Event Calendar

Artist Boat’s annual signature fundraising event Float the Boat 3-night dinner
series will be held in October under the stars and on the coastal prairie, at the Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve.
We will be honoring and celebrating individuals who work hard and are dedicated to Saving the Precious. These
honorees are:
• October 19: Gulf Coast Canine Project
o Co-Founders Dr. Kristin E. Brzeski and Dr. Bridgett vonHoldt and team members Josh Henderson
and Ron Wooten will be celebrated for their dedication in bringing to light the unique coyotes of
Galveston Island discovered to have a large percentage of red wolf DNA.
• October 25: Dr. David Yoskowitz – Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
o Executive Director David Yoskowitz will be recognized for his accomplishments in the areas of
private lands conservation and his dedication to children in nature initiatives, the wildlife, and coastal
conservation.
• October 26: Commissioner Catarina Gonzales – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
o Commissioner Catarina Gonzales will be acknowledged for the hard work and dedication of the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality along the Gulf Coast and the natural resource
protection of our barrier island preserve.
Float the Boat supports Galveston’s treasured environmental education and conservation organization, Artist Boat!
The 3-night dinner series will directly benefit the wildlife that depends upon our region’s natural resources and wild
places, help conserve more land, and guarantee that we are here in the future to ensure that more youth will
experience these wonders with Artist Boat.

Each evening will include a fabulous plated gourmet dinner by Mosquito Café, a curated menu of beer and wine, live
music to enjoy the wilds, open trails, and sunsets, as well as an open bar, a live art auction, and raffle tickets. In
addition to this dinner series, an online auction hosting 250+ unique items will run from October 18-28. All items in
the auction are donated and include items such as local art, exclusive experiences, vacation stays, boat trips, and
tickets to events around Texas.
Everyone is welcome! Tickets are $150 for seated dinner per evening at the dinner series. Tickets can be purchased in
person at 13330 Settegast Road in Galveston, or online. If you can’t make it, you can still support Artist Boat by
purchasing a raffle ticket or donating online.
More information on the Float the Boat 3-night dinner series can be found at https://www.artistboat.org/specialevents/
To learn more about Artist Boat visit https://www.artistboat.org
###

The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) is a regional conservation initiative that spans the Southeastern United States and Caribbean. The primary product of SECAS is the Southeast Conservation Blueprint, a living, spatial plan to achieve the SECAS vision of a connected network of lands and waters. We regularly update the Blueprint based on new data and feedback from the conservation community. The latest version, Blueprint 2024, uses refined prioritization methods and incorporates a number of new and improved indicators in the inland and marine continental Southeast. Your input helps to ensure the Blueprint represents on-the-ground conditions and captures your conservation priorities. It also helps staff prioritize future improvements!

In late October and early November, we are hosting a series of 1.5-hour interactive workshops via Zoom to review Southeast Blueprint 2024 across the entire SECAS geography. Based on feedback from past attendees, we’ve changed the timing of workshops this year, so you’ll be reviewing the final version instead of a draft.

We need your feedback! Visit secassoutheast.org/workshops to learn more and register. 

These workshops are free and open to anyone, and you’re welcome to share this invitation with others who may be interested.

The National Science Teacher’s Association (NSTA) is headed to New Orleans, infusing its fall
national conference with the city’s unique energy and culture. Join in for an unforgettable
experience where professional growth meets the soulfulness of the Big Easy.
If you have anything you’d like to present at NSTA, proposals are now live on their website. The
same  goes for exhibitors.

For more information or to register, visit: https://www.nsta.org/national-conference-science-
education-new-orleans-2024

Recently, a few organizations within the SAME range of states were featured in NSTA TV videos
for the spring conference held in Denver, CO on March 20-23, 2024. They were the University of
Alabama – Moving Beyond Pedagogy, the University of Southern Mississippi – Center for STEM
Education, and Discovery Hall Programs at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Tune into NSTA TV to
check out those features!

We’ve set the date for the GCOOS Fall Meeting, so be sure to mark your calendars and register now for this virtual event. We’re still developing the agenda but topics are likely to include community updates, IOOS program office news, and updates on marine heatwaves and threshold impacts, high-frequency radar operations, the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems project and more.

• When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, Friday Nov. 8
• Where: Virtual
• Register now

The Clean Gulf conference and exposition serves the spill response industry in prevention, preparedness and response by hosting a forum that facilitates an open exchange of ideas, case studies and best practices for stakeholders from government, environmental, emergency planning and response industries throughout maritime, facilities, rail and pipeline. Early (discounted) registration is open now through Aug. 23.

• When: Nov. 18-20, 2024
• Where: George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas

Details

The 2024 Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 19-20, 2024, at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The Bays and Bayous Symposium typically takes place every two years and alternates its location between Alabama and Mississippi.

The symposium focuses on coastal science research and application, education and outreach. Hundreds of people gather to present their research, showcase their projects, exchange ideas and learn about the latest developments in the northern Gulf.

The symposium emphasizes local research, projects and efforts. Session topics vary with each symposium, but past sessions have covered climate and hazards, habitat management and restoration, living resources, water resources, emerging coastal issues and more.

The event is also recognized as a networking opportunity for the 350-450 coastal science professionals, students, educators and others in attendance.

Stay updated with announcements from Bays and Bayous by following the symposium on Facebook and X or by visiting the event website.

The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will host the 2024 symposium with assistance from the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and many volunteers and sponsors.

The Marine Minