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The 2013 LTER mini-symposium held February 28, 2013, at the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters in Arlington, VA, attracted an audience of more than 100.

The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network’s recently concluded All Scientists Meeting (ASM) continues to receive praise from participants as one of the best organized ever (see, for example, http://bit.ly/YjTgex and http://bit.ly/SfovEf). The triennial meeting, which this year was held September 10-13, 2012, at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, brought together over 750 scientists and students. Attendees, including U.S. and international scientists, were treated to four days of vigorous discussions, including seven plenary talks, more than 80 scheduled and impromptu working groups, and more than 400 scientific posters.

Scott Collins, Regent’s Professor of Biology and Loren Potter Chair of Plant Ecology at the University of New Mexico became President of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) on August 10, 2012. Elected by the members of ESA for a one-year term, Collins will chair the ESA Governing Board, the elected governing body of the Society, which provides vision and guidance on ESA initiatives and future direction.

The 2012 LTER All Scientists Meeting (ASM) is rapidly approaching. On the agenda are four full days of gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, with lots of time for working group meetings - seven sessions in total - plenty of ad-hoc meetings, and fun.

There are many predicted effects of climate change: warmer temperatures, increased frequency and duration of droughts, and increased carbon dioxide, to name a few. In coastal systems, the outlook is grimmer with the addition of sea-level rise and increases in severe storms, all of which have significant impacts on geomorphology and ecological processes. Considering the myriad effects and complexity of interaction of these physical drivers the expansion of woody vegetation at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) may offer some hope of ecological stability at such times of uncertainty and change.

Scott Collins (SEV), who was elected chair of LTER Executive Board and Science Council in May 2010, officially took over from Phil Robertson at the recent Science Council meeting in Georgia.