The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is leading the first-ever National Nature Assessment (NNA1) to evaluate U.S. lands, waters, wildlife, biodiversity, and their contributions to our economy, health, culture, climate, and equity. The Assessment will also project future changes and their impacts. Marking the Zero-Order Draft (annotated outline) release in the Federal Register, the NNA1 is hosting in-person and virtual public engagement events to gather public comment during fall 2024. We are pleased to invite you to the NNA1 Public Engagement Event in Seattle, Washington on Friday, November 22, 2024.

SMEA is proud to share that Professor Terrie Klinger has been selected for the Western Society of Naturalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Warm autumn greetings from all of us at SMEA. Our street is carpeted with red and golden maple leaves, mountains are expecting heavy snow, and NOAA is predicting king tides in the third week of November. In spite of the potential rough seas ahead, we are steadily working hard.

Dear SMEA Community,
With the academic year well underway, I’m excited to report on the work of the SMEA Director’s Council. Formed in May of 2023, the Council supports the Director of SMEA in their efforts to strategically position the school and its resources for the challenges our institution and society face in the 21st Century.  We are a diverse group of eight passionate members of the SMEA community with careers and experiences that reflect the interdisciplinary and collaborative philosophy of SMEA itself. 

SMEA faculty are committed to making our research publicly accessible. Therefore, most of our journal articles are published in open access journals and are hyperlinked in the below list. Faculty names are in bold, names of students and postdoctoral scholars trained by our faculty are underlined. The publications listed below include articles published between November 2023 and October 2024.

The North Pacific Marine Resources Endowed Fellowship has been a cornerstone for supporting student-led research and training related to North Pacific fisheries and marine resource management.

If you had to choose the biggest buzzword for people working in coastal management and climate-related fields over the past ten years, it might very well be ‘resilience.’ In recent years, the Biden-Harris administration has invested more than $50 billion in climate resilience—and nearly half is explicitly targeted toward coastal ecosystems and infrastructure. But what do we really mean when we talk about coastal and climate resilience? And what does it look like to work in this field?

Several SMEA graduates go on to complete year-long fellowships through programs like Washington Sea Grant and NOAA. Below, a few alumni share their fellowship experiences and how SMEA prepared them for these roles.

What is this column?  We are experimenting with ways to engage with our alumni and to inspire current students with their accomplishments. This section is a random walk through what we’ve recently observed about or heard from alumni.  Please keep Graduate Program Advisor, Tiffany Comtois-Dion up to date with your accomplishments and changes in location or employment. (tlcdion@uw.edu) 

About Featured Alumni: Each issue we feature an Alum to show in depth how SMEA has been part of their career trajectory in order to celebrate their accomplishments and to inform and inspire current students and our alumni about their education. In this issue, we feature an alumna whose career so far has been with the US Coast Guard (USCG).  SMEA has benefitted enormously from the mid-career officers and officers mustering out of the USCG.  Amanda Fisher SMEA in mid-career and graduated in 2010.  She is now retiring after 21 years of service and is contemplating how to share her expertise with SMEA and launch the next stage of her career.