Society for Freshwater Science - President's Environment

SFS Response Letter on Changes to Waters of the U.S. Definition

webeditor — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:06:18 +0000

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Society for Freshwater Science
Attn: Natalie Myers, Media Officer
communications@freshwater-science.org | 360-990-3631
freshwater-science.org

Changes to the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Definition

The consequences and response from SFS President Sally Entrekin

December 30, 2025 — The Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) today released a letter outlining proposed changes to the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) definition and our response.

Dear SFS Members,

As many of you are aware, the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) are continuing to be more strictly defined, thereby limiting federal protection. The comment period opened on November 17, 2025, and closes January 5, 2026. You can find relevant information on this U.S. EPA webpage.

Susan Colvin (Science and Policy Committee member), working with Nayeli Sanchez, Robert Keast, and Patrick Shirey, has provided the following synthesis information. They are submitting formal comments and have shared the main points with me to share with our SFS membership. I provided some additional information from the federal register and websites, cited below, for your information. American Fisheries Society (AFS) and others at the Consortium of Aquatic Scientists, including SFS, will be signing on to a joint comment letter. If you find any errors, have concerns, or questions, please direct them to Sally Entrekin (president@freshwater-science.org).

The rule with the updated definition can be found here as a downloadable pdf. You can submit a comment on the definition here.

Changes to the definition, as summarized in the Federal Register (cut and pasted from the above reference):

B. Summary of the Major Provisions of the Regulatory Action. The agencies are proposing to revise the following categories of ‘‘waters of the United States’’ under 33 CFR 328.3 and 40 CFR 120.2 paragraph (a) by deleting the interstate waters category under paragraph (a)(1)(iii) and deleting ‘‘intrastate’’ from the paragraph (a)(5) category for lakes and ponds. In addition, ministerial changes are proposed to add in one place and delete in another place an ‘‘or’’ from paragraph (a)(1) to conform to the deletion of the interstate waters category. In addition, the agencies are proposing to revise the following exclusions: the (b)(1) waste treatment system exclusion, the (b)(2) prior converted cropland exclusion, and the (b)(3) ditch exclusion. The agencies are also proposing to add an exclusion for groundwater at (b)(9). The agencies are also proposing to add definitions of ‘‘continuous surface connection,’’ ‘‘ditch,’’ ‘‘prior converted cropland,’’ ‘‘relatively permanent,’’ ‘‘tributary,’’ and “waste treatment system’’ in paragraph (c) of their regulations.

C. Costs and Benefits. Potential costs and benefits would be incurred as a result of actions taken under existing Clean Water Act programs (i.e., sections 303, 311, 401, 402, and 404) that implement and follow this proposed rulemaking. Entities currently are, and would continue to be, regulated under these programs that rely on the definition of ‘‘waters of the United States’’ under the Clean Water Act. The agencies prepared the Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Proposed Rule Updated Definition of Waters of the United States (‘‘Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Proposed Rule’’), available in the rulemaking docket, for informational purposes to analyze the potential cost savings and forgone benefits associated with this proposed action. The agencies analyzed the potential cost savings and forgone benefits against the baseline of the Amended 2023 Rule. The analysis is summarized in section VI of this preamble.

How will the new definition change WOTUS?

“EPA’s review will be guided by the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which stated that the Clean Water Act’s use of ‘waters’ encompasses only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming streams, oceans, rivers and lakes. The Sackett decision also clarified that wetlands would only be covered when having a continuous surface connection to waterbodies that are ‘waters of the United States” in their own right.” - EPA, March 12, 2025

The proposed 2025 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition narrows the scope of protection under the Clean Water Act (CWA) compared to prior rules, substantially weakening federal protection of U.S. waters. With the passage of the CWA in 1972, Congress aimed “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters.” To achieve this, the CWA curbed pollutant discharges and restricted the dredging and filling of waters, including wetlands, to protect water quality for fish, wildlife, recreation, and human consumption. Congress intended to make the waters fishable and swimmable. The proposed rule will not meet the intentions of the CWA and it is neither clear nor durable for determining jurisdiction.

What are the primary changes to the protection of:

Streams and rivers

Perennial: Should not change current protections.
Non-perennial. If the final rule protects only perennial waters, federal jurisdiction could lose up to 8 million miles of streams (NRDC 2025). This legal definition conflicts with water connectivity science (EPA 2015). Headwaters process and retain significant nutrients (e.g., nitrogen), protecting the chemical integrity of downstream navigable waters (Alexander et al. 2007). Headwater streams (first through third order) comprise roughly 53% of US streams and 79% of total stream length (Colvin et al. 2019, Nadeau and Rains 2007). Crucially, 60% of US streams flow only seasonally or after precipitation, and these provide over half the volume of downstream waters (US EPA 2019; Brinkerhoff et al. 2024). The proposed rule, therefore, leaves half the nation’s flow without federal protection.

Wetlands

Under the new rule, wetlands must have water throughout a yet-to-be-defined “wet season” and maintain a continuous surface connection with navigable water. Wetlands that dry during the wet season, or those separated by structures like levees, berms, or roads, will not be protected. Wetlands in a mosaic will be subject to individual agency delineation, again reducing important off-channel water storage and ecosystem services such as processing pollutants. The most restrictive interpretation of the change projects up to 84% of wetlands that previously required a federal permit to dredge or fill would no longer be covered under the CWA (NRDC 2025). Their loss will lead to increased risk of flooding and degraded water quality (Acreman and Holden 2013; Creed et al. 2017).

Overall Consequences

This rulemaking ultimately leaves critical systems supporting drinking water, floodwater storage, and biodiversity unprotected, systems vital for our nation’s security and economic prosperity. Public polls show that 72% of the U.S. public supports restoring federal protections of wetlands and streams to pre-rollback levels, and 96% of voters believe protecting the water in lakes, streams, and rivers is important (Walton Family Foundation 2024). Yet, the proposed WOTUS rule further weakens these protections. For the 24 states relying solely on the CWA, this creates a total regulatory vacuum, leaving those waters with little to no state or federal oversight (Sullivan et al 2025).

Press Releases on Websites

https://narf.org/headwaters-wotus-2025/

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/administrator-zeldin-announces-epa-will-revise-waters-united-states-rule on March 12, 2025

https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-11/updated_definition_wotus_nprm.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/wotus

Peer-Reviewed References

Acreman, M. & Holden, J. (2013). How wetlands affect floods. Wetlands 33, 773–786.

Alexander, R. B., Boyer, E. W., Smith, R. A., Schwarz, G. E., & Moore, R.B. (2007). The role of headwater streams in downstream water quality. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 43, 41-59.

Brinkerhoff, C. B., Gleason, C. J., Kotchen, M. J., Kysar, D. A., & Raymond, P. A. (2024). Ephemeral stream water contributions to United States drainage networks. Science, 384, 1476–1482. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg9430

Creed, I. F. et al. (2017). Enhancing protection for vulnerable waters. Nat. Geosci. 10, 809–815.

Colvin, S. A. R., Sullivan, S. M. P., Shirey, P. D., Colvin, R. W., Winemiller, K. O., Hughes, R. M., Fausch, K. D., Infante, D. M., Olden, J. D., Bestgen, K. R., Danehy, R. J., & Eby, L. (2019). Headwater streams and wetlands are critical for sustaining fish, fisheries, and ecosystem services. Fisheries, 44: 73-91. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10229

Nadeau, T. L., & Rains, M. C. (2007). Hydrological connectivity between headwater streams and downstream waters: how science can inform policy. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 43 118–133.

Natural Resources Defense Council (2025). Mapping Destruction: Using GIS modeling to show the disastrous impacts of Sackett v. EPA on America’s Wetlands. https://www.nrdc.org/resources/mapping-destruction

Sulliván, S. M. P., Hughes, R. M., Vadas, R. L., Davies, G. T., Shirey, P. D., Colvin, S. A. R., Infante, D. M., Danehy, R. J., Sanchez, N. K., & Keast, R. B. (2025). Waterbody connectivity: linking science and policy for improved waterbody protection. BioScience, 75, 68–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae117

U.S. EPA. (2015). Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands To Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/475F.

President's Environment: Celebrating Service

webeditor — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:39:23 +0000

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Sherri Johnson

President's Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Society for Freshwater Science has so many wonderful members! Thank you to all who volunteer in numerous capacities, from chairing and serving on SFS committees, mentoring students and early career scientists, writing grants to further inclusion in SFS, organizing regional chapter meetings, and serving in elected offices. These efforts are keeping SFS a vibrant and welcoming place and making a difference in opportunities for long-term members as well as newer student members. We would like to thank outgoing committee members for their contributions and thank incoming and continuing committee members and SFS and chapter officers for all their efforts and energy.

As part of our fall calendar, this is the time to recognize individuals who are leading efforts and implementing new ideas. The current issue of our newsletter provides links for you to nominate a colleague, mentor, or mentee for one of the career awards. These awards are directed towards a range of career stages and types of contributions, and we hope you will take the time to celebrate those who make our society and science better through submitting one or more nominations.

Many of our Society members are committed to expanding our community of SFS members with identities historically underrepresented in freshwater science. The Instars Program has been introducing new students to opportunities in aquatic science through our meetings since 2011. Through substantial commitment from SFS members and a small amount of financial support from SFS, the Instars Program has graduated more than 130 students. Our newsletter announces application opportunities for this year’s cohort, who will have the opportunity to participate in the annual SFS meeting in Philadelphia in June 2024. Through the leadership of Checo Colon-Gaud, SFS and other aquatic societies are reaching out broadly through an exhibitor booth at the annual SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) Conference, which is happening this week.

We are lucky to have SFS members writing grants and devoting time and resources to create opportunities for even broader support of diverse early career scientists. The Emerge Program, funded by an NSF grant, involves selected students in activities and exploration over the course of a year. Applications are opening soon for the 4th cohort. The SFS Headwaters Leadership Academy is another wonderful opportunity that convenes early career scientists for discourse about skills for successful professionals, and matches them with mentors for additional discussions. Several additional SFS-relevant grants have been funded recently by NSF through the BIO-LEAPS program; these are designed to explore and implement ways for our aquatic societies to become more inclusive in their structure and in meetings.

Many of us find ourselves prioritizing SFS meetings because we know they are supportive and engaging conferences for students and early career scientists. SFS Council for Underrepresented Voices (CUV) is helping increase awareness by providing a forum for members to convene and provide input and perspectives on SFS operations and initiatives. Nominations are now open for new members of this Council; this newsletter issue provides more information. In addition to Instars and Emerge participating in our meetings, SFS member support provides undergraduate travel awards and graduate endowment/other awards each year, further supporting the accessibility of our conferences and the unique support we offer our student members.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact us and we can connect you with the SFS folks who are leading these programs.

With warm regards,

Sherri Johnson, SFS President 2023–24

President's Environment: Honoring Juneteenth

webeditor — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 18:41:20 +0000

Monday, June 20, 2022

Steve Thomas

President's Environment

Dear SFS,

I write to you on Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Juneteenth, a newly recognized U.S. National Holiday, celebrates the lives, achievements, and courage of Black people. Juneteenth also provides an opportunity to reflect on how the lack of racial and ethnic diversity has impacted the development of our science and how inclusion can expand and improve our understanding of freshwater ecosystems. Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion is both a moral imperative and a fundamental requirement for building a global community of freshwater professionals capable of addressing current and future freshwater challenges.

The SFS Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Task Force is now its third year and has made significant headway toward our strategic goals of improving all dimensions of diversity in our society. Several sessions and workshops at JASM addressed a wide range of topics related to broadening participation in aquatic science. I applaud all our members that engaged in these activities, and I ask everyone to help our society make meaningful progress toward improving JEDI in SFS.

While activities at JASM demonstrated our societies’ commitment to improving JEDI, it also illustrated the distance we still must travel to become the society described in our Strategic Plan. As we reflect on Juneteenth and celebrate Pride Month, please know that the leadership of SFS is committed to improving JEDI in our Society and will be working to embed JEDI into all that we do, including our administrative structure, annual meetings, and publications. We encourage all our members to find opportunities to improve JEDI in freshwater science, whether that be through formal participation in society activities (e.g., committees - hint, hint), programs offered by your employer, or in your own research group(s).

As SFS President, advancing JEDI goals will be the central theme of my tenure at SFS. SFS has always prided itself on being a warm, welcoming, and inclusive society. Now, we must rise to the challenge of living out our core values by continuing to broaden participation and support a diverse membership in SFS. My experience in Grand Rapids suggests to me that those values remain strongly embedded in our members and will only grow as we improve access, find equitable and accessible ways for all to participate, and support a diversified membership.

Globally, freshwater resources are facing major challenges from climate change and a broad array of human activities. Our challenge as freshwater scientists and practitioners is to protect these resources for people and the environment. A major step towards protecting fresh water is advocating for its equitable use among all people, and by listening to and learning from others.

Happy Juneteenth and hope to see you in Brisbane a year from now!

Steve Thomas – SFS President

President's Environment: A Busy 2021 for SFS

webeditor — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 01:03:49 +0000

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Alonso Ramirez

President's Environment

Happy New Year to all! Big thank you to all of you that renewed your memberships before the end of the year. If you haven’t renewed it yet, just visit our member page, it should not take long to do it. 2021 is going to be a busy year for our Society and we appreciate your support in helping us start with the right foot forward.

SFS webinar series - This is our new activity for 2021. We will organize various webinars leading to our 2021 Annual Virtual Meeting. Our past president, Amy Rosemond, will be opening the series by hosting a conversation on hydroclimatic risk management with colleagues from the University of Georgia. The webinar “Hydroclimatic risk requires a turn to humility-based management” promises to be an exciting interdisciplinary conversation. Mark your calendars for February 11 at 3pm ET.

2021 Annual Meeting - Another big thank you to those of you that provided feedback for our virtual meeting by completing the survey or by submitting awesome logo designs. The 2021 meeting committee is designing a very interactive meeting. Our traditional talks and posters will have time slots for live discussions. We are going to have coffee sessions that you can join to chat with others at the meeting. Live events are scheduled to maximize participation from different continents and will be recorded and available to see at your leisure. We will start sharing more specific details about the Annual Meeting in the coming weeks, but keep in mind that abstracts are due on February 15th.

Reading survey comments, some of you suggested that SFS should not make a profit out from the Annual Meeting. We believe this to be an important point that needs clarification. Besides being a not-for-profit corporation, SFS has a long standing philosophy of not using meetings to generate revenue. Meetings are carefully budgeted and planned to achieve this goal. The main concern is to make sure we break even. The reason registration varies over the years is typically due to the venue selected and some are just more expensive than others. Our virtual meeting will have a low cost, but it will not be free to put together. We are confident that our virtual provider for the 2021 meeting has the right tools to give us the best virtual experience possible. Please know that we are committed to bring you this experience at the lowest cost possible.

Looking forward to a busy and great 2021.

Alonso & Checo

President's Environment: A Watershed Moment for Social Change in SFS: Action Required

webeditor — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 01:02:21 +0000

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Amy Rosemond

President's Environment

SFS wants to be a leader of change in science. As president, and in the other identities I have (mother, white, woman, mentor, and friend), I recognize that among the most important things I can do is center others’ voices who have been minoritized, learn from them, and advocate for them. It has been my job to lead our Society and here, at the end of my term, it is clear that we are not doing enough in the sciences, the aquatic sciences, or within SFS, to effect changes in our practices and institutions to make them just, equitable and inclusive.

Our SFS community is saddened and repulsed by the murders of Black Americans, including most recently, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, as well as many others. We condemn the ongoing violence and oppression against Black Americans and we stand with our Black colleagues in support of movements to fight the oppression of Black people like Black Lives Matter and Black Visions Collective. We need to make space for the tragedy and trauma felt so painfully and personally by Black people and other underrepresented groups. We regret that our Black members have faced discrimination in their communities, work places, and in this scientific Society. As a scientific community, we need to commit to changes that will make our society more inclusive and equitable for all. Members in privileged positions are especially responsible for the heavy lifting with respect to these changes. Only specific plans and actions will result in meaningful change.

Action that brought about the U.S. Clean Water Act was ‘ignited’ by the continued burning of the Cuyahoga River. The Arab Spring started with a street vendor’s self-immolation. Even these advances are currently being pushed back through greed, oppression, and exploitation. People are on fire now because racially-motivated brutal murders and continued oppression and racism are intolerable. We must respond. I understand that our Society needs to change in intentional and dramatic ways to address deep social and environmental failings and failures.

SFS has received and will continue to solicit recommendations on specific actions that our Society should take in the weeks and months going forward. An anonymous submission form on our website will soon be available for further recommendations and suggestions for these important initiatives. Some of the ideas already received, which require member involvement, development, and action, are below:

Make Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) training opportunities available, encouraged and incentivized for all SFS members. Create a JEDI Task Force with broad representation charged with breaking down barriers. Build resources accessible to all members.

Develop relationships with interested Historically Black Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges/Universities for consideration of student engagement in freshwater science.

Make the SFS website available in Spanish and consider the many other language, cultural, and visual barriers that currently exist to development and sharing of freshwater science.

Share the work and create incentives for it. JEDI work cannot and should not just be done by underrepresented people. Recognize that all members are responsible for enacting change both within SFS and within our institutions, workplaces, and communities.

Generate a special FWS issue dedicated to work from authors from underrepresented groups: "Diversifying Science = Diversifying Authors".

Recognize and elect mentors from established scientists who work to help train students and early career members, and champion JEDI issues within SFS. Make this an honor, not just an assignment.

Consider the Society business funding philosophy to support women/minority owned enterprises. Set aside explicit funds for JEDI initiatives.

Continue and elevate consideration of how our meetings will impact and support local economies and how local meeting venue policies align with SFS values.

We need to be deliberate, focused, and goal-driven if we are to bring about the rapid evolution of deep social change needed in SFS and freshwater science. Mobilizing our efforts should not require traumatic events such as murders and fires. But these events make it so we can not continue to look the other way and signal a clarion call to action: they are watershed moments. Please be a part of these changes and send me any additional ideas you have for how SFS can create a more just and equitable network of scholars. I look forward to our work together.

