Association of Ecosystem Research Centers
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Congressional BriefIngs

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS

2022 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - ​The role of Horizon Scanning in Ecosystem research
Horizon scanning is a tool for assessing potential threats and opportunities and is used extensively in many sectors including energy, defense, and medicine.  Use of horizon scanning in environmental fields is gaining traction to explore both predicted and unexpected futures. Horizon scanning can help prioritize personnel and infrastructure investments to enable an organization to effectively deploy resources to address both known and unknown threats.  The process of horizon scanning involves cataloguing potential threats, filtering information and prioritizing based on level of risk, and disseminating information to appropriate authorities. Early warning systems are threat-specific tools for collecting data, assessing trends and evaluating risk, and initiating communication to appropriate authorities.  The Association of Ecosystem Research Centers will conduct a briefing on the application of horizon scanning for ecosystem management. The brief will provide an overview of the process followed by two case studies highlighting forest ecosystems and the Laurentian Great Lakes.
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Dr. Jonathan E. Kolby
Research Scientist
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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​Title: The Value of Horizon Scanning as a Strategic Tool in Environmental Planning
Learn More
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Dr. David N. Bengston
Environmental Futurist
Strategic Foresight Group,
​USDA Forest Service


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​​Title: The Application of Horizon Scanning for Emerging Issues in Forest Management
Learn More
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Dr. Lucinda B. Johnson
Director of Research
Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), University of Minnesota Duluth

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​Title: A Framework for an Early Warning System for the Laurentian Great Lakes
Learn More
2022 AERC Annual Meeting
Role of Horizon Scanning in Ecosystem Research 
​
September 15, 2022
9am-11am
​Location 
Rayburn 2325
​/ Virtual Option
​
2022 Meeting Page
​AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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Register for the 2022 Congressional Briefing
2021 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - ​Integrating Environmental Data Across Spatial Scales​
Constant innovations in data science, availability of real-time long-term data, advanced spatial modeling and remote sensing techniques, and cutting-edge technology to retrieve, process, and analyze more data than ever before, are being integrated into high level questions regarding ecosystem services and disservices in the Anthropocene and what that means for an uncertain future across many sectors. This vision will bring focus to handling big data for a myriad of novel and progressive applications to build resilient futures, including for national security, climate change, urban planning, human health, and food security, with environmental justice and equity in mind. ​
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Dr. Mark Elliott
Associate Professor
Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama 

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​​Title: Wastewater Management Challenges in the Rural Alabama Black Belt: Condition and a Path Forward
Learn More
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Dr. Paula Mabee
Chief Scientist & Observatory Director
National Ecological Observatory Network
(NEON), Battelle 
 

​Title: The NSF National Ecological Observatory Network Enables the Ecosystem Big Picture
Learn More
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Dr. Sarah Hobbie
Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota

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Title: Integrating Diverse Data to Address Environmental Injustices in Cities
Learn More
2021 AERC Annual Meeting
Integrating Environmental Data Across Spatial Scales 
​
October 21, 2021
Virtual Platform
​
2021 Meeting Page
​AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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Register for the 2021 Congressional Briefing
2019 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - ​Coastal ecosystems and People
A larger proportion of the human population now lives along coastlines that are prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes, storm surge, flooding, toxic algal blooms and sea-level rise. Understanding the natural variability associated with coastal hazards is imperative to our continued coastal existence. In addition, understanding and effectively communicating the role of coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves and coastal wetlands as green-infrastructure protection is also needed. Finally, better designed built environments in coastal regions need to be envisioned and implemented. In this briefing, we will explore the complex interfaces between coastal processes and hazard and natural and built environments.
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Peter Annin
Director
​Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, Northland College

 
​​Title: Water Level Volatility in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone
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View Presentation
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Dr. Glenn Guntenspergen
Research Scientist
​U.S. Geological Survey

 

​Title: Coastal Wetland Response to Sea Level Rise and Their Role in Preserving Ecosystem Services for Society

View Presentation
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Dr. Rita Teutonico
Associate Dean of Research
College of Arts, Sciences & Education, Florida International University


Title: Developing Pathways to Sustainability in Changing Coastal Environments
View Presentation
2019 AERC Annual Meeting
Coastal Ecosystems and People
​
October 29-30, 2019
Washington, DC
​
2019 Meeting Page
​AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2018 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - The Role of Ecosystem Science in Securing Freshwater Resources
Perhaps the greatest challenge before us will be our ability to achieve freshwater security. As defined by the United Nations, Water Security is “The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.” We have four distinguished experts who will discuss what the ramifications of recent and potential changes to the Clean Water Rules could mean, and how current efforts are underway to use ecosystems science to restore and protect important ecosystems including the California Delta and the Greater Everglades ecosystems.
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Dr. Margaret A. Palmer
Distinguished University Professor
University of Maryland
 
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Title: Ecosystem Science of Intermittent Streams and Wetlands
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View Presentation
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Dr. Cliff Dahm
Emeritus Professor
University of New Mexico

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Title: Ecosystem Research Informing Policy in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay
View Presentation
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Dr. Steve Davis
Senior Ecologist
The Everglades Foundation

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Title: Everglades Restoration and the Role of Science


View Presentation
2018 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Ecosystem Science in Securing Freshwater Resources​
 
October 3-4, 2018
Washington, DC​​
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2018 Meeting Page
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2017 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - The Role of Ecosystem Research in Combating Emerging Infectious Diseases
On everyone's minds recently are the consequences that infectious diseases are having on our world. The people, animals and ecosystems that inhabit our planet are impacted by infectious diseases and, this year, we are exploring how ecosystem sciences fit into this puzzle. In this year's briefing, three speakers will discuss the role that emerging infectious diseases are playing in a more fragmented world. They will touch on how global health security can be supported through ecosystem research, as well as how mining ecosystem data can help to inform (and predict) potential infectious disease outbreaks. 
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Dr. Rick Ostfeld
Senior Scientist
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
​

 
Title: Emerging Infectious Disease in a More Fragmented World
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View Presentation
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Dr. Christine K. Johnson
Professor
School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis
​

 
Title: Supporting global health security with ecosystem research: shifting from a reactive to a proactive paradigm
View Presentation
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Dr. John Drake
Distinguished Research Professor
University of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology
 
Title: Mining Ecosystem Data for Prediction of Infectious Disease Outbreaks: The State of our Science
View Presentation
2017 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Ecosystem Research in Combating Emerging Infectious Diseases
 
October 23-24, 2017
Washington, DC​​

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2017 Meeting Page
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2016 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - The role of radioecology in national security
The potential ecological impact of radiation resulting from nuclear accidents or potential malevolent actions has become a global environmental concern. It is becoming increasingly important to maintain worldwide expertise in radioecology to ensure that we have the operational capacity to face legacy and future risks. Radioecology is an essential part of national security. The results of radioecological research support decision-makers concerned with determining the fate and effects of radioactive releases into the environment. The viability of radioecology in the U.S., however, is threatened by declining educational support and the aging of its practitioners, most of whom will soon reach retirement age. Any society that uses nuclear products and aims to protect against terrorist threats must maintain its knowledge of environmental radiation in order to maintain national security. Research in radio ecology inform decision-making regarding environmental cleanup, environmental remediation and ongoing impacts to environmental health associated with nuclear missions critical to national security.
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Dr. Thomas G. Hinton

Professor

Institute of Environmental Radioactivity Fukushima University, Japan
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Title: The Hidden Roles of Radioecology in National Security: Why Radioecology Matters
View Presentation
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Dr. François Bréchignac
Former President
International Union of Radioecology

​Deputy Scientific Director
Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (France)
 
