages and all fields, and lasts for one year (with the possibility of applying for an extension for a second year). After your initial application (in which you state a preference for an executive, legislative, or judicial branch placement), if you are selected you go through a series of interviews with AAAS and then the agencies/Congressional offices that are interested in your application, and then you are matched with a position that is amenable to both parties. S&T Fellows benefit from a close-knit network of current and alumni Fellows, receive unique opportunities such as authoring government reports, and gain an in-depth understanding of how our Federal government works.
The Fellows encouraged anyone in USIALE who is interested in the S&T Fellowship program to contact them for advice and questions about the program. More information on the program is available here: https://www.aaas.org/page/stpf/become-st-policy-fellow
Fellows suggested a wide range of possibilities for landscape ecologists to engage with policy and policy-makers that can be tailored to an individual’s interests and comfort level. These possibilities include:
- Writing: Letters to the editor of a newspaper, magazine articles that explain your science to lay-readers (and why it matters to them), and emails and letters to your representatives all work. But there are other avenues to engage with a policy audience. For example, you can directly influence Federal rule-making and regulations by submitting comments via the Federal Register, the journal the Executive branch uses to communicate with the public. Most actions, rules, clarifications, and petitions come with a public comments window (anywhere from 30 to 90 days). All public comments must be addressed by the Agency in their final decision. Public comments that are well-written, citing current research or data, offering scientifically-sound advice are taken very seriously. You can write anonymous comments or sign your name to them. If you establish an account (free) at www.federalregister.gov, you can subscribe to keywords, topics, laws, and/or agencies, and those Federal Register articles will be emailed to you as they are published.
- In-person participation: We live in a multi-scalar web of governance, from local city and county councils, to states, to the Federal level, accompanied by non-governmental organizations: policy (and policy-makers) exist at all levels. If contributing your time or expertise at the Federal level isn’t your idea of a good time, look locally. Run for the local zoning board or state natural resources advisory board and add your expertise to local decision-making. Subscribe to your local paper (and write letters) and attend town hall meetings; are there local issues which might benefit from a landscape ecology perspective? Local NGOs (such as land conservancies and wildlife societies) often look for knowledgeable people to serve on their boards and help make resource allocation decisions (e.g., land acquisition and restoration).
- Learning: Even for those of us living in our birth country, it can be a challenge to match a specific problem with the correct agency or Congressperson. A helpful resource is the “Civics 101” podcast series, developed by New Hampshire Public Radio, available at nhpr.org/topic/civics-101-podcast. Listeners can contribute questions to be answered. Spend some time learning how your city, county, state, and Federal government is organized, and the time-table on which they operate. Communication efforts timed to coincide with budget appropriation decisions, votes on bills, annual (or 5-year) regulatory reviews, or election cycles, may get more traction than when attempted in the middle of a cycle.
The Fellows had four key points about efficient effort:
- Find your tribe: Think about the communities to which you belong by geography, hobbies, or background. Offer your services as a communicator and educator; over time, your voice will carry beyond the group.
- Know your audience: If it is a local problem, contacting your US Congressperson may not be as helpful as your mayor or county commissioner.
- Keep things short: One-pagers are becoming the norm when approaching any elected official. These should have the following format: a) lead with 3 bullet points with your “asks” (what do you want them to do?); b) provide jargon-free context (why does the issue matter to the people they represent?); c) use an easy-to-interpret visual (e.g., graph, photo, etc.).
- Be patient: These days, it may seem like political winds can shift overnight. However, the bigger the system, the longer it takes to change. Be patient and persistent. Most environmental efforts are a marathon, not a sprint.
We have lined up three dynamic plenary speakers:
Field trip planning is still in the works but anticipated full-day trips include a visit to the Indiana Dunes, where we will visit both the State Park and the National Lakeshore, learn about the unique ecosystems and history, and perhaps tackle the 3-Dune Challenge (http://www.indianadunes.com/3dc/). Half-day field trips will include a variety of options, including the popular Riverboat Architecture Tour and a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour of the Field Museum of Natural History.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal to host a workshop or symposium. The call for contributed talks will open in November; stay tuned for more information. We are looking forward to some great science and a fun meeting next spring.
Local Hosts:
Emily Minor, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Amelie Davis, Assistant Professor, Miami University
Program Chairs:
Audrey Mayer, Associate Professor, Michigan Technical University
Brian Sturtevant, Research Ecologist, US Forest Service
ANNUAL MEETING QUICK LINKS:
- Lenore Fahrig, Professor of Biology, Carleton University (https://carleton.ca/fahriglab/)
- Lisa Schulte Moore, Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University (https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/landscape/)
- Karen Oberhauser, Director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum
Field trip planning is still in the works but anticipated full-day trips include a visit to the Indiana Dunes, where we will visit both the State Park and the National Lakeshore, learn about the unique ecosystems and history, and perhaps tackle the 3-Dune Challenge (http://www.indianadunes.com/3dc/). Half-day field trips will include a variety of options, including the popular Riverboat Architecture Tour and a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour of the Field Museum of Natural History.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal to host a workshop or symposium. The call for contributed talks will open in November; stay tuned for more information. We are looking forward to some great science and a fun meeting next spring.
Local Hosts:
Emily Minor, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Amelie Davis, Assistant Professor, Miami University
Program Chairs:
Audrey Mayer, Associate Professor, Michigan Technical University
Brian Sturtevant, Research Ecologist, US Forest Service
ANNUAL MEETING QUICK LINKS:
- Meeting Website
- Palmer House Hilton
- US-IALE Membership - Become a member for discounted conference registration!
- Explore Chicago
We are excited to be hosting all of you in Chicago April 8-12, 2018, for the 33rd US-IALE Annual Meeting. Chicago is a world-class city with two international airports and easy access from places around the globe. We have miles of beaches, incredible architecture, world-renowned museums, theater, a Riverwalk, and much, much more. Bring your family with you – it’s sure to be a fun trip!
The meeting will take place in The Palmer House Hilton, an ‘Historic Hotel of America’ member that holds the claim for the oldest continuously-operating hotel in the United States. The hotel location is convenient for travelers and ideal for exploring the city. Indeed, it is:Just a block away from multiple ‘El’ stops (Chicago’s train system, which often runs on ‘elevated’ lines) with direct connections to both airports
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Communications Committee Update
Communications Committee Report
The communications committee is busy picking up on the excellent work started by Sara Gagné. We’re in the process of developing a comprehensive communications strategy that will guide all our work – both communicating to our members, but also communicating about landscape ecology to the wider world of academia, students, non-profits, and decision-makers. In this latter vein, we will be working closely with the Policy Committee to see how we can better communicate what landscape ecology can offer to practitioners and decision-makers.
To better communicate with members, we have be working over the coming months with staff at Delaney to revitalize our website and make it more user (and mobile) friendly. Please take some time to browse the site. We are planning new content, especially for the “About Landscape Ecology”, as well as more outward-focused content. Please give us feedback on what you like and don’t like about the new website! Very soon, we will be developing a stronger social media presence for US-IALE. Stay tuned!
Currently our committee membership consists of myself, along with Councillor-at-large Anita Morzillo, Rob Scheller (twice a program chair), Whalen Dillon (until recently a student rep), Rose Graves (also until recently a student rep). Amélie Davis (US-IALE Member Liaison) and Jeff Heppinstall-Cymerman (US-IALE secretary) are ad hoc members of the committee. Pete August has agreed to participate in an Advisory Capacity. This is a super crew, but I would like to have a few additional people, perhaps folks newer to US-IALE or new to volunteering for US-IALE. If you have interest or experience with any kind of communication or outreach activities and would like to join the committee, please contact me. I’ve created what I think is a clever advertisement above to further entice you... If you think it’s not very clever and you feel that you could do it better – GREAT! That would mean you are just the person we are looking for. Please consider helping us out! I look forward to a productive year ahead.
Cheers,
Yolanda Wiersma
US-IALE Communications Committee Chair
To better communicate with members, we have be working over the coming months with staff at Delaney to revitalize our website and make it more user (and mobile) friendly. Please take some time to browse the site. We are planning new content, especially for the “About Landscape Ecology”, as well as more outward-focused content. Please give us feedback on what you like and don’t like about the new website! Very soon, we will be developing a stronger social media presence for US-IALE. Stay tuned!
Currently our committee membership consists of myself, along with Councillor-at-large Anita Morzillo, Rob Scheller (twice a program chair), Whalen Dillon (until recently a student rep), Rose Graves (also until recently a student rep). Amélie Davis (US-IALE Member Liaison) and Jeff Heppinstall-Cymerman (US-IALE secretary) are ad hoc members of the committee. Pete August has agreed to participate in an Advisory Capacity. This is a super crew, but I would like to have a few additional people, perhaps folks newer to US-IALE or new to volunteering for US-IALE. If you have interest or experience with any kind of communication or outreach activities and would like to join the committee, please contact me. I’ve created what I think is a clever advertisement above to further entice you... If you think it’s not very clever and you feel that you could do it better – GREAT! That would mean you are just the person we are looking for. Please consider helping us out! I look forward to a productive year ahead.
Cheers,
Yolanda Wiersma
US-IALE Communications Committee Chair
2017 Awards Update
Congratulations to the following award winners from the US-IALE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD.
BEST STUDENT PRESENTATION
The objective of the Best Student Presentation Award is to recognize the best presentation given by a student at the annual meeting. We had 16 student entries in Baltimore. The winner of the Best Student Presentation for the 2017 meeting was Mark Herse (Kansas State University) for “Habitat fragment shape and landscape matrix composition mediate abundance of a declining grassland songbird.” We also had two Honorable Mention recipients: Samantha Hauser (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) for her presentation “Understanding landscape variables that influence gene flow in a highly vagile species, the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla)” and Carly Ziter (University of Wisconsin – Madison) for “Ecosystem service provision by urban greenspaces: Effects of land cover, land-use history, and within-land cover variability on soil-based services.”
The Awards Committee would like to offer special thanks to this year’s judges who graciously donating their time to evaluate the talks and posters: Ginger Allington, Zeenatul Basher, Jennifer Costanza, James Forester, Janet Franklin, Amy Frazier, Sarah Goslee, Joshua Gunn, Eric Gustafson, Kelsey Hensley, Justyna Jezlorska, Melanie Johnson, Robert Keane, Christian Marks, Emily Minor, Jessica Price, Kunwar Singh, Stephen Spear, and Sara Zeigler.
STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS
Ten Student Travel Awards were supported this year with funding provided by US-IALE, Maryland Sea Grant and the MDPI journal Land. These awards included up to $500 for travel to the conference in Baltimore and were selected from an applicant pool of 26 students. The 2017 recipients were:
OUTSTANDING PAPER IN LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY AWARD
The purpose of the Outstanding Paper in Landscape Ecology Award is to recognize papers published during the past two years that make an outstanding contribution to the field of landscape ecology. Papers are nominated by the US-IALE membership. The recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Paper Award was Darrell Jenerette for the paper “Jenerette G.D., S.L. Harlan, A. Buyantuev, W.L. Stefanov, J. Declet-Barreto, B.L. Ruddell, S.W. Myint, S. Kaplan, and X. Li. 2016. Micro scale urban surface temperatures are related to land cover features and heat related health impacts in Phoenix, AZ USA. Landscape Ecology 31:745-760.” An Honorable Mention award was made to Thomas Dilts for the paper “Dilts T.E., P. J. Weisberg, P. Leitner, M.D. Matocq, R.D. Inman, K.E. Nussear, and T.C. Esque. 2016. Multiscale connectivity and graph theory highlight critical areas for conservation under climate change. Ecological Applications 26:1222-1237.”
DISTINGUISHED LANDSCAPE PRACTITIONER AWARD
The objective of the Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award is to recognize outstanding applications of the principles of landscape ecology to real-world problems. The recipient of this year’s award was the Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network. The LCC program has sponsored more than 1,000 projects since its establishment in 2010 with the goal of creating “landscapes capable of sustaining natural and cultural resources for current and future generations.” These projects include research on conservation design, vulnerability assessments, decision support tools, obtaining and applying traditional knowledge, and a wide variety of other topics applying principles of landscape ecology. The program includes a network of 22 LCCs throughout the United States, that are holistic, collaborative, adaptive, and grounded in science. The award was presented to the National LCC Coordinator, Elsa Haubold.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
The award for Distinguished Service recognizes individuals who have contributed exceptionally to US-IALE in terms of time, energy and dedication that advanced the mission of US-IALE in an extraordinary manner. The recipient of this year’s award was Anita Morzillo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Connecticut. Over the last 11 years, she has provided near continuous service by actively participating in nearly all aspects of the society. She served on the awards committee from 2006 to 2013, including six years as chair. Concurrently she worked on the NASA- MSU Professional Enhancement Awards Program (2005-2013); and co-chaired that program for five years. She twice took on the responsibilities of co-hosting the annual meeting (2011 in Portland and then again just 4 years later at the World Congress in Portland). She pioneered the role of Membership Liaison and currently serves as Councilor-at-Large. Read the press release.
