Each spring a community of LTER scientists and educators gathers in Washington to share with federal agency peers and policy makers the status and future of long-term ecological research through a mini-symposium of exciting presentations about research and synthesis activities.
The 6th Annual LTER Mini-Symposium was held at the National Science Foundation(NSF) in Arlington, VA, on March 9, 2006. In only its sixth year, the LTER Mini-Symposium in DC has come to serve as an important forum for awareness,discussion, and partnership forging among LTER scientists and educators and interested peers and policy makers. This year’s focal topic, “Building on the Legacy of LTER Research: Ecology for the Future” attracted close to 100 people.
As in previous years, attendees came from all over the nation’s capital and beyond, including
- The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS)
- Ecological Society of America (ESA)
- National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
- Various non-governmental organizations
- Several academic institutions
Federal representatives came from:
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Forest Service
- U.S. Global Change Research Program (USG CRP)
- Program officers, senior management, and staff from across the NSF
A number of LTER Principal Investigators, scientists, and educators also showed up to support the symposium
This year’s featured speakers were:
- Alan Knapp (Colorado State University/KNZ), who gave a presentation on “Global change and change in paradigm”
- John Briggs (Arizona State University/KNZ/CAP) on “Combining archeology and ecology in the Sonoran desert and desert grasslands”
- Scott Pearson (Mars Hill College/CWT) on “Land use history and patterns of biodiversity in Southern Appalachian forests”
- Michelle Mack (University of Florida/BNZ) on “Global change and arctic systems”
- Deb Peters (USDA-ARS/JRN) on “Human impacts and land cover change in drylands”
- Tiffany Troxler-Gann (Florida International University/FCE) on “Ecosystem responses to hydrologic change in Everglades tree islands: Findings and future directions”
- Scott Collins (University of New Mexico/SEV, on “LTER vision for the future: Synthesis across time, over space and among disciplines.”
The purpose of the annual mini-symposia is to showcase to federal agency officials and policy makers in Washington the relevance and broader impacts of the scientific research undertaken by the LTER network. Each year the LTER coordinating committee solicits nominations for topics and speakers with the following year’s topic announced each fall. To add yourself or someone else to the invitation announcement list, please send name, organization, and email address to Henry Gholz at hgholz@nsf.gov.
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