SWS South Atlantic Chapter
Newsletter

Early ASB Registration Ends February 16th!!
Look for check box to apply for the SWS Student Travel Award or email your request to Pat Megonigal until 15 March: <megonigal.serc.si.edu>

Web Master Needed: We are looking for volunteers to serve the Chapter as Web Master. The duties are to post the newsletters and other information, and to seek ways to make our web site a useful resource for members. Email Pat Megonigal at <megonigal@serc.si.edu> to nominate yourself or someone else.

New Student Travel Award
The South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetlands Scientists has funds available to support travel by graduate students presenting a paper on a wetlands topic. The Chapter will award at least $100 to a maximum of five students. Officers of the Chapter will judge the applications based on the scientific quality and importance of their research as described in the abstract.  All graduate students presenting research on a wetland topic are eligible; membership in SWS is not required. If you wish to apply for these funds, you need to indicate the title, authors of paper and check a box on the registration form that you send to the meeting registration site (see form in the January Program issue of Southeastern Biology or website link). You may contact Dr. Patrick Megonigal of George Mason University at jmegonig@gmu.edu or 703-993-1045, for more information.

Meeting Attendees:

Marianne Burke William Conner Frank Day Diane DeSteven Bruce Edinger Ron Fortney Tiffany Gann Cliff Hupp Pat Megonigal Masato Miwa Rich Morgensen Jim Perry Rebecca Sharitz

US Forest Service Clemson University Old Dominion University US Forest Service Salem-Teikyo University West Virginia University Florida International University US Geologic Survey Smithsonian Institution International Paper Marsh Resources, Inc. Virginia Institute of Marine Science University of Georgia/SREL

• Amending the By-Laws to allow on-line voting (See the Alaska Chapter example!)
• Detailed proposal for a Chapter-sponsored fall symposium
• Sponsorship of the a forested wetlands workshop in China

On April 7, 2000, the workshop ‘Research on wetlands, bottomland hardwoods, and riparian areas in the Southern United States: Status and Frontiers’ was held in conjunction with the Association for Southeastern Biologists in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The workshop was sponsored by the South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists. The desired outcome of the workshop was to contribute to the Southern Research Station’s (SRS) planning process by providing expert guidance for future collaborative research and development in bottomland hardwoods, forested wetlands, and riparian areas through identification of (1) priority research focus areas, and (2) collaboration opportunities.

A summary of each speakers remarks and the subsequent discussion is available on the Chapter's web site in PDF format. Below is a list of the speakers, their topics, and the summary list by the moderator, Dr. Pete Roussopoulos.

Speakers&Topics:
Dr. Curtis Richardson of Duke University - ‘Status of research on wetlands in the Southern United States’
Dr. John Hodges, retired -  ‘Silviculture Issues in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods and Riparian Zones’
Ms. Jane Lareau of the SC Coastal Conservation League - ‘Managing for Biodiversity in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods and Riparian Zones’:
Dr. Ronnie Haynes of the US Fish and Wildlife Service - ‘Restoration Issues in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods and Riparian Zones'
Dr. Wendell Gillium of North Carolina State University - ‘Riparian Area Management issues in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods, and Riparian ‘:
Dr. Jim Shepard of the National Council of Air and Stream Improvement - ‘Water Quality Issues in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods, and Riparian Zones’
Mr. Robert Abernethy of the Wild Turkey Federation - ‘Non-commodity Issues in Wetlands, Bottomland Hardwoods, and Riparian Zones’

To conclude the meeting, Pete Roussopoulos captured the main points made during the meeting.  His summary included:

1. There is a need to identify long-term research opportunities (LTER’s) and include multiple reference sites;
2. There is a need for ecophysiological approaches - - especially for understanding stress effects -- including below ground processes;
3. There is a need for a better understanding of disturbance regimes - - and how to evaluate them.  We need to match hydrologic events data with wetlands  responses;
4.  We need to guard against focus on narrowly focusing on “glamour” species;
5. There is a need for models of wetland function so we can better understand potential influences of global climate change on wetland sites;
6. We need to have multi-agency collaborations on program and budget development,  e.g., Los Angeles watershed restoration project;
7. We should initiate transfers of technology with DOT and improve links with DOT for wetlands restoration opportunities;
8. We need to embrace a broader range of disciplines and accept responsibility for educating the public;
9. We must train loggers;
10. We must balance basic/applied research and technology development/ transfer efforts;
11. We need to be proactive in generating data that may be useful in the debate about forest management, and;
12. We must become aggressive on restoration of forested wetlands.

Prepared by Patrick Megonigal, Chair, South Atlantic Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists