The South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) would like to thank all those in attendance that helped make the 26^th Annual International Wetlands Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, a huge success!

The Conference focused on ecological, landscape, and regulatory transformations using the wetlands typified by the Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain as a model. The Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) hosted three half-day symposia as well as a workshop at the conference.

Many conference attendees started their week getting reacquainted at the Sunday evening "Welcome to Charleston" reception held at the Conference Center. Conference organizer, William Conner, opened the week-long conference on Monday morning by introducing Charleston's Mayor Keith Summey who gave the official "Welcome."  Representative James Clyburn then gave the keynote address followed by a talk on the future of coastal plain wetlands given by noted wetland scientist, Dr. Rebecca Sharitz. Monday morning was concluded with attendees hearing talks on three important wetland ecosystems of the southern United States.

Starting Monday afternoon, special contributed sessions were held concurrently along with invited symposia and continued until Friday morning with the exception of Wednesday. On Wednesday, attendees had the opportunity to go on organized field trips, ranging from kayaking the rivers and coasts to touring the famed plantation houses.  An awards luncheon, where attendees dined on Charleston Bump grouper and herb grilled chicken breast, was held on Tuesday and the SWS Business Luncheon was held on Thursday.

• Have something you want to discuss about the conference? Check out the Charleston Discussion Forum on the SWS Forums Page.
• The conference committee would like to apologize for the lack of conference souvenir shirts at this year.

 For your convenience, check out our Updates Page for the additions/revisions.

Conference was sponsored in part by the following: