SMEA graduates Samantha Klein (’21), James Lee (’21), Sallie Lau (’20), and current SMEA student Bryce Lewis-Smith, along with SMEA Assistant Professor Cleo Wölfle-Hazard and accompanying authors recently published an article in The American Naturalist titled, “Transforming Restoration Science: Multiple Knowledges and Community Research Cogeneration in the Klamath and Duwamish Rivers [journals.uchicago.edu].”
Typical practices in restoration science can perpetuate exclusionary and oppressive paradigms in both ecosystem restoration and restoration policymaking. 

SMEA alums and faculty represented at the recent PCSGA Annual Shellfish Conference held this year in Wenatchee, Washington. In attendance were SMEA alums Jessi Florendo (’22), Kalloway Page (’21), Sam Klein (’21), and Emily Buckner (’20). SMEA Professor of Practice Yoshitaka Ota was a keynote speaker. “It was fun to be among good company in an unfamiliar place!” shared Florendo.
The PCSGA Annual Shellfish Conference is a convening of growers, natural resource managers, regulators, academics, and others involved in the regional shellfish industry to gather and discuss modern problems, scientific inquiry, and collaborative solutions to all nature of problems. 

Recent SMEA graduates Clayton McKean and Caroline Potter, along with SMEA Associate Professor Emeritus David Fluharty, SMEA Affiliate faculty member Amber Himes-Cornell, and accompanying authors recently published an article in Frontiers in Marine Science titled “Reaching Global Marine Biodiversity Conservation Goals With Area-Based Fisheries Management: A Typology-Based Evaluation“.
Those who are tracking the issues surrounding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biodiversity may be aware that Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECM) are essential to meeting the marine targets. 

Adopting new technologies requires building familiarity and trust, and this is where SMEA Professor Ryan Kelly and his research group, the eDNA Collaborative comes in. This new effort at the University of Washington aims to accelerate Environmental DNA (eDNA) research by supporting existing projects and building a network of practitioners to advance the nascent field. Professor Kelly likens the young field of eDNA research to how various new technologies develop and take off. 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Director Dr. Nives Dolšak has been appointed to the Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) by Governor Jay Inslee. Effective immediately Prof. Dolšak will occupy the Education Position on the Council.

WCMAC was established by the Washington State Legislature in 2013 as a forum to represent the interests of coastal residents of Washington’s outer coast.  

Ryan Kelly, Associate Professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, is among the 28 teams that received the Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award for the FY 22 competition for his project entitled “Environmental DNA-based Monitoring of the Marine Environment.”
According to the press release: “By supporting teams whose members have diverse sets of expertise, the MURI program acknowledges that the complexities of modern science and engineering challenges often intersect more than one discipline and require creative and diverse approaches to tackle these problems.  

On the shores of the Chukchi Sea in far northwest Alaska, climate change is already impacting the traditional way of life of the Iñupiaq people. The inhabitants of this region have lived off the land for thousands of years, hunting caribou and bearded seals, fishing for salmon and sheefish, and foraging wild berries and plants. But as the planet warms and Arctic sea ice thins, accessing and harvesting these traditional foods has become more difficult. 

Thesis work on marine conservation tourism and public engagement programs with the Giant Pacific Octopus has evolved into an accepted article for the journal Regional Studies in Marine Science. SMEA alum Manjari Misra ’20 and her advisor Professor Marc Miller developed the draft following the completion of Misra’s thesis work. Misra reports, “this paper was regarding the marine conservation tourism programs at the Seattle Aquarium. 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Director, and Stan and Alta Barer Professor of Sustainability, Dr. Nives Dolšak sat for an interview with Joseph Peters of ABC 10 News San Diego last week. She shared her expertise and understanding in why the US saw an increase in usage of coal-driven electricity in 2021. The cost of coal competitor, natural gas, nearly doubled in 2021, so coal became financially attractive for power. 

If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift for an inquisitive kid in your life, you might consider a copy of the recently published  “The Rockfish Kids Book”, a beautifully illustrated book designed to connect children of all ages in the Puget Sound with an important marine species. The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs has had a long history in helping to shape the scientific knowledge about rockfish, and has produced many alumni who have been critical to their recovery in the Puget Sound.