Title:
Radioecology and our Future: Radioecology’s Contribution to Preserving Ecosystem Health
View Presentation
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Dr. Olin E. Rhodes, Jr.
Director
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

Professor
Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
 
Title: Radioecology in Practice: Examples from the Savannah River Site
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View Presentation
2016 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Radioecology in National Security
 
October 3-6, 2016
Washington, DC​​

​ 
2016 Meeting Page
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2015 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - Ecosystem Response to Extreme Events
A distinguished panel of scientists present their findings of research the ability of natural systems to respond to extreme events such as sea level rise, oil spills, and climate change. 
2015 Meeting Flyer
2015 Speaker Bios
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Dr. Samantha Joye
Athletic Association Professor of Arts & Sciences in Marine Sciences
University of Georgia
 
Title: How an offshore oceanic ecosystem responded to extreme perturbation: The 2010 Gulf of Mexico BP/Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout
View Presentation
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Dr. Todd Crowl

​Professor of Biological Sciences

Florida International University


Title: Using large-scale ecosystem restoration to mitigate impacts of sea level rise on urban coastal communities
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View Presentation
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Dr. Daniel Obrist
Research Professor
Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute
 

Title: How disturbances and climate change affect ecosystem regulation, filtering, and exposure of mercury and other persistent pollutants
View Presentation
2015 AERC Annual Meeting
Ecosystem Response to Extreme Events

October 21-22, 2015
Washington, DC​​

​ 
2015 Archive Page
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2014 Congressional Briefing - The ROle of Ecosystem Science in Developing Adaptation Strategies to Climate and Global Change
A distinguished panel of scientists present their findings of research the ability of natural systems to respond to extreme events such as sea level rise, oil spills, and climate change. 
President's 2014 Letter
2014 Survey Summary
2014 Speaker Bios
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Dr. Jerry Hatfield
National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment & Iowa State University
​

 
Title: Implications of Climate Change on Agricultural Ecosystems
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View Presentation
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Dr. Julia Cherry
New College and Biological Science, University of Alabama
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Title: Rising Tides: Sustaining Coastal Wetlands in a Changing World​
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View Presentation
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Dr. G. Darrel Jenerette
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside
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Title: Cities, Agriculture, and Wildlands: Ensuring Continued Ecosystem Services from our Rapidly Changing Landscapes
View Presentation
2014 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Ecosystem Science in Developing Adaptation Strategies to Climate and Global Change

October 8-9, 2014
Washington, DC​​
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2014 Archive Page
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2013 congressional briefing - ​The ROle of Ecosystem Science in Food Security
This year’s one-hour congressional briefing was attended by a total of 51 people from a variety of governmental, non-governmental, academic, and professional organizations. Staff members from 15 congressional offices participated, 10 House and 5 Senate, with two additional interns from the Senate Agriculture Committee, two members of USAID, and a representative of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Also participating were one to three members from professional societies (AAAS; Agronomy, Crop and Soil Society; AIBS; Chinese Academy of Sciences). Graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members from 10 universities and research institutes from across the U.S., and one from Canada, rounded out the briefing audience, with most of these coming from AERC member institutions. After the three briefing presentations, the speakers responded to numerous excellent questions. Many in the audience stayed after the formal Q & A to talk with these experts on ecosystem science and food security.
President's 2013 Letter
2013 Survey Summary
2013 Speaker Bios
2013 Workshop Info
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Dr. William Easterling
Professor and Dean
Pennsylvania State University, Department of Geography
​
Title: Can the World's Farmers Feed 10 Billion People While the Climate Changes?​
View Presentation
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Dr. Elena Bennett
Associate Professor
McGill University, Department of Natural Resource Sciences

Title: The Role of Ecosystem Science in Managing Food Security
View Presentation
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Dr. Dorceta Taylor
Professor
University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and the Environment
​
Title:
Food Insecurity, Health, and Public Policy
View Presentation
2013 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Ecosystem Science in Food Security
 
October 23-24, 2013
Washington, DC​​

​ 
2013 Archive Pages
AERC would like to thanks AIBS for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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2012 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING - The role of Ecosystem Science in national security
The Annual Meeting was held in Washington DC 2012-10-17 (Wednesday) and 2012-10-18 (Thursday). This was the first joint annual meeting between the Association for Ecosystem Research Centers (AERC) and NEON, Inc. The theme of this year's AERC's meeting was "The Role of Ecosystem Science in National Security". The theme of this year's NEON meeting was "Continental-scale ecology: informing our national priorities". The AERC and NEON meeting events provided a rich suite of opportunities to learn about emerging topics and to network with scientists from different communities.
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Building on last year's briefing topic of Benefits of Ecosystem to Humans in the 21st Century in which the theme focused on the benefits that ecosystems provide society; sometimes referred to as "ecosystem services", this year's Briefing will address on 
The Role of Ecosystem Science to National Security. Presentations by nationally recognized experts with focus on the importance of ecosystem science to 1) water security, 2) food security, 3) energy security, and 4) disease transmission. These presentations will by interdisciplinary in scope and will couple the natural sciences that are the core of ecosystem research with their connections to social issues importance to the future of this country and the world.
2012 Research SyMposium Video
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​Dr. Howard Passell
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​Technical Staff
Earth Systems Analysis, Sandia National Laboratories
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Title: Human Ecology, Human Resilience, Human Security
Abstract/Bio
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Dr. Paolo D'Odorico
​Professor
Dept of Environmental Science, University of Virginia
​
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Title: Societal Reliance on the Global Freshwater Resources
Abstract/Bio
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Dr. Molly E. Brown

Research Scientist

Biospheric Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

​ 
Title: The Role of Ecosystem Science in Food Security
Abstract/Bio
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Dr. Avner Vengosh
Professor
Nicholas School of Environment.
Duke University


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Title: Environmental Consequences of Past and Future Energy Production in the United States
Abstract/Bio
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Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld
Disease Ecologist
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
​ 

​Title: Environmental Change, Infection Disease, and Biosecurity
Abstract/Bio
2012 AERC Annual Meeting
The Role of Ecosystem Science in National Security
October 18, 2012
Smithsonian Institute
​Washington, DC​​
2012 Archives
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AERC would like to thank the Smithsonian Institute for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
2011 congressional briefing - Benefits of Ecosystems to Humans in the 21st century
The Symposium (as well as the Congressional Briefing) this year focused on the benefits that ecosystems provide society. Sometimes referred to as "ecosystem services", the Symposium (and Briefing) will focus on the importance of healthy forests, the role that ecosystems play in reducing nutrient enrichment in aquatic ecosystems, and the importance of healthy ecosystems to our fisheries resources.
2011 Meeting Flyer
SPeaker Abstracts & Bios
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Charles Perrings
Co-director, School of Life Sciences Ecoservices Group
Arizona State University
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Title: The Economic Value of Healthy Ecosystems: "Optimizing" Biodiversity Conservation
Presentation
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Donald E. Weller
Scientist Emeritus, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

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Title: Effects of Riparian Buffers: New Models and Management Implications
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Presentation
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Brian Palik
Science Leader for Applied Forest Ecology
USDA Forest Service

​
Title: Sustaining Healthy Forests Using Natural Models to Guide Management
Presentation
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Rebecca Moore
Professor, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
​
University of Georgia
​
 

Title: The Public Value of Healthy Forests
​
Presentation
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Andy Rosenberg
Director, Center for Science & Democracy
Union of Concerned Scientists 

Title: The Importance of Healthy Ecosystems for Fisheries and Coastal Communities
Presentation
2011 AERC Annual Meeting
Benefits of Ecosystems to Humans in the 21st Century
October 19-20, 2011
Smithsonian Institute
​Washington, DC​​
2011 Archive Page
AERC would like to thank the Smithsonian Institution for their support with the annual congressional briefings.
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