DISTINGUISHED LANDSCAPE ECOLOGIST
The Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award recognizes individuals whose long-term scientific contribution has helped to define the field of landscape ecology. The recipient of this year’s award was Bill Hargrove, Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service. Several of Hargrove’s notable contributions to Landscape Ecology include his work to help design the National Ecological Observatory Network, the production of a set of national wildfire biophysical settings regions for the LANDFIRE project, and development of the first quantitative global ecoregion maps in coordination with The Nature Conservancy. His current research focuses on designing a national early warning system using satellite imagery that examines the lower 48 United States at 500m resolution every 8 days to locate potential forest disturbances. Two of his papers have been previously recognized by US-IALE for the Outstanding Paper in Landscape Ecology Award. Read the press release.
We also presented a special recognition award to Garik Gutman at this year’s meeting for 20 years of service sponsoring the NASA-MSU student travel awards.
---The 2017 US-IALE Awards Committee
Todd Lookingbill & Betty Kreakie (co-chairs), Pete August, Dan Kashian, Steven Walters, & Jingle Wu
BEST STUDENT PRESENTATION
The objective of the Best Student Presentation Award is to recognize the best presentation given by a student at the annual meeting. We had 16 student entries in Baltimore. The winner of the Best Student Presentation for the 2017 meeting was Mark Herse (Kansas State University) for “Habitat fragment shape and landscape matrix composition mediate abundance of a declining grassland songbird.” We also had two Honorable Mention recipients: Samantha Hauser (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) for her presentation “Understanding landscape variables that influence gene flow in a highly vagile species, the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla)” and Carly Ziter (University of Wisconsin – Madison) for “Ecosystem service provision by urban greenspaces: Effects of land cover, land-use history, and within-land cover variability on soil-based services.”
The Awards Committee would like to offer special thanks to this year’s judges who graciously donating their time to evaluate the talks and posters: Ginger Allington, Zeenatul Basher, Jennifer Costanza, James Forester, Janet Franklin, Amy Frazier, Sarah Goslee, Joshua Gunn, Eric Gustafson, Kelsey Hensley, Justyna Jezlorska, Melanie Johnson, Robert Keane, Christian Marks, Emily Minor, Jessica Price, Kunwar Singh, Stephen Spear, and Sara Zeigler.
STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS
Ten Student Travel Awards were supported this year with funding provided by US-IALE, Maryland Sea Grant and the MDPI journal Land. These awards included up to $500 for travel to the conference in Baltimore and were selected from an applicant pool of 26 students. The 2017 recipients were:
- Bryce Adams, The Ohio State University
- Elsa Anderson, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Joseph Drake, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
- Nathan Gill, Clark University
- Samantha Hauser, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Lindsay Keener-Eck, University of Connecticut
- Marjorie Liberati, University of Connecticut
- Caitlin Littlefield, University of Washington
- Lucas Nathan, University of Connecticut
- Carly Ziter, University of Wisconsin-Madison
OUTSTANDING PAPER IN LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY AWARD
The purpose of the Outstanding Paper in Landscape Ecology Award is to recognize papers published during the past two years that make an outstanding contribution to the field of landscape ecology. Papers are nominated by the US-IALE membership. The recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Paper Award was Darrell Jenerette for the paper “Jenerette G.D., S.L. Harlan, A. Buyantuev, W.L. Stefanov, J. Declet-Barreto, B.L. Ruddell, S.W. Myint, S. Kaplan, and X. Li. 2016. Micro scale urban surface temperatures are related to land cover features and heat related health impacts in Phoenix, AZ USA. Landscape Ecology 31:745-760.” An Honorable Mention award was made to Thomas Dilts for the paper “Dilts T.E., P. J. Weisberg, P. Leitner, M.D. Matocq, R.D. Inman, K.E. Nussear, and T.C. Esque. 2016. Multiscale connectivity and graph theory highlight critical areas for conservation under climate change. Ecological Applications 26:1222-1237.”