– Amy Rosemond

President's Environment: In This Time of Transition

webeditor — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 00:54:19 +0000

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Alonso Ramirez

President's Environment

We have been learning a lot this year. We now know that we can share our science in the absence of in-person meetings, we can even teach from home. It is not ideal; we are facing multiple challenges and limitations by doing so. We are keenly aware of how much we miss interacting with our colleagues in person. However, looking at the bright side, virtual activities remove many barriers and we are now able to reach more people than ever before. Taking advantage of the virtual world, SFS has been busy preparing new and exciting activities for the coming months.

Our 2021 annual meeting committee is designing a unique virtual event. Under the theme of Freshwater Science in a Time of Transformation, the committee is including many of the great components we are used to finding in our regular annual meetings. We recognize that it will not be the same type of meeting without everybody traveling to the same location and without the many connections made in the hallways and outside the actual meeting rooms, but the virtual world has many tools to enrich our interactions and provide a mechanism where meaningful connections can still be achieved. Furthermore, our regional chapters and other groups within SFS are sketching plans to create opportunities to interact in person at smaller gatherings, where appropriate. We are also designing an exciting webinar series that will allow us to share information outside the annual meeting format and to familiarize us with the virtual tools we plan to use during the annual meeting.

We want SFS to be a truly global, diverse, and inclusive society. Our 2021 virtual annual meeting will give us a new opportunity to accomplish this. A virtual meeting will allow all participants to share their science without having to face the many complexities and unknowns of attending an in-person meeting during the current global pandemic. Our JEDI taskforce is engaged with the membership and several committees to develop initiatives centering on best practices that promote diversity and inclusivity. The Emerge team is getting ready to start their new program, a program that is sure to have a positive impact on our Society. Please help us become global, diverse, and inclusive. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Society with members from all continents and a diversity of backgrounds, all sharing their great science? We can all help to make it happen!

We would like to encourage everybody to become involved and invite others to join our Society. SFS is a great family, a place where all those interested in freshwater science share ideas and findings. We need everybody’s help to make sure we remain the premier organization for Freshwater Science. Let us work together to continue to make SFS the best Society it can be!

- Alonso Ramírez & Checo Colón-Gaud

President's Environment: Coping with COVID-19

webeditor — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:25:01 +0000

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Amy Rosemond

President's Environment

Hello colleagues – I am really sorry for the situation we currently find ourselves in – with great disruptions in our personal and professional lives and possibly, hopefully very few, personal tragedies. My thoughts are with you all. I can’t imagine how tough it is for those with projects and classes needed to be completed as part of a degree program, as well as those with projects and activities that are/were under deadlines that now can’t be completed. There are disturbances large and small that nearly all of our membership is experiencing in the important and necessary freshwater work that we do.

I just wanted to reach out at this time to encourage exchange of information and community. We can help each other by providing resources, advice, or a listening ear. SFS has made space available on our members-only section of the our website to share requests for teaching materials, making requests for research advice or assistance, and sharing tips on coping with closures, delays, and disruption of our daily routines and future plans.

This simple ‘guide’ by the Regina Baucom lab at the University of Michigan (using recommendations by Dana Turjeman) was passed on to me by a colleague – I thought you might find it useful and could share it with others in your circles.

If there is anything I can do to help you or you have suggestions for things you would like the Society to pursue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at president@freshwater-science.org. SFS is currently working with ASLO to determine how or whether to proceed with our meeting in Madison and we will be sending notification of any changes as soon as possible.

Best wishes during this challenging time – Amy Rosemond

President's Environment: SFS Committed to Inclusion

MakingWaves — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 02:07:26 +0000

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Amy Rosemond

President's Environment

Hi everyone! I hope the Salt Lake City (SLC) meeting was enjoyed by all who attended! We owe much to the meeting organizers and our conference services – they did a wonderful job! Of utmost importance to SFS members is the degree to which meeting attendees – new and old, alike – felt valued and respected by others and that the meeting venue and vibe was welcoming to all. The sense of community embodied by SFS is part of our DNA – but for breakthrough progress on inclusivity, we need sustained energy and focus in this area.

Much needs to be done to make science and freshwater science ‘home’ to previously underrepresented groups. Discrimination and harassment based on race, gender identity, and sexual orientation are unfortunately still widespread in society at large. As scientific society members, we need to commit to respectful and empowering behavior towards all, value the unique contributions of each individual, and particularly listen to the experiences and voices of those who are underrepresented.

We need to identify specific actions and programs that can elevate and accelerate our progress, as we commit to a culture of inclusion. For example, members recently provided specific ideas for making meetings more family-friendly, which will be enacted at future meetings. Also, there are a number of ideas in this report on promoting inclusivity at scientific meetings, which is being used in planning the 2020 meeting.

SFS was asked to participate in the Iberian Association of Limnology (IAL) Gender and Science Group’s survey of women’s participation and visibility at scientific meetings: if you attended the SLC meeting, you will receive an email requesting input. Although gender is just one aspect of SFS’s diversity, the SFS Board looks forward to what we can learn from the survey; IAL will send us the SFS-specific results. We look forward to hearing any of your thoughts on how to become a more inclusive scientific society. We not only want to identify ‘best practices’ on inclusion but become a model of a supportive and inclusive scientific society. Please help SFS lead in inclusivity by sending your ideas to me or anyone on the SFS Board of Directors for consideration!

Amy Rosemond

President's Environment: Thoughts on transformation

RyanHill — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 07:06:25 +0000

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Colden Baxter

President's Environment

The New Year always brings thoughts of transformation— aspirations for change that are often mixed with poignant appreciation for the way things were. I’d like to comment on just a few of these for SFS. This year SFS marked a major change by hiring for the first time an executive director, Andy Leidolf (see In the Drift interview). We also developed plans for our first non-North America meeting, a cooperative congress to be held this summer in Quito, Ecuador (more on this below). In November, we received news that Pam Silver, our long-time, dedicated editor-in-chief for Freshwater Science, was resigning in order to meet new leadership commitments to her university. As Pam put it, she had been giving the journal "all of her heart and most of her time,” steering it through major transitions so that it has emerged stronger than ever. It is fitting that Pam is this year's recipient of the Society's Distinguished Service Award, while we are moving forward with plans to search for a new editor. On a more symbolic front, in fall 2017 we adopted a new logo for SFS, retiring the red stonefly icon that has served as our emblem since the inception of the Society.

Apparently, a “new Order has arisen,” as a mayfly icon is part of the new logo—yet many of us have a soft spot for stoneflies, and I predict “vintage” status for paraphernalia bearing the old logo! Finally, on a sad note, November marked the passing of Andy Sheldon, a cherished member of our community, and a scientist deep in the ways of stoneflies (see In the Drift obituary by Deb Finn). I took my first stream ecology class from Andy at the University of Montana, and always enjoyed catching up with him at the annual meetings. I thought of him when I recently took the underwater photo above (while snorkeling in the Salmon River basin, Idaho) of a “ghost” Calineuria, translucent because of its having just molted from one instar stage to another. Now, at the turning of the year, I find this an appropriate image on which to ponder transformation more broadly. Though we grow into something new, the marks and form of who we were—defined by the work that has been done and the people who lived that work—are not only retained, they shape who we can become.

With the unfinished work in mind, I’ll now turn to relating a few selected stories (as I did for the fall President’s Environment) that highlight efforts that are emblematic of the theme for our approaching annual meeting, “Navigating Boundaries in Freshwater Science.”

Crossing Cultural Boundaries – Making SFS More International

Tis’ the season for presidents to answer regarding their campaign promises! One thing I promised was that this year we would be crossing boundaries to make SFS more of an international community. When we changed our name this was one of our intentions—to reflect the extent to which our community had expanded beyond North America, and to further this growth. One long-term aim has been to hold a non-North American SFS meeting. I am excited to report that this long-term goal is being realized in the short-term! This coming July, SFS is a major collaborator in the Congreso AQUATROP to be held in Quito, Ecuador, whose theme is “Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems in the Anthropocene” (see http://riostropicales2018.org/ ).

The meeting is being organized and hosted by the Macrolatinos group and the Latin America Chapter of SFS, the Asociación Ecuatoriana de Limnología, and the Sociedad(e) de Odonatología Latinoamericana. SFS is providing major funding support for AQUATROP, especially to fund travel to attend the meeting for scientists and students from less affluent universities or nations. Organizing committee members include Andrea Encalada, Blanca Ríos-Touma, and Maja Celinscak from Ecuador, as well as Alonso Ramírez from Puerto Rico and Monika Springer from Costa Rica. Andrea, Blanca and Alonso are longtime contributors to SFS—indeed they serve on our International Coordination Committee. We encourage SFS members from around the world to consider attending this meeting (note that abstracts are due February 28th), and to get involved if you have ideas about how to make SFS more international!

Bridging Science and the Humanities

There is so much to anticipate about our upcoming meeting in Detroit, but I am especially excited about one of the special sessions, entitled “At the Confluence of Freshwater Science and the Humanities,” which will highlight collaborations between colleagues in aquatic sciences and the humanities as they explore science in creative ways and engage diverse audiences through writing, visual arts, videography, theater, and music.

The session is being organized by Judy Li, one of my own mentors and a recipient of the SFS Distinguished Service Award, in collaboration with Ann Rosenthal, an ecoartist who does riparian art projects with inner-city kids (https://atrart.net/about/). As some of you know, Judy is a natural to lead such a session, as she is not only an accomplished freshwater ecologist, but author of a series of books for children, including “Ellie's Log: Exploring the Forest Where the Great Tree Fell” and “Ricky’s Atlas, Mapping a Land on Fire,” and coeditor with Michael Barbour of “Wading for Bugs: Exploring Streams with the Experts.” Just as a sampler, the session promises to include presentation from a collaboration involving SFS’s Al Steinman and dance artist Hannah Seidel (pictured above) of Grand Valley State University, Michigan) and concert pianist Sookkyung Cho (http://www.sookkyungcho.com/), as well as imagery and videography from Freshwaters Illustrated (http://www.freshwatersillustrated.org/) presented by director Jeremy Monroe. Incidentally, Jeremy will be this year’s recipient the SFS Environmental Stewardship Award, for his extraordinary role in promoting appreciation for and understanding of freshwater organisms and ecosystems through photo, video, and film. Creative efforts like those being communicated through this special session are a key to navigating the boundaries between freshwater science and society—we look forward to the insight and inspiration afforded by this opportunity!

Connecting Scientific Societies to Maintain Linkages between Science and Policy

In the U.S., 2017 posed challenges to maintaining connections between freshwater science and policy that were unprecedented in my lifetime. The Trump administration has been openly hostile toward science of the environment; overt in its efforts to roll back federal policies protecting freshwater and undermine the abilities of federal agencies responsible for conducting freshwater science and implementing science-based policy. SFS leaders have met these challenges with action (see, for example, my highlight of Mike Paul in the Fall 2017 President’s Environment), but the situation has also demanded that the broader freshwater scientific community speak with a louder, more united voice. This is one function of the Consortium of Aquatic Scientific Societies (CASS, see https://aquaticsocieties.org/ ), in which SFS participates. Through this consortium, we participate in science-based discussions on public policy issues that affect freshwater resources, and when we issue statements through CASS we do so as part of a collective membership from a dozen scientific societies that totals more than 20,000 individuals. Throughout this past year, SFS has been a signatory to numerous letters from CASS to the U.S. Congress, President Trump, and his appointed leaders of the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers. In 2017 we issued a series of science-based statements (and I spoke on behalf of SFS and CASS at a “listening session” with these agencies’ leaders) in opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposal to effectively suspend the 2015 Clean Water Rule and roll back without scientific review its definition of “Waters of the United States,” a proposal that would remove protections for freshwaters that had been instituted based upon overwhelming support by peer-reviewed science. Through CASS we also condemned the actions of the EPA leadership when it prohibited EPA scientists from presenting their research at “The State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed” workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, in October. This is an administration blatantly censoring science—for instance, they recently ordered that the phrase “science-based” could not be used by officials of several federal agencies in documents for the 2018 budget. In the coming year, it is clear we will need to continue to link arms across scientific societies to defend “science-based” (there, I’ve used the phrase five times in one paragraph!) policy for freshwater resources.

President's Environment: Navigating Boundaries in Freshwater Science

RyanHill — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 08:56:56 +0000

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Colden Baxter

President's Environment

One consequence of serving as SFS president is that I have become more attuned to the rich array of contributions made by individuals in our community. Rather than attempting to impart wisdom or inspiration directly (fat chance, Baxter!), I'll encourage you to find these in my accounts of others–I've always been a story-teller anyway, though an admittedly long-winded one! Accordingly, in the months leading up to our annual, "extended family reunion" in Detroit, I'll use this and other avenues to tell some selected stories, specifically highlighting an array of contributions I think are emblematic of the theme chosen for our meeting, "Navigating Boundaries in Freshwater Science."

BRIDGING HABITAT AND DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES

Kelley Fritz–lead author of FWS article, with a spidey subject.

So, you stick a piece of fishing line in the abdomen of a wolf spider (who comes up with this stuff? and where exactly did you stick it?!), you wait 24 hrs, and then voilà! –you have data for an article in the forthcoming issue of Freshwater Science! Well, ok, maybe it wasn't quite that "easy." The article, entitled "Subsidies of essential nutrients from aquatic environments correlate with immune function in terrestrial consumers," was contributed by Dr. Kelley Fritz and coauthors. Kelley, who conducted her Ph.D. research at Southern Illinois University (advised by past SFS president Matt Whiles), focused on resource subsidies across the aquatic-terrestrial boundaries of temporary ponds. For those who know my own interests, you may consider this a biased selection (ok, it is!). The authors discovered a fascinating pattern that required thinking across habitats and integrating disciplines. They compared fatty-acid profiles and immune function of wolf spiders in wetland and upland habitats.In wetlands, these spiders prey on emerging adult aquatic insects as well as amphibian metamorphs, from which they derive long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) that are produced by some aquatic algae but not by vascular terrestrial plants, and that are essential to numerous aspects of animal health–including immunity. Fritz et al. assessed immune function by (yes, brace yourself!) inserting monofilament fibers into spiders' abdomens and measuring the degree of filament encapsulation–an established immunological method not typically found in the toolboxes of freshwater scientists! They observed that wetland spiders had higher tissue levels of aquatic-derived LC-PUFAs and elevated immune function compared to upland spiders. Such findings point freshwater scientists in new directions, armed with new questions and tools.

LINKING SCIENCE AND POLICY

Mike Paul in his frog pose-navigator of the science-policy interface (aka, "the swamp").

For those who are long-time NABS-ters turned SFS-ers the name Mike Paul likely triggers an array of colorful, perhaps humorous associations with this character–and it also reminds us of an exceptional standard of service within our community. For instance, many of us witnessed and benefitted from the yeoman's job he, Jim Heffernan, and others did to help pull off our fantastic meeting in Raleigh last year. Here, I'd like to draw attention to his key role in navigating the connections (or the lack thereof!) between freshwater science and public policy. As chair of the SFS Science & Policy Committee, Mike puts to work his talent as a writer, mastery of freshwater science, and prodigious experience in the policy realm. It seems like every few weeks we read the news, exchange emails appended with the comment - "sigh," followed by another round of letter writing. Over the past months, Mike led SFS's letters in opposition to the Trump administration's proposed rule to rescind the 2015 definition of "Waters of the United States," which had been the result of years of work aimed at making sure the implementation of the Clean Water Act reflects the current, best available freshwater science; rescinding this rule would flout the scientific understanding generated by our community over the past 4 decades (follow this link to read SFS's letter to the US EPA). Mike's letter writing contributed to similar communications on the issue from the Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS), an umbrella organization that includes SFS and represents >20,000 scientists, and will serve me and others as talking points when we present on this issue to the US EPA and Corps of Engineers next month. By the time this year is over, Mike is going to need a stiff drink, and I'm just the guy to buy it for him! If you feel similarly, I encourage you to keep his glass more than half full next time you see him, and perhaps consider joining him in the vital role played by our Science and Policy Committee!

CROSSING CULTURAL BOUNDARIES

Participants in 2007 workshop on aquatic insects in India; SFS will help support a larger event this month.

When traveling in other countries I've found it fascinating to observe what other people wear when they show up for a trip to the field… No doubt those from other cultures find my cowboy hat and Hawaiian shirt an interesting choice! Well, based on some of the past images, I'd love to be there for the upcoming workshop on identification of aquatic insects and their use in biological monitoring to be held in Trivandrum, Kerala, India, in which some 30 students from 6 South Asian countries (including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Afghanistan) will participate. The event, supported in part by SFS, is being organized by Dr. Achuthan Nair, who leads the Indian chapter of the Asian Benthological Society. The lead instructor is John Morse, Professor Emeritus of Entomology at Clemson University, a member of the SFS International Coordination Committee, and recipient of the 2015 SFS Distinguished Service Award. John has led similar workshops, training freshwater scientists in India and 7 other Asian countries (China, Mongolia, Far East Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Iraq), which has led to the development of coordinated biological monitoring programs in those countries and establishment of 4 professional societies in freshwater biology (Aquatic Insect Branch of the Chinese Entomological Society, Mongolian Benthological Society, Aquatic Entomological Society of Thailand, and Asian Benthological Society). There is potential for similar benefits to arise from the upcoming workshop in India. Presently there is little knowledge or skill in biological monitoring of freshwaters in India or neighbouring countries, and no coordinated biological monitoring programs. This is in spite of the fact that the ecoregions in these countries contain some of the highest species richness of aquatic fauna and face some of the greatest threats to freshwater biodiversity in the world (http://atlas.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu/index.php/maps?map=3.1.1-river-th...). We hope that this workshop catalyzes freshwater science in the region, and that new members of the SFS community from these regions and cultures will join our ranks!