ASBPA's 2011 National Coastal Conference: TIME TO REGISTER!!!!! Let Me Count the Ways…
By Kate and Ken Gooderham, Executive Director How do you value a conference? By the strength of the plenary? We’ll meet Mark Mazzanti who replaced Gary Loew as the Director of Civic Works Program Integration Division. We’ll ask the question, ” Are the U.S. Academic Training Programs for Coastal Engineers Second Rate?” We’ll look at lessons learned from the Tohoku Oki Tsunami and get some back ground into the design and construction of the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier in Response to Hurricane Katrina. By number of sessions? Right now we have a day and a half of four concurrent sessions every 20 minutes. Between sessions you attend, and your access to the virtual conference – you’ll have over 80 opportunities. By variety of sessions? Sessions include, coastal policy, regional sediment management, modeling, CWPPRA policy, beach nourishment, sea level rise, biological monitoring, LACES, shoreline restoration, adaptive management, Mississippi barrier island restoration, wetlands, coastal structures, remote sensing, diversion, ecology, funding, sand resources, LCA, regional sediment management, beach morphology and FEMA modeling. By the networking? Because ASBPA is multi-disciplinary, you have variety in the types of people as well as the opportunities. Mayors, federal agency people, coastal engineers, geologists, local and state government people, professors and many more are there to discuss the issues of the day. In addition to the four networking breaks, you’ll also have breakfast on Thursday and Friday, lunch on Thursday, and a Wednesday evening social hour. By the pre-conference professional development opportunities? We have a pre-conference short course AND a pre-conference workshop. A Tuesday afternoon short course, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center's Coastal Storm Modeling System (CSTORM- MS) is a physics-based modeling capability for simulating tropical and extra-tropical storm, wind, wave, water level and coastal response (erosion, breaching, and accretion). The workshop is “Introduction to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Project Planning and Implementation" is the title, and it will be presented by the Corps' National Planning Center of Expertise for Coastal Storm Damage Reduction. It will consist of several modules addressing different aspects of the coastal planning process. We also provide certificates for professional development hours. By the quality of the field trip? Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is 2005, the Corps began to design and construct the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) for Southeast Louisiana. A key feature of the HSDRRS is the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lake Borgne Surge Barrier. The surge barrier is part of the program to provide a 100-year level of protection for New Orleans. No matter how you count it, ASBPA’s 2011 National Coastal Conference, “Expanding Coastal Horizons,” has the value you look for in a coastal conference. We urge you to register today at www.asbpa.org. This email communication was sent by: ASBPA 5460 Beaujolais Lane Fort Myers, FL 33919