DISTINGUISHED LANDSCAPE PRACTITIONER AWARD
The objective of the Distinguished Landscape Practitioner Award is to recognize outstanding applications of the principles of landscape ecology to real-world problems. The recipient of this year’s award was the Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network. The LCC program has sponsored more than 1,000 projects since its establishment in 2010 with the goal of creating “landscapes capable of sustaining natural and cultural resources for current and future generations.” These projects include research on conservation design, vulnerability assessments, decision support tools, obtaining and applying traditional knowledge, and a wide variety of other topics applying principles of landscape ecology. The program includes a network of 22 LCCs throughout the United States, that are holistic, collaborative, adaptive, and grounded in science. The award was presented to the National LCC Coordinator, Elsa Haubold.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
The award for Distinguished Service recognizes individuals who have contributed exceptionally to US-IALE in terms of time, energy and dedication that advanced the mission of US-IALE in an extraordinary manner. The recipient of this year’s award was Anita Morzillo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Connecticut. Over the last 11 years, she has provided near continuous service by actively participating in nearly all aspects of the society. She served on the awards committee from 2006 to 2013, including six years as chair. Concurrently she worked on the NASA- MSU Professional Enhancement Awards Program (2005-2013); and co-chaired that program for five years. She twice took on the responsibilities of co-hosting the annual meeting (2011 in Portland and then again just 4 years later at the World Congress in Portland). She pioneered the role of Membership Liaison and currently serves as Councilor-at-Large. Read the press release.
DISTINGUISHED LANDSCAPE ECOLOGIST
The Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award recognizes individuals whose long-term scientific contribution has helped to define the field of landscape ecology. The recipient of this year’s award was Bill Hargrove, Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service. Several of Hargrove’s notable contributions to Landscape Ecology include his work to help design the National Ecological Observatory Network, the production of a set of national wildfire biophysical settings regions for the LANDFIRE project, and development of the first quantitative global ecoregion maps in coordination with The Nature Conservancy. His current research focuses on designing a national early warning system using satellite imagery that examines the lower 48 United States at 500m resolution every 8 days to locate potential forest disturbances. Two of his papers have been previously recognized by US-IALE for the Outstanding Paper in Landscape Ecology Award. Read the press release.
We also presented a special recognition award to Garik Gutman at this year’s meeting for 20 years of service sponsoring the NASA-MSU student travel awards.
---The 2017 US-IALE Awards Committee
Todd Lookingbill & Betty Kreakie (co-chairs), Pete August, Dan Kashian, Steven Walters, & Jingle Wu
Foreign Scholar Travel Award
Submitted by Chair: Kathy Vigness-Raposa
The purpose of the FSTA is to provide support for landscape ecologists from foreign countries to attend the annual US-IALE symposium and to foster international exchange about advances in landscape ecology. Winners are selected based primarily on high quality scientific endeavors that advance landscape ecology, but early career scientists with demonstrated financial need also receive high priority. Please consider applying for the 2018 symposium in Chicago; the application deadline aligns with that of the conference abstract deadline (18 Dec 2017). More details on eligibility and the selection criteria can be found on here: http://www.usiale.org/foreign-scholar-award.html.
We received 13 applications for the 2017 symposium representing 9 countries: Brazil, China, Guatamala, India, Madagascar, Morocco, Poland, Senegal, and Togo. Special thanks to Deahn Donner (USFWS), Robert Corry (Univ. of Guelph), Tammy Wilson (National Park Service), and Anne Kuhn (U.S. EPA) of the FSTA Committee for taking the time to carefully review and rank the applications. Patrick Laby (Madagascar) and Altaaf Mechiche-Alami (Morocco) were awarded US$1200 to help with their travel expenses to the 2017 Baltimore symposium. Congrats to these stellar foreign scholars!
As always, during the 2018 symposium, we will be holding the annual Silent Book and Software Auction. Please remember to donate any books you may have on your shelves…old and new are greatly appreciated. There will be tables at registration for you to drop off your goodies. Also, don’t forget to bid early and often on the great items that will be available at the auction. All proceeds from sales directly fund the FSTA scholarships.
The purpose of the FSTA is to provide support for landscape ecologists from foreign countries to attend the annual US-IALE symposium and to foster international exchange about advances in landscape ecology. Winners are selected based primarily on high quality scientific endeavors that advance landscape ecology, but early career scientists with demonstrated financial need also receive high priority. Please consider applying for the 2018 symposium in Chicago; the application deadline aligns with that of the conference abstract deadline (18 Dec 2017). More details on eligibility and the selection criteria can be found on here: http://www.usiale.org/foreign-scholar-award.html.
We received 13 applications for the 2017 symposium representing 9 countries: Brazil, China, Guatamala, India, Madagascar, Morocco, Poland, Senegal, and Togo. Special thanks to Deahn Donner (USFWS), Robert Corry (Univ. of Guelph), Tammy Wilson (National Park Service), and Anne Kuhn (U.S. EPA) of the FSTA Committee for taking the time to carefully review and rank the applications. Patrick Laby (Madagascar) and Altaaf Mechiche-Alami (Morocco) were awarded US$1200 to help with their travel expenses to the 2017 Baltimore symposium. Congrats to these stellar foreign scholars!
As always, during the 2018 symposium, we will be holding the annual Silent Book and Software Auction. Please remember to donate any books you may have on your shelves…old and new are greatly appreciated. There will be tables at registration for you to drop off your goodies. Also, don’t forget to bid early and often on the great items that will be available at the auction. All proceeds from sales directly fund the FSTA scholarships.
2016 Student Travel Award Recipient Post-Conference Summaries
Award recipients are asked to provide a short synopsis of how attending the Annual Meeting affected them. Below is a sampling of comments from last years recipient's responses.
Oludunsin Tunrayo Arodudu, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany
The US-IALE annual meeting 2016 was an excellent meeting point for nature and society. I had the opportunity to listen to various presentations that discussed vital inter-relationships at the interface between humans and nature. I did not only get to present my research to a wide audience cutting across geographic boundaries, I also had the privilege to see ongoing trends and developments in the area of bioenergy development globally. This Conference availed me the chance to meet some of the names that appear frequently in sustainable bioenergy literatures. I also saw first-hand (in talks and presentations) the state-of-the-art research at the bioenergy-biodiversity landscape interface. Thanks to US IALE for their support through the US IALE Sponsored Student Travel Award. Anand Chaudhary, Baylor University I want to begin by thanking US IALE for supporting my travel to the 2016 conference at Asheville, NC. Without this support, it would have been difficult for me to find funds to travel to this meeting. This type of opportunity, for students (or professionals) coming from countries like mine (Nepal), are few and far between. This was my first US IALE conference and I am already looking forward to the next one. My experience started with the full-day workshop on ‘Telecoupling framework’ organized by Dr. Liu and Dr. Hull. I not only learned about this concept in detail but also collaborated with four other participants, representing a wide range of disciplines, to develop a joint project using the telecoupling framework. Our project will investigate the impact of California’s drought on human and ecological systems under different climate projection (RCPs). The workshop, and a number of other talks during the meeting, also helped me develop ideas for future projects, such as expanding my current research to simultaneously look at cross-scale interaction effects of global drivers on Neotropical migrant birds at both their wintering and breeding grounds. My current project only involves the birds at their breeding grounds. There were a number of interesting talks that are very relevant to me. Dr. Zuckerberg’s talk on use of citizen science data to study bird migration and Dr. Minor’s work on urban residential landscapes are examples that stood out because they tangentially relate to my work, and invoked new ideas. The half-day workshop on understanding, selecting, and visualizing climate data was useful as I learned about new data sources, software, and methodologies I can use for my future projects. Dr. Gardener and teams’ insights and advice are priceless as I am currently working with climate data sets in my research. It was a wonderful opportunity to present my talk to a very knowledgeable audience. The questions asked and advice provided (for example, I should consider further classifying forested habitat to see if species of birds are associated with a particular forest type) will improve the quality of my research. Besides the talks and workshops, events such as the networking reception and NASA-MSU dinner provided me additional opportunities to meet and share ideas with students and professionals. I was also delighted to meet people from across the globe such as Chile, Romania, Australia, and Togo. Most graduate students cannot afford to attend national/international meetings on their own and many don’t have a project that funds travel to these meetings. Many professional societies do not have a similar travel fund, and therefore, I am grateful to US IALE for supporting me. I hope this program continues to support students like me. Rose Graves, University of Wisconsin-Madison The Student Travel Award provided to me by US-IALE allowed me to participate in the 2016 meeting in Asheville, NC. While attending the conference, I attended the US-IALE executive committee meeting and participated in any voting matters as well as provided a student perspective on issues being discussed. In addition to ExComm duties, I helped to organize and facilitate several student activities including a walking tour of Asheville, the student-mentor lunch and student social, as well as the student workshop. I had the opportunity to present my own research during the poster session at the US-IALE meeting where I received valuable feedback (including suggestions for analyses that will be included in my dissertation). The travel award gave me the chance to network, not only with my peers but also with potential future collaborators and receive advice from more established landscape ecologists. Finally, while at the meeting, I was able to meet with two current collaborators and advance three current working projects. These in-person interactions are invaluable and will result directly in progress toward the completion of my dissertation. |
Benefits of Membership
OUR LOW MEMBERSHIP FEES COME WITH A HIGH VALUE!
By joining US-IALE, you automatically become a member of the umbrella international organization, the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE).
ANNUAL FEES:
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
US-IALE memberships are by calendar year. Memberships are valid January 1st through December 31st. However, members who sign up after November 1 have their membership good through to the end of the following calendar year. Sign up now for 2018 membership. Membership includes spring conference registration discounts!
By joining US-IALE, you automatically become a member of the umbrella international organization, the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE).
ANNUAL FEES:
- Regular Member $55
- Student Member $30
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
- Registration discount on Annual Meeting
- US-IALE Newsletter
- IALE Bulletin
- Stay 'in the loop' with the major players in the field
- Special communications via listserver and web sites
- Free posting of job announcements on the US-IALE website
- Professional development workshop resources for student members
- Submit your own job postings and teaching resources
US-IALE memberships are by calendar year. Memberships are valid January 1st through December 31st. However, members who sign up after November 1 have their membership good through to the end of the following calendar year. Sign up now for 2018 membership. Membership includes spring conference registration discounts!
Current US-IALE Officers
Ross Meentemeyer | President, 2016 to 2018
Professor, College of Natural Resources Director, Center for Geospatial Analytics North Carolina State University 2820 Faucette Drive, Campus Box 8001 Raleigh, NC 27695 rkmeente<at>ncsu dot edu (919) 513-2372 Janet Sibernagel | President-elect, 2018-2020 Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture & Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin Madison, WI jmsilber<at>wisc dot edu Jeffrey Hepinstall-Cymerman | Secretary, 2017 to 2019 Associate Professor Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources University of Georgia 180 E. Green St. Athens, GA 30602-2152 jhepinst<at>uga dot edu (706) 583-8097 Jessica Price | Treasurer, 2016 to 2018 Landscape Conservation Ecologist The Nature Conservancy 66 Little Plains Road Huntington, NY 11743 Jessica.price<at>tnc dot org Brian Pickard | Student Representative, 2016 to 2018 Center for Geospatial Analytics North Carolina State University 2820 Faucette Drive, Campus Box Raleigh, NC 27695 b.r.pickard<at>gmail dot com |
Anita Morzillo | Councillor-at-Large, 2016 to 2018
Department of Natural Resources & the Environment University of Connecticut 1376 Storrs Rd., Rm 227, Unit 4087 Storrs, CT 06269-4087 anita.morzillo<at>uconn dot edu Sam Cushman | Councillor-at-Large, 2016 to 2018 Research Ecologist, USFS 2500 S. Pine Knoll Dr. Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001 scushman<at>fs dot fed dot us (928) 556-2177 Dan Kashian | Councillor-at-Large, 2017 to 2019 Wayne State University 3107 Biological Sciences Building Detroit, MI 48202 dkash<at>wayne dot edu (313) 577-9093 Amélie Davis | Membership Liaison Assistant Professor of Geography Institute for the Environment & Sustainability Miami University 213 Shideler Hall Oxford, OH 45056 davis.amelie<at>MiamiOH dot edu (513) 529-0809 |