Welcome to the July 2009 issue of the SWS E-newsletter. Please scroll down for pithy and important SWS announcements.

New - Greetings from your new President!

A month has passed and I am still thinking about what a great conference we had in Madison! Much of the success of the meeting was due to the partnership of SWS with the Wisconsin Wetlands Association and the Wetland Biogeochemistry Symposium. If you were unable to attend, or wish to reminisce, take a look at this terrific article by Landon Yoder (available here: summary), which appeared in the recent edition of the National Wetlands Newsletter, published by the Environmental Law Institute. We were very fortunate that Landon could "cover" the meeting and we are exploring ways that SWS and the ELI can work more closely together in the future. In addition to a wonderful array of plenary talks, symposia, and contributed talks and posters, John Kusler received the SWS Lifetime Achievement Award, student recipients of research grants, travel awards, and poster and presentation awards were recognized, the SWS Sponsors and Endowments Award was presented to the Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan, Republic of China. Finally, during the conference, then-President Chris Craft signed a contract on behalf of SWS with Springer to publish Wetlands. Thanks, Chris, for your work in completing this important step for the society!

I am excited to work with you this coming year to keep moving the Society of Wetland Scientists ahead. If you have any concerns, questions, or suggestions please let me know, or contact any of the SWS Executive Board. Also, I encourage you to get the word out about wetland science and management where you live and work by contributing articles to Wetland Science & Practice (contact Andy Cole, the Editor, at cac13@psu.edu ) or sending shorter tidbits to me for the E-Newsletter.

With best wishes,

Andy Baldwin

President, Society of Wetland Scientists

New - Chapter News

Have any Great Wetland Photos?! Enter them during before the end of August 2009 into the South Atlantic Chapter's 4th Annual Wetland Photo Calendar Contest and show them off! Find out more here. http://www.sws.org/regional/southatlantic/fundraisers.html#Calendar_Contest

CERF 2009: Estuaries and Coasts in a Changing World

SWS is partnering with CERF to host "Estuaries and Coasts in a Changing World", CERF's 20th Biennial Conference. The event is scheduled for 1-5 November 2009 in Portland, Oregon. More information about the conference is available on the CERF conference website.

New - Action Alert

Support the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would restore legal protection to isolated wetlands and headwater streams. Find out how to get involved.

New - Publications Committee Needs Volunteers

Darold Batzer, Editor of Wetlands, is soliciting volunteer mentors to assist authors for whom English is a second language. Additional information here.

New - Wetlands in the News

Iraqi wetlands drying up due to a dwindling Euphrates River

New - Itty-Bitty Jobs Board

Check for wetland jobs on your iphone or blackberry. The format of the SWS Jobs Board is now mobile device-friendly.

New - SWS Whitepaper

Download Current Practices in Wetland Management for Mosquito Control, the latest contribution from the SWS Wetland Concerns Committee

Membership Renewal is Easy!

If you haven't already, now is the time to renew your SWS membership!. Renew online NOW!.

Useful and Important links

Renewal Page: http://www.sws.org/membership/index.mgi#joining

WETLANDS CD Archive: http://www.sws.org/wetlands/CD/index.mgi

Member Database / Corrections: http://www.sws.org/membership/addresschange.mgi

SWS Business Office Secretariat - David A. Drupa: ddrupa@burkinc.com