Now more than ever, students at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) are committed to making a real-world impact. SMEA students are critical thinkers with diverse lived experiences and a passion for the environment. Our graduates are equipped to seize opportunities and resolve complex environmental problems in our local communities, nation, and around the globe.
Make a gift today to the SMEA Graduate Student Fellowship Fund. 

The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs will hold its next faculty meeting on Monday, September 29, at 2:30 pm. Please see below for location details:
MAR Room 268  or via Zoom
A copy of the meeting agenda,9-29-25 Faculty Meeting Agenda is provided. Please contact Hailie Borges (hrb25@uw.edu) with any questions or for more information. 

The international community has taken an important step toward protecting ocean ecosystems beyond national borders with the BBNJ Treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The agreement expands the global ocean governance framework established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and focuses specifically on conserving biodiversity on the High Seas. 

SMEA Research Scientist Chris Sergeant is in northern British Columbia this month, conducting fieldwork and engaging with local and online audiences.

Presentation at Yukon University: Chris and colleague Brittany Milner (Salmon Watersheds Lab, Simon Fraser University) will present on Monday at noon, with a virtual attendance option. More details: Yukon Science Institute

CBC Radio Interview: Chris and Brittany recently completed an interview for CBC’s The Weekender, airing Sunday morning in Canada and available afterward online: CBC Listen

This outreach highlights SMEA’s commitment to connecting marine and freshwater research with communities and the broader public. 

Erick Dowell, a 2024 graduate of SMEA, is currently a Washington Sea Grant Fellow (WSG) working with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. His work sits at the intersection of marine restoration and sustainable agriculture, building innovative partnerships across land and sea.
Through his fellowship, Erick collaborates with shellfish farmers to design harvest and processing methods for a nuisance seaweed, Ulva (Commonly known as sea lettuce), which can foul aquaculture gear and negatively impact shellfish production. 

SMEA faculty P. Joshua Griffin and Erendira Aceves‑Bueno, along with collaborators, co‑authored a new article in Restoration Ecology titled “Environmental justice in ecosystem restoration frameworks.” This research provides a systematic review of global restoration frameworks and reveals a significant gap: most current approaches to ecosystem restoration do not explicitly integrate environmental justice principles.
The article not only identifies this gap but also proposes a novel restoration framework that centers on recognition, procedural justice, and community empowerment throughout the restoration planning and implementation process. 

Allen Shimada (MMA ’85), member of the SMEA Director’s Council, recently hosted Minister M. Sato, Head of the Chancery at the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C., and Noriko Sanefuji from the National Museum of American History.
During the visit, Mr. Shimada highlighted SMEA’s interdisciplinary education and the successful careers of SMEA alumni in Japan, spanning graduates from 1978 to 2024. The conversation underscored the global impact of SMEA’s programs and the strong connections between the School and international partners. 

SMEA is proud to share a new paper published in Fisheries Research titled Assessing the social-ecological dimensions of Dungeness crab fishery closures in Southeast Alaska from analysis of public records.
The study was led by SMEA alum Rondi Nordal (Class of 2024), with faculty coauthors Anne Beaudreau and Erendira Aceves-Bueno, in collaboration with NOAA colleagues.
Drawing on more than a decade of public meeting records, the research takes a deep look at how decisions about fishery closures are shaped not only by ecological goals, but also by social, cultural, and subsistence needs. 

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Bella Colpo is an environmental scientist with the County of San Diego, where she serves as the watershed lead for both the San Diego Bay and Santa Margarita River Watershed Management Areas with the Watershed Protection Program. In this role, she leads long-range watershed planning efforts to ensure compliance with the regional MS4 Stormwater permit, work that has earned awards from the American Public Works Association and the American Society of Civil Engineers.