By: Tom Bigford
This fall promises to be busy as I spread messages from TCS and seek partnerships to strengthen our future. My primary destination this fall is Oregon and Washington. I hope to see some of you at each of these events. Please notify me of similar opportunities in a state near you. Your society needs your help as we reach out to partners, potential members, and sponsors.
I’ll begin my Pacific Northwest trek on November 8-12 where I will moderate a technical session at the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation’s biennial meeting on “Fish as Integrators of Estuarine Health.” Speakers will use their experience with fish to assess the health of select coasts and estuaries. Check out the conference website for the latest program information. Hopefully our presence will be strong, as it was in 2013 in San Diego under the leadership of Megan Bailiff, Leigh Taylor Johnson, and Mike Orbach. While there, I will join Green Fire Productions to show their inspiring “Ocean Frontiers” films. Each features stories of citizens joining to make a difference along our coasts. If you haven’t seen their work, go here. You’ll enjoy the films and be inspired by the shared accomplishments of citizens and professionals from coast to coast.
While in Portland for CERF 2015 I’m planning a trip down I-5 to Oregon State University, home of the newest TCS university chapter. I’m working with faculty advisor Michael Harte and student president Chelsea Duke to arrange a small event to talk about our Society, learn about their interests, and talk about how they can engage. The opportunities are huge so I expect many great ideas from the OSU crowd.
I’ll also be headed north from Portland to Grays Harbor on the Washington coast. TCS has partnered with the Coastal States Organization (CSO), National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA), and the Washington coastal zone management program to convene a “Coastal Connections” event to help local citizens and community planners understand and improve community resilience along their coast. This gathering will be in the home district of Rep. Derek Kilmer, a strong advocate for coastal issues. CSO, NERRA, and TCS may partner with other states for similar events in the coming months. There’s no set date for this event yet but hopefully it will coincide with my early November trip to Portland.
Finally, on a sad note, my plans will not include a visit with Maurice “Herb” Schwartz, the first president of TCS (1976-77). Herb passed away in late July at 97 years old. We have lost a true visionary, the person who noticed our coasts needed a voice and the leader behind the movement to create our society. Past TCS Director Rebekah Padgett and I visited Herb in 2013 to convey an honorary TCS membership; I visited him again last year to solicit his sage advice on the coastal future. This year, my unanswered emails were punctuated with the sad news from his family. I have shared our condolences . He will be missed.