SWS South Atlantic Chapter
Newsletter

• Results of the election for Vice Chair
• The budget
• Travel funds for students who attend the ASB meeting
• An on-line voting proposal
• An annual meeting proposal
• Proposed contributions to the George Mason University Francis Heliotis fund

Chapter Business Meeting at SWS Meeting, Quebec City
Tuesday August 8
12:15-13:15
Room 207A
Quebec City Congress Centre

Congratulations to Diane De Steven, the Vice Chair for 00/01 and 01/02!

Agenda for August Business Meeting  (please send additional items)
Report on the ASB Business Meeting
Candidates for Vice Chair
Preliminary Report on ASB Workshop on Bottomland Hardwood Forests

I. Treasurer's Report

II. New Business
(1) Proposal to focus the ASB student travel award on SWS members or wetland topics.
(2) Proposal to introduce on-line voting for the Chapter’s officers.
(3) Proposal to contribute to the George Mason University Francis Heliotis Memorial Fund.
(4) Proposal to start an annual meeting of the Chapter.

Eleven people attended the luncheon meeting of the South Atlantic Chapter of SWS held in Chattanooga during the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists. The group included several long-time members of ASB and SWS, and a large contingent of students from Christopher Newport University, VA who accompanied Rob Atkinson. After several trips to the buffet we spent about 30 minutes discussing business.

Treasurer's Report (prepared by Will Conner)

The chapter currently has about 892 members which is an increase from 880 members last year. Our treasury continues to grow from dues and other activities, and we must begin investing these funds into activities that will benefit the membership.
 
 

Announcements:
Steve Kroeger has volunteered to update the Chapter's web site. He plans to add links to the state and federal regulatory offices in the southeast, descriptions of current research by various people, and links to download various newsletters. Steve is a scientist at the NC Division of Water Quality and can be contacted by telephone (919-733-9604) or email: steve.kroeger@ncmail.net

Old business:
The chapter contributed $500 to ASB 2000 to be used for student travel. We agreed at the Spring 1997 meeting to contribute for three years and must now decide to continue the arrangement or invest the funds elsewhere. A suggestion was made to continue the arrangement, but to focus the support on either SWS student members or on students presenting wetlands-related research. Cliff Hupp volunteered to investigate whether ASB would still be interested in administering the fund if there were restrictions on its use. Cliff recently reported to the Char that the answer is 'yes', but we must decide on the criteria that will be used to make the award. This will be a topic at the upcoming business meeting in Quebec.

New business:
Ken McLeod volunteered to enlist candidates for Vice Chair to replace Bob Jones whose term expires in June 2000. Ken enlisted Dr. Diane De Steven of the Center for Forested Wetlands Research in Charleston, SC and Dr. Cliff R. Hupp of the US Geologic Survey, Reston, VA. Dr. Diane De Steven won the election. We appreciate those of you who voted (about 13% of the membership), but we would like to increase voter participation.

Bob Jones submitted a proposal to introduce on-line voting for Chapter officers. Questions were raised about maintaining the system after Bob leaves office and about the need to accommodate people without internet access. A formal vote on this proposal will be taken at the chapter meeting held in August. Please send your comments to one of the Chapter officers if you cannot attend.

The Chair proposed a contribution from the Chapter to the Francis Heliotis Memorial Fund. The fund was initiated by the Biology Department at George Mason University. Dr. Heliotis was a member of the South Atlantic Chapter and a Chair of the International Committee of SWS. The fund was started in 1994 and remains $3000 shy of the $10,000 minimum to attract matching-funds from the state of Virginia. The group was receptive to the idea, but wanted more information about the purpose and administration of the fund. It was suggested that we solicit a contribution from the parent society as well.

The Chair proposed starting an annual meeting of the Chapter that would rotate between three sub-regions within our region. The group was receptive to the idea and asked for additional details to be provided at the August business meeting in Quebec.

Attendees at the April 2000 ASB Meeting
Pat Megonigal
Cliff Hupp
Ken McLeod
Rob Atkinson
Gary Wein
Jeffrey DeBerry
Greg Thompson
Kristen Shacschis
Mark Kalnins
Paul Schmalzer
Jane Almon

1) It is quite possible to set up the voting on-line at Virginia Tech. Our college just set up a voting mechanism for faculty governance, and the person who did it will provide advice.

2) I propose that I set up the form with the advice and help of the Chair.

3) It would include a link to short biographies of the candidates, so the voters can make a decision online.

4) I propose to receive the votes, check to make sure each voter hasn't already voted AND is a member of the chapter.

5) I would then strip the names from the vote tally and send you only the tally.

6) One issue to deal with is paper ballots. Can we go totally online? An alternative would be to offer (online) the option for mail ballots. I would be willing to mail out ballots for individuals who request them. I imagine that very few people would make that choice. There may be other options.

7) One big advantage of this system is cost. Without a mailing, we will save quite a bit of money I imagine.

1) Divide our region into the following sub-regions:
(a) VA, NC, WV
(b) SC, GA
(c) FL, VI, PR

2) Each year the members of one sub-region will organize a workshop on a wetland theme that they choose. By rotating the workshop we will encourage participation by a wider group of members, spread the burden of planning the workshops across the membership, and allow the groups to focus on sub-region-specific issues if they wish.

3) The workshop will be planned by a 3-member committee that includes representatives from three communities - regulatory, academic, and consultation. The committee will be chaired by one of the current chairs of a Wetland Professional Association in the region.

4) The workshop will be supported from registration fees and Chapter dues.

5) The workshop will be open to the entire membership of the Chapter.

A workshop titled 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 on April 7, 2000 in Chattanooga, TN.  It was sponsored by the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service, the Society for Wetlands Scientists' South Atlantic Chapter, and the Consortium for Forested Wetlands Research. The workshop was a forum to help the Southern Research Station plan future research priorities in one of the Station's six main focus areas or Cross-Cutting Themes: Wetlands, Bottomland hardwoods, and Riparian Areas. After an introduction by the Station Director, Pete Roussopoulos, Curt Richardson of Duke University opened the workshop with a lecture on Status of research on wetlands in the Southeastern United States. Subsequently, six panelists presented their view of research needs in each of their disciplines:

Silviculture -- John Hodges (retired)
Biodiversity -- Jane Lareau of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
Restoration -- Ronnie Haynes of the US Fish and Wildlife Service
Riparian Area Management -- Wendell Gillium of North Carolina State University
Water Quality -- Jim Shepard of NCASI
 Non-Commodity Interests -- Robert Abernethy of the Wild Turkey Federation

The workshop concluded with a discussion beween the panelists and audience.  The outcome of the workshop is a report that will recommend priority research directions for the Southern Research Station. A synopsis of the report will be posted in the next issue of the South Atlantic Chapter newsletter.

Dr. Diane De Steven
Diane De Steven is a Research Community Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Center for Forested Wetlands Research, in Charleston, South Carolina. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Michigan and did postdoctoral research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and at Duke University. From 1985-1999, she was Assistant and Associate Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she taught plant ecology, natural resources management, and wetland ecology. Her research focuses on wetland vegetation-environment relationships, upland-wetland interactions, and wetland restoration. She has a particular interest in southeastern depressional wetlands, and she has also studied tree regeneration dynamics in a variety of forest ecosystems. She is Vice-Chair of the Vegetation Section of the Ecological Society of America, and she served on the Board of Editors for the ESA journals Ecology and Ecological Monographs from 1996-1999. She has also served in a scientific advisory capacity with The Wisconsin Nature Conservancy. As a relatively new member of the South Atlantic chapter, she is looking forward to greater involvement in SWS activities.

Dr. Cliff R. Hupp
Dr. Hupp is Project Chief of the Vegetation and Hydro-Geomorphic Relations Project in the U.S. Geological Survey, National Research Program in Reston, Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in 1984 in plant ecology and geomorphology from the George Washington University. He has been with the USGS since 1978 and has taught part-time and serves or served on graduate student committees at several universities. He is the 1993 recipient of the W. S. Cooper Award from the Ecological Society of America and presently serves on the board of editors for ESA. He is past Secretary of the Southeastern Chapter of ESA and has served in several capacities for the Association of Southeastern Biologists including Vice President and member of the Executive Committee. He has been an active member of the Society of Wetland Scientists since 1988. He is an active member of several other geomorphic and biological organizations. His research interests mainly lie in the ecological and hydrogeomorphic relations of southeastern riparian-forested wetlands, including sediment trapping, hydroperiod, woody debris and their spatial and temporal impacts on forested wetland development and dynamics. Dr. Hupp is the author of numerous scientific publications.