Good Friday, Fundy Forum! A few announcments to begin:
1. The Fundy Forum web site has a new, fun feature called Fundy Fast Facts. Lesley has developed this rotating list of interesting facts about the Bay of Fundy, and you can find it at http://www.fundyforum.com/fact.shtml. Every time you hit the page you'll get a different Fast Fact - you can test it out by hitting 'refresh' a couple of times. We've only got a few in the bank right now, so if you've got any you'd like to add, feel free to hit reply and pass them on! 2. The Faces of Fundy feature has a new addition. Lesley visited the Bay of Fundy Marine Resource Centre (MRC) in Cornwallis, and now you can see it for yourself on-line with the "MRC Virtual Tour" at http://www.fundyforum.com/faces/mrc.html. It's an interactive floor map of the building, and you can see what each room is used for and what facilities are available! 3. The Fundy Forum is holding the next Timed Discussion on the topic of Wharves from February 18th to March 1st, so mark your calendars! A separate call for participation will be sent out with all the details early next week. On to the News Update: ~~~~~~~~ There are several researchers conducting a study on methylmercury levels in the food web of the Bay of Fundy and approaches. To date, the yave been unsuccessful in getting any specimens from the top of the trophic chain. If you happen to find any dead marine mammal, whale, porpoise or seal that is not too "ripe", please contact Gareth Harding, with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, at (902) 426.2692 or vial email at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~ The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is hosting a general meeting to discuss strategies for: Protecting existing parks and wilderness areas Creating a terrestrial conservation plan Developing a system of marine protected areas We will be forming action committees to address these issues and nominating new board members. This is a great opportunity to get involved in habitat protection - all those interested are encouraged to attend! Meeting details: February 2, 2002 12:30 - 5:00 Room 105 Weldon Law Building, 6061 University Avenue Dalhousie University For more info and to register on-line, visit: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/environment/cpaws ~~~~~~~~ CALL FOR PAPERS >From March 1st to 3rd, The Departments of Biology and Forestry (UNBF) at the University of New Brunswick (Fredericton) are proud to be hosting the 2002 Northeast Wildlife Graduate Student Conference. This is a conference by graduate students for graduate students. One of the main goals is to provide graduate students, at any stage in their thesis research [that means from proposal to completion] the opportunity to present in an atmosphere dominated by students. The conference location moves annually between the US and Canada. In March 2001, it was hosted by the University of New Hampshire in Durham. As has been the case in previous years abstracts beyond the "Wildlife" scope are encouraged. For Conference details visit http://www.unb.ca/web/acwern/newgsc.html or contact Stephen at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~ Are you concerned about how climate change may impact the Atlantic Provinces? Should we be planning strategies now to adapt to these changes? The Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network will be hosting a free two day workshop on this topic on February 7 and 8 in Halifax. Unlike many other recent climate change workshops, this one will not debate the causes of climate changes or what we can do to prevent it, but instead focus on the potential impacts on Atlantic Canada and how we can possibly adapt to these impacts. Atlantic Canada may be particularly hard hit by rising sea level, extreme weather events, and coastal erosion as a result of climate change. Freshwater resources may become scarcer and agriculture may experience drought. Exotic pests may bring new diseases. Because resource based economies are likely to be harder hit than industrial economies, the Atlantic Provinces may suffer proportionately more economic hardship than central Canada. This two-day workshop will bring together researchers, policy makers, and stakeholders from throughout the Atlantic Region to discuss the potential impacts of climate change on Atlantic Canada and explore adaptation strategies. Researchers will present overview presentations on the science and modelling aspects of climate change, as well as how particular sectors may be impacted. A panel of stakeholders will present their views on how they see climate change impacting their areas of responsibility. Sectorally based small group discussions will attempt to identify important areas and gaps in our current knowledge in order to chart a course for future work.More information is available on the web at http://www.dal.ca/~cciarn/happenings/workshop/index.html. If you intend to attend, please fill out the on line form by February 1 in order to avoid the registration fee. Travel and accommodation assistance will be available to those who require it. For more information contact: Kyle McKenzie, Atlantic Regional Coordinator Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network 1312 Robie Street, Halifax, N.S., B3H 3J5 902-494-6355 (t), 902-494-3728 (f) http://atlantic.c-ciarn.ca ~~~~~~~~ ANNOUNCEMENT - COASTAL ZONE CANADA 2002 GREAT LAKES CZC 2002 is being in held in conjunction with efforts towards examining capacity building for transboundary coastal ecosystem management as part of a partnership with Pollution Probe, Environment Canada, and the United Nations United Nations University: International Network on Water, Environment & Health. Managing Shared Waters will examine experiences and address capacity needs related to the sustainable development of marine and freshwater coastal regions. A number of related research projects are underway including the preparation of a background report and several case studies. The Managing Shared Waters Initiative will lead to a major international conference - with CZC 2002 Great Lakes - to be held in Hamilton, Ontario Canada June 23 to 28, 2002. For more details regarding the conference and Call for Papers please refer to the information below including the attached files and also watch the MANAGING SHARED WATERS website for updates: www.pollutionprobe.org/managing.shared.waters/index.htm Also please feel free to share this annoucement and files with colleagues or email/post to other websites or listservers as appropriate. ~~~~~~~~ Did you know about http://www.fundyshoreecotour.ns.ca/? It's a great resource outlining all of the Fundy Ecozones, , and more. ~~~~~~~~ The 48 page conference report from The Global Conference on Oceans and Coasts at Rio+10 that was held at UNESCO, Paris from December 3-7, 2001 is now a ailable on-line at http://www.udel.edu/CMS/csmp/rio+10/pdf/CochairsReport.pdf ~~~~~~~~ Following up on a suggestion made at the Gulf of Maine Information Exchange (GOMINFOEX) http://www.gominfoex.org action committee meeting in Eastport in December, a meeting has been planned to renew discussion of coastal communities and GIS in our region. The meeting will be held at the Craig Brook hatchery, the USFS Maine Fisheries Program Complex, in East Orland, Maine, on Friday, February 15 (three weeks from tomorrow.) The local host is Peter Steenstra, 207 469 6701 ext. 215; Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery 120 Hatchery Road East Orland, ME 04431. Due to US Dept of Interior restrictions on e-mail and web sites, online information is temporarily not available. The meeting is scheduled from 9:30-3:30, with box lunches available and opportunitity to network over coffee beginning at 9. Because of the relatively short notice this may provide for some participants, and due to travel distances for others, this meeting will have a fairly open agenda, with the main purpose being to check in as to what various groups have been doing and learning in the past 2-3 years (since the meeting at College of the Atlantic in May 1999 - http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~schroedr/fgdc/may24.htm) and toward planning for a more substantial and focused future meeting, perhaps of two-day duration, and located in a place that will allow participants from both sides of the border. Here are some specific issues that have already been suggested by people who were part of the conversation that got this meeting going: * local production of data by youth and school groups, such as monitoring, and how to structure and share this * cross-border base mapping and spatial data sharing * GIS implementation across organizations within coastal communities * issues of privacy and how these affect local information sharing * new technologies and how we might utilize them collectively (internet mapping, XML, etc.) * GIS education at the local level--what are effective approaches All are welcome. If your have further comments, suggestions or questions, please contact Paul Schroeder at 207.581.2103 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max(ine) Westhead, Fundy Forum Coordinator Marine Environmental Quality, Bay of Fundy http://www.fundyforum.com Bedford Institute of Oceanography PO Box 1006, B500 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 4A2 Ph: 902.426.4215 Fax: 902.426.3855 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fundy Forum listserver is dedicated to providing a forum for Bay of Fundy Issues. List moderator: Maxine Westhead Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone:(902)426.4215 On-line Archiving: <http://www.fundyforum.com/listserver/main_archive.htm> Post message: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List-Unsubscribe:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
