2005 SRA-ERASG annual meeting notes

Topics discussed:

1) Succession of SG Chairs
The list of past chairs of the ERASG is: Barnthouse, Haselow, Alsop, Hope, Linkov, Ryti.
The current chair is Todd Bridges and Wayne Landis has agreed to be chair-elect

2) Update on annual meeting
a) The Ecological Risk Assessment Specialty Group (ERASG) had a diverse set of papers at the 2005 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida; topics included invasive species, Florida ecosystems, and climate change. 
b) Our ERASG student research merit paper was awarded to Ms. Amanda Pfingst of Western Washington University in Bellingham WA. Amanda's paper with co-authors Chen and Landis was titled "Relative Risk Assessment of the Androscoggin River Watershed in Maine and New Hampshire."

3) The remainder of the meeting was discussion of the possible ideas for 2006 annual meeting in Baltimore MD
Some of the topics considered for the next annual meeting included:
a) weight of evidence and its applications in ecological risk assessment, 
b) landscape scale ecological risk, 
c) regional risk assessment, 
d) methods for evaluating uncertainty, and
e) global climate change.
Many of these topics are interdisciplinary and should include experts in risk communication, decision analysis, among others.
Some ERASG members agreed to help organize sessions for the 2006 annual meeting, these people included: Charlie Menzie, Mark Stelljes, and Darren Rumbold.

4) ERASG currently does not have By-Laws, and SRA is going to require that all Specialty Groups have them in 2006. The deadline will be around June 2006 and the vote to approve the By-Laws can be conducted via e-mail.

END