| Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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National and International Experts Collaborate on NEMWI Project: Ballast Water Risk-Release Relationship in the Great Lakes
| NEWMI convened national and international experts and regulatory agencies on April 18-20, 2012 to design experiments to help improve prevention of new introductions of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) into the Great Lakes ecosystem from a range of possible vectors, especially ballast water from ships. The outcome of the experiments would help characterize the risk-release relationship, which could then be used as a framework to assess risk-release patterns across a range of taxa and receiving water conditions, and would be applicable to a variety of vectors of introduction.
There is debate over the ability of various ballast water discharge standards to prevent introductions of aquatic invasive species into the Great Lakes. So far, there has been no combined effort to collect and assimilate data necessary to provide a robust analysis of the relationship between the number of live organisms released by ballast water, and the actual risk of a new species establishment (risk-release relationship). A recently published National Research Council report (2011) recommended a national process to generate information to estimate the effectiveness of ballast discharge standards. This year, NEMWI, with support from the Great Lakes Protection Fund, will initiate methods development studies through its Great Ships Initiative to help fill the information void.
For more information, contact Meghana Desai, Senior Scientist at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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New Talent at NEMWI: Great Lakes Aquatic Invasive Species Scientist
| NEMWI welcomes Senior Scientist, Meghana Desai, Ph.D, to the team as a Co-Principal Investigator on its Great Lakes Ballast Water Risk-Release Project. She will be conducting field surveys in the Great Lake Harbor, at the ports of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. Meghana comes to NEMWI with expertise in invasive species and ballast water-related work. Her doctoral research work at the University of AL in Birmingham (UAB) was funded by NOAA and USFWS, where she investigated various treatment strategies to treat a range of aquatic invasive species, including various planktonic life history stages and the highly resistant cysts. Her work experience spans over various fields in biology ranging from wildlife biology to cancer research. As part of her postdoctoral research at the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB, she managed a critical segment of the small animal phenotyping core facility and supervised the validation studies. Prior to this, she worked as a Research Assistant and Curator at the Bombay Natural History Society, where she spearheaded various projects and helped build the conservation efforts at the Institute, which is the largest Non-government Organization in the Indian Subcontinent. Meghana also reviews scientific projects for various organizations. During her spare time, she volunteers at the Smithsonian Institute.
For more information, contact Meghana Desai, Senior Scientist at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Smaller Cities that Think Big: Connecting Communities Audioconference
| The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston will host an audioconference, "Smaller Cities that Think Big: Lessons from Resurgent and Transforming Cities," on May 29 from 3:30-5:00pm (EST). The audioconference is part of a Federal Reserve System initiative intended to provide a national audience with timely information on emerging and important community and economic development topics. This session will highlight research conducted by the Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia Feds on older industrial cities, with a particular focus on smaller cities. Speakers include: Jeremiah Boyle, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Yolanda Kodrzycki, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and Alan Mallach, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (Visiting Scholar). RSVP and find out more details here. NEMWI staff will attend and provide a brief synopsis on the NEMWI website following the event.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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MAC Summit on Domestic Manufacturing
| On Tuesday, June 12th, the Mayors Automotive Coalition (MAC) will host a summit on promoting domestic manufacturing and revitalizing manufacturing communities. This "Moving America Forward" summit will be held in the Senate Visitors Center on Capitol Hill and will be an all-day event with a series of panels and a press conference to draw national attention to the importance of manufacturing communities to our nation's economic future. Register for and learn more about the conference here. NEMWI staff will attend and post a brief synopsis on the NEMWI website following the event.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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International Erosion Control Association Conference Call for Abstracts
| The Northeast Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) and the Lower Hudson Coalition of Conservation Districts requests abstracts for presentation at ICEA's Annual Conference. Find out more about the conference here. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words and submitted by email to strinkaus@earthlink.net by May 15, 2012. Authors will be notified by email by June 20, 2012 if the abstract was accepted. Suggested Topics include:
- Low Impact Development
- Stormwater Management
- Erosion & Sedimentation Control Issues & Solutions
- Innovative approaches to Erosion & Sediment Control,Watershed Management
- MS4 Issues & Regulatory Compliance,EPA's New Construction General Permit
- Innovative applications to create sustainable projects
- Natural Resource Management
- Innovative Land Use Regulations and Results
- Project Case Studies incorporating unique erosion control processes and/or stormwater management.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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