DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

Climate Change Talk
Sea Grant was invited to speak at the National Research Council's "America’s Climate Choices: Panel on Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change," July 1-2, 2009. Mike Liffmann and Luis Tupas (USDA) discussed how Sea Grant and USDA can play a role in climate services and products to the nation.

NOAA Senior Science Advisor Appointed
Dr. Paul Sandifer, currently Senior Scientist for Coastal Ecology in NOAA’s National Ocean Service, will serve in a temporary post as Senior Science Advisor to NOAA AA, Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

Please read on for:

• Weekly Highlights
• Sea Grant In the News
• Awards
• Events & Announcements

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

• Request for Proposals: Regional Mini-Grants
  Announcing a request for FY10 mini-grant proposals to support projects that advance priority climate engagement strategies throughout NOAA. The projects will couple Sea Grant’s longstanding relationships with stakeholders with NOAA’s network of Regional Collaboration Teams to focus on enhancing climate literacy and the efficient delivery of climate services through stakeholder engagement. A total amount of $200,000 (one project for each of NOAA’s eight regions) is available and must be endorsed jointly by the NOAA Regional Team Lead and the Sea Grant Liaison to the NOAA Regional Collaboration Team. We hope this funding opportunity will further stimulate Sea Grant and Regional Collaboration Team partnerships. The request for proposals will be posted on Grants.gov. If you have questions or need further guidance, please contact Jim Murray in NOAA's National Sea Grant Office (jim.d.murray@noaa.gov, 301-734-1070) or Lisa Iwahara in NOAA's Office of Program Planning and Integration (lisa.iwahara@noaa.gov, 301-713-1622 x 181).
  
• Sea Grant Climate Change Network
  http://sgccnetwork.ning.com
• Sustainable Coastal Community Development Network
  http://sgsccdn.ning.com

SEA GRANT IN THE NEWS

Send your press releases and stories to oar.sg.news@noaa.gov. All submissions are added to Hot Items and submitted to a variety of NOAA communications outlets.

Sea Grant Highlighted in NOAA Executive Management Team (EMT) Report
Oregon Sea Grant submitted, "West Coast Sea Grant Programs Release Marine Research and Information Needs Report," featured in the late June EMT.

Headlines & News Submissions:

• June 24: New Jersey Sea Grant, The Washington Post (NJ Top Ten Beach project)
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/23/AR2009062303330.html?hpid=artsliving
• June 24: North Carolina Sea Grant, Southern Living story & Wilmington Star News editorial (Brunswick and Cataret Catch programs)
  http://ahabsjournal.typepad.com/ahabs_journal/2009/06/how-to-get-carolinas-freshest-seafood.html
  http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090623/ARTICLES/906239936/1108/OPINION?Title=Editorial-Program-is-good-step-in-promoting-local-food#
• June 24: New York Sea Grant Press Release (Photos from Eastern Lake Ontario Dunes and Salmon River)
  http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/lodune/article.asp?ArticleID=347
• June 24: New York Sea Grant, The Sun (VHS)
  http://www.thesunnews.net/sports.php3?idkey=4179
• June 25: California Sea Grant Press Release (Call for State Fellowship Host Applications 2009-2010)
• June 26 New Jersey Sea Grant Press Release (New Jersey’s Top Ten Beaches Appointed Rip Current Outreach Ambassadors)
  http://www.njmsc.org/Sea_Grant/RipCurrent.html
• June 26: North Carolina Sea Grant, NOAA In the Carolinas Newsletter (Hurricane Floyd, Eat Local Seafood)
• June 26: South Carolina Sea Grant, NOAA In the Carolinas Newsletter (Hurricane Hugo)
  Subscribe to NOAA In the Carolinas: http://www.carolinas.noaa.gov/xml/NinCNews.xml
• June 29: Rhode Island Sea Grant Newsletter (June/July 2009)
  http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/newsletter/
• June 29: Rhode Island Sea Grant Article, Energy Policy Journal (Offshore wind energy development)
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science (search by co-author, Sea Grant Legal Program Research Counsel, Megan Higgins)
• June 29: Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Press Release (Making homes safer during storms)
  http://www.masgc.org/page.asp?id=3
• June 29: Rhode Island Sea Grant Press Release (November 2-4 Baird Symposium: The Ecology of Marine Wind Farms: Impact Mitigation, Siting, and Future Uses)
  http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/baird/2009/
• July 1: California Sea Grant Press Release (Report: West Coast needs more research on fisheries, marine science, climate change)
  http://www-csgc.ucsd.edu/NEWSROOM/NewsroomIndx.html
  http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/research/RegionalPlanning
• July 1: Minnesota Sea Grant Press Release (15 Educators Embark on a Superior Science Expedition)
  http://coseegreatlakes.net/weblog/
  

AWARDS

• Alaska Sea Grant Wins Association of Communication Excellence (ACE) Awards
  Sea Grant was awarded gold, silver and bronze ACE awards for publications including "Rat Control for Alaska Waterfront Facilities," Graphic Design, Book Cover category and 1-3 Color Popular Publication category; and, the "2009 Alaska Coastal Calendar," 4-Color Popular Publication category.
• Oregon Sea Grant Wins Four International Hermes Creative Awards
  "On the Lookout for Aquatic Invader" won a Platinum in the Design/Publication Overall category; "Boats of the Oregon Coast" was awarded Platinum for Publications/Handbook; "Oregon Sea Grant Program Report 2007" earned a Gold for Video/Internal Communication; and "Oregon Sea Grant Publications & Videos 2008" received an Honorable Mention in Publications/Catalog.
• North Carolina Sea Grant Wins Apex Award
  Sea Grant was awarded an Apex Award of Excellence for improved Web sites. Congratulations to Kathleen Angione and Matt Haught for working with consultants from CapStrat to update the Sea Grant site.
• South Carolina Wins Multiple Awards
  "Coastal Heritage," a quarterly publication, received five awards in competitions during 2008-2009, including an Apex Award of Excellence in the Magazines and Journals category.
• For details on the above, view 2009 Sea Grant Awards and Awards Archive

EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Network Staff Development Seminars
  

Coming Soon...
Session 2: Annual Reporting Guidance (coming out on Tuesday, July 7)
July 8, 2009
2-4 p.m. EST
Call: 1-866-746-2456
Passcode: 3234152

• National Information Management System (NIMS)
  New link: http://www.nims.noaa.gov
• Education Update
  Terry Kirby-Hathaway (NC SG) attended the NOAA Education Implementation Plan Retreat held in Laurel, MD on June 2-4 to discuss the I-Plan matrixes completed by Sea Grant programs and their relationship to the NOAA Education Strategic Plan.
  Sharon Walker attended the SGEN meeting at the NMEA Conference on Saturday, June 27.
  The SGEN Strategic/Implementation Plan is “on hold” until the end of summer.
  

Questions: Contact Amy.Painter@noaa.gov
News or Awards Submissions: oar.sg.news@noaa.gov