In this issue:  SECOORA Annual Meeting | New Member Welcome | SECOORA/NFRA Trip to DC | Items of Interest | Conference Updates | RFPs of Interest | Job Announcements | Coming Events

Make your hotel reservations today!

SECOORA's 2011 Annual Meeting will be held May 16-18 in Jacksonville, FL at the Hilton Garden Inn-Jacksonville Airport.   Everyone is responsible for making their own hotel reservations.  The reservation group code is SEC.  The cutoff date to receive the group rate is today, April 25, 2011. You can make reservations by calling the hotel at 904-421-2700. 

Meeting planning is in high gear!  A preliminary agenda is now available on the SECOORA website.  Some highlights of the upcoming meeting include:

• Information on how you can help us inform the legislative representatives in your state about the work of SECOORA members
• Status updates on IOOS, NFRA, and our neighboring regional associations
• Round tables with state and federal partners to understand their needs for and implementation of observations
• Presentations from SECOORA members on the various subsystems and spotlight projects
• Monday night dinner at the Jacksonville University Marine Science Research Institute (rumor has it BOB, a Basic Observation Buoy, may be available for all to see)

Items of Interest

Below are a couple of items of interest to the SECOORA community. 

• NRDA Trustees Announce $1 Billion Agreement to Fund Early Gulf Coast Restoration Projects.  Under an unprecedented agreement announced 4/22/11 by the Natural Resource Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Trustees), BP has agreed to provide $1 billion toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico to address injuries to natural resources caused by the spill. The Trustees involved are: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Read more.
• Report on "The Social Impact of the Gulf Oil Disaster: Diverging views of communities in Florida and Louisiana" by the Carsey Institute.   
• Obama taps Wasserman Schultz (FL) to lead DNC 

Conference Updates

Offshore Renewable Energy & Potential Ocean Space Use Conflicts in Dania Beach, FL  May 3, 2011

The goal of this workshop is to provide a forum for all with an interest in the coastal and marine environments to (1) share information describing their use of the outer continental shelf (OCS); (2) offer their perspectives regarding potential conflicts with future alternative energy projects on the OCS; and (3) contribute to the development of a system of communication designed to identify potential conflicts as early as possible so as to avoid them or to mitigate their impact.  View workshop details.   

Beyond the Horizon at Mote Marine Laboratory May 11-13, 2011

Beyond the Horizon is a forum to discuss a potential network of special ocean places to strengthen the ecology, economy and culture of the Gulf of Mexico. 

Conference Purpose: Build consensus for establishing ecologically significant protections for key Gulf of Mexico sites to ensure that they continue to provide important services to our society; identify mechanisms that allow comprehensive approaches to management as well as significant involvement of the public in decision making.  View conference details. 
 

The Forum On Earth Observations on Capitol Hill June 14, 2011

This unique, one-day conference brings together public and private sector leaders to discuss the nation's growing demand for improved environmental information and strategies by which our civil, defense and commercial programs will meet the nation's priorities, which range from more accurate weather and climate models, to more robust, accessible and actionable information for emergency response, to a less vulnerable and more energy efficient military. View conference details.   

National Business Forum On Marine Spatial Planning in Washington D.C. July 13-14, 2011

The goal of the Forum is to ensure ocean industries are informed and engaged in the Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) process underway in the U.S. through the National Ocean Council (NOC). The NOC will hold a 3-day National CMSP Workshop for government agencies in late June 2011 to kick off coordinated government CSMP efforts.  View conference details.   

NOAA Restoration Center FishAmerica Foundation RFP for sportfish habitat restoration projects is currently open. Applications on CD must be received no later than than 5/16/11.  Grants of up to $75,000 each will be awarded in October 2011. All application materials and more info are available here:  http://www.fishamerica.org/grants/

Information Technology Specialist - Database Programmer - GS11

Oceanography Branch - Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

For more information contact Jon Hare (jon.hare@noaa.gov).

There is a possibility that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will have an opening for an IT Specialist - GS11 to work in the Oceanography Branch in Narragansett, Rhode Island. This is a full-time U.S. government position.

The incumbent will administer Oceanography Branch databases, develop new databases, and contribute to database programming tasks required by the Branch. Specific duties include: 1) develop new databases for oceanographic data including thermosalinograph, nutrient, and expendable bathythermograph measurements; 2) write computer programs to perform automatic data entry and retrievals, to calculate derived variables for use in stock and ecosystem assessments, and to improve ship to shore data transfer protocols; 3) participate in Oceanography Branch web development; 4) provide general computer support for the Oceanography Branch; and 5) participate in Oceanography Branch field work including research vessel surveys, ship of opportunity surveys, and the development of new sampling technologies.

This position is not yet open, but is expected to be open in 1-2 months. Owing to federal regulations, the position will only be open for a short period of time and this notice is to make potential candidates aware of the possibility.

Persons desiring email notification of when the job is officially advertised are encouraged to visit the USAJOBS website and create an account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Account.aspx). After creating an account, a 'job search agent' can be created that will automatically notify you of jobs matching criteria that you specify. For this job, you would select the following criteria:

Agency = Commerce, Department of, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration;

Location=RI-Narragansett;

Title=IT Specialist

Series Number = 2210

It is possible to create multiple job search agents with more specific or more general selection criteria.

For more information on applying for a U.S. Government Job see: http://www.usajobs.gov/firsttimevisitors.asp

Coming Events 

April 27-28, 2011 IOOS RA DMAC Workshop,  Silver Spring, MD