Subject: Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) Annual Conference - July 3-5 , 2003 Date:Fri, 14 Mar 2003 15:07:12 -0800 From: Susan Miller <smiller@esri.com> To: consbio@u.washington.edu > Announcing the 2003 SCGIS Conference > The Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) would like to invite you to join > us at the 6th Annual SCGIS Conference, July 3-5th* 2003, to discuss and > promote local and global conservation of natural and cultural resources > through geospatial technologies. We are busy designing a diverse > conference agenda that will explore a variety of issues ranging from the > technical applications of GIS in conservation to recurring philosophical > and ethical issues faced by conservationists throughout the world. We will > also address the role of the Society in the development of the global > Conservation Community. > New Venue > ATTENTION: We are pleased to announce this year's conference will be held > in Northern California at the Asilomar Conference Grounds > <http://www.asilomarcenter.com/> - a refuge on the Bay. Nestled along the > shoreline of California's famed Monterey Peninsula, Asilomar is a tranquil > ocean front retreat cradled by forests and white sand beaches. Designed by > acclaimed architect Julia Morgan > <http://www.asilomarcenter.com/discover/historyarchitecture/morganbio.htm> > and embracing the Arts & Crafts architectural style, Asilomar harmonizes > with its natural surroundings. Rich with history, scenic beauty and > serenity, Asilomar is the ideal location for the SCGIS Annual Conference. > The Asilomar Conference Grounds is part of the California State Park > <http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=566> system, and offers 107 > extraordinary acres of forests, dunes, and coastline situated right on the > Monterey Bay National Marine Life Sanctuary > <http://www.asilomarcenter.com/discover/nature/sea/sanctuary.html>. For > more information about the conference facility and the local environment, > go to www.asilomarcenter.com <http://www.asilomarcenter.com> > NOTE: Reservations will need to be made earlier, rather then later this > year. So please stay tuned to the website for details. A posting will be > sent to this list as soon as the venue is prepared for us to begin the > registration process. Many thanks! > Theme for 2003 > > The theme of this year's conference is 'Building Community'. Presenters > will be encouraged to address the community building efforts of their > conservation activities, emphasizing the efforts made by government > agencies, academics, nonprofits, activists, & commercial groups to work > together and communicate. Those wishing to participate in this year's > conference should address this theme and discuss the benefits and > challenges of forging partnerships with local & international communities. > Community building does not need to be the focus of your talk or poster, > however we encourage you to communicate the pro's and con's of your > networking & collaboration with the various interest groups relevant to > your work. Tell us how you 'broke down the barriers' and how that effort > benefited your project. > Conference Format > The conference format will include the following: concurrent sessions for > formal presentations; posters sessions; discussion panels for topics such > as environmental ethics, integration of GIS, and conservation science; > user group meetings; hands-on training sessions; technical workshops; a > field trip; and organized socials. > Scholarships > Limited international and domestic scholarships are available to > Conservation GIS users who require financial assistance to enable them to > attend the conference. For more details and a scholarship application, > visit www.scgis.org/scholarship.html > <http://www.scgis.org/scholarship.html>. Additional information about this > year's conference will be posted to www.scgis.org/conference.html > <http://www.scgis.org/conference.html> as it becomes available. A call for > papers will be posted within the next few weeks. For general information > about SCGIS please visit www.scgis.org <http://www.scgis.org>. > Field Trips > A filed trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium is being planned on Friday July > 3rd. The aquarium features a 3-story living kelp forest tank, Sharks and > Otters, Sea Stars, Bat Rays, Jellyfish and much more. An Outer Bay gallery > is a million-gallon indoor ocean where turtles, tuna, and oceanic whitetip > shark are exhibited. For more information please visit the Monterey Bay > Aquarium <http://www.mbayaq.org/> website. > In addition, plans are underway with a local dive shop to provide us with > a SCUBA diving trip to one of the many spectacular dive sites in the > Monetary Bay area. Please stay tuned to the Conference website > <http://www.scgis.org/conference.html> for confirmation of this trip and > for additional information. > Please post this announcement to all interested lists and individuals! > *The weekend preceding ESRI's annual International Users Conference. > >