Strategic Planning

By Dave Fluharty

It has been more than 10 years since SMEA developed a Strategic Plan. Many changes have occurred since the last effort and SMEA is facing many challenges. Therefore, SMEA Director Nives Dolšak led faculty and staff into a planning process during Autumn 2023 and Winter 2024 with facilitation by consultants Brian Murphy and Maddie Immel from BERK Consulting, Inc., Seattle. The process involved several day long meetings where we developed a Vision for the future and a roadmap for how we would achieve our Vision. 

SMEA Capstone Visits Alaskan Mine

By Anne Beaudreau

A group of five SMEA graduate students—Elise Adams, Nika Hoffman, Jess Lechtenberg, Katalin Plummer, and Jack Winterhalter—recently ventured 1400 feet under the earth’s surface to explore one of the largest silver producing mines in North America. The team traveled to Juneau, Alaska, to tour Greens Creek mine and present and discuss their capstone research with diverse audiences, including university students and faculty, and environmental NGO, federal, and tribal government staff. The students’ research is focused on the processes by which the five operating hardrock mines in Alaska have been transformed through regulatory changes, and the implications of those changes for watershed health and local communities. They are co-advised by Dr. Chris Sergeant and Dr. Anne Beaudreau. The capstone team is grateful for the generous support of donors who made this enriching experience possible, including the SMEA Fellowship Fund, Ed Miles Memorial Student Support Fund, the Dayton “Lee” Alverson Fellowship, and the Usha and S. Rao Varanasi Endowed Fellowship.

Research and New Publications by SMEA Faculty and Students

By Dave Fluharty

SMEA faculty members Ryan Kelly and Terrie Klinger have joined colleagues John Meyer (UW) and Patrick Krug (Cal State University Los Angeles) in publishing a new book describing intertidal life along California’s coast. This volume follows their first book, published in 2023, focused on intertidal life in Washington and Oregon. That volume has been well-received by students and beach-goers alike.

The inspiration for writing both books originated with Kelly, who drafted an initial sketch in 2011 while living and working in coastal California. The idea was to produce something like a roadside guide to shoreline ecology, focused on intertidal life and aimed at a curious, outgoing public. It was an easy sell to engage co-authors in creating the second volume—Klinger, Krug, and Meyer all have deep connections with the California coast and its marine life. As co-author Krug writes, “It’s a lucky few of us who have been able to live immersed, literally and figuratively, in the study of marine biology. Not much beats the fun of sharing everything you’ve seen, read and been taught over a lifetime with other people who like to explore and learn about the ocean.” Kelly adds that “There are lots of guides to shells and seashore creatures, but it seemed like nothing explained WHY a thing lived in one location and not the next. The WHY seemed important to explain to a broader audience.” And the details can be fascinating: for instance, who knew that gumboot chitons have magnetite in their teeth? Or that hermit crabs can be extremely picky in choosing a new shell to inhabit?

It’s been said that you only protect what you love, and you only love what you understand. Once you start to notice a thing in the world, once it appears on your mental map, you’re likely to start to understand it and to care about it. According to the authors, that was a core goal in writing the book: to help others see what we see when we visit the coast, with the hoped-for outcome that others will start to feel about these places the way that we feel about them. Kelly adds that “It’s easy to write about things you love and find fascinating. I’d say we just tried to convey that enthusiasm – I hope it worked.”

You can read more about the book here, or get your own copy of the California book or its Washington + Oregon companion.

Eric Laschever (1980) published a very timely article titled  “Coastal Resiliency and the Inflation Reduction and Infrastructure Investment and Job Acts” in the Winter 2024 issue of Natural Resources and Environment a publication of the American Bar Association. Take home message: “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act constitute real investments in building more resilient coastal communities as climate-related impacts increase. Government agencies and stakeholders are mobilizing thoughtful and inspiring efforts to empower the most vulnerable communities to share in these opportunities.”

Emma Scalisi (2023) Anne Beaudreau and Ellie Mason (2023) have collaborated on research to publish “Building stewardship capacity through fishers’ knowledge and advocacy in fisheries management: a case study from Southeast Alaska” in Maritime Studies, 2024. Take home message: “Local environmental stewardship supports resilience of socio-ecological systems through a wide range of actions that benefit both environmental and human wellbeing. …We identified areas of relatively low social, financial, and institutional capital that may limit the effectiveness of these stewardship actions. Our findings highlight diverse perspectives of fishery participants on how these stewardship actions might be better supported through policy, advocacy, and collaboration.”

Samantha Klein (2021), James Sanghyun Lee (2020), Sofi Courtney, Lisa Morehead-Hillman, Sallie Lau (2020), Bryce Lewis-Smith (2021), Daniel Sarna-Wojcicki and Cleo Woelfle-Hazard collaborated to write “Transforming Restoration Science: Multiple Knowledges and Community Research Cogeneration in the Klamath and Duwamish Rivers” in The American Naturalist . Take home message: “Racism and colonialism within restoration science continue to perpetuate exclusionary and oppressive paradigms in ecosystem restoration and in wider societal contexts….Rather than treat Western science as the objective arbiter of truth, Indigenous and feminist science approaches can draw on multiple sciences to design restoration interventions and unsettle power dynamics and historical legacies in the biological sciences….We use the lessons learned to discuss how scientists in all biological fields can prevent harmful inequities in restoration work while building capacity in and supporting crucial work by frontline communities.”

Bradley Soule (2008) and Christine Mc Daniel combined forces to write about the World Trade Organization fishery subsidy negotiations with “Laudable Agreement to End Fisheries Subsidies Has Big Loopholes” in a Future Fisheries Management Issue Brief for the Mercatus Center. Take home message: “The overarching, laudable goals of the WTO agreement is to curb government subsidies that contribute to overfishing. …The current text leaves open the possibility for circumvention in four key ways. If these loopholes are not addressed in the next round of negotiations or late in implementation, then the effectiveness of the agreement may be at risk.”

Phil Levin and his Capstone students (2021-3022) focused in on Zimmerman, O., Eison, T., Carey, R. and Levin, P.S., 2024. Addressing inequities and meeting needs of Indigenous communities in floodplain management. Frontiers in Climate, 6, p.1306542. Take home message: “This work examined the degree to which the Washington State Floodplains by Design (FbD) program met the needs of Washington Tribes. ​The research found that while FbD was meeting some needs, there were areas where it could better support Tribal communities and address inequities. ​Interviews with Tribal resource managers highlighted the importance of considering human-nature interconnectedness and the cultural significance of salmon in floodplain management. ​Tribal resource managers highlighted the need to prioritize land acquisition, adjust evaluation metrics, and support community-based and collaborative efforts to enhance equity in floodplain management.”

Events

By Dave Fluharty

SMEA Community Reception, February 9, 2024 at the Renaissance Hotel, Seattle attracted more than 80 students, alumni, faculty and friends. The event was sponsored by the relatively new SMEA Director’s Council. Thanks to them, we enjoyed a delightful evening with delicious catered hors d’oeuvres and libations. More importantly, it was a fantastic reunion for some and an outstanding networking opportunity for students. While most of the attendees were from the Puget Sound area, the event coincided with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Seattle so many of our Alaska employed alumni could join. For all who missed out, please know that we are looking for ways to replicate this kind of event in person where there is a critical mass of SMEA alumni or virtually for others. Our goal is to maintain connection with our alumni and to provide updates on your Alma Mater. Many thanks to the anonymous alumni donor whose funding made this event possible.

Special Invitational Event May 3, 2024 celebrating Professor Sunny Jardine as the first recipient of the Rae and Bell Shimada Family Faculty Fellowship in Honor of Warren Wooster.  This amazing award is established with an endowment from the Shimada family to assist SMEA and School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences faculty. This celebratory event brought together friends of the Shimada family, friends, colleagues and former PhD students of Warren, as well as some SMEA faculty. The event was held at 8 Bells Winery – voted the best winery in Washington for 2024. Food was delicious and the Shimada family shared their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon with a special Warren Wooster label. Four SMEA students volunteered to assist with the set up and clean up following the event. According to their remarks at the end of the evening, they enjoyed meeting everyone. Again, thank you to the SMEA Director’s Council who sponsored the event with anonymous funding for the reception.

On the Horizon

By Dave Fluharty

A pilot program for Mentoring and Networking is under development. Surveys of SMEA students, alumni, and faculty convince SMEA that it should develop ways to engage with alumni and others to provide mentoring opportunities for students. Similarly, SMEA is developing this pilot program to provide advice and support to students. Please expect to hear more on how to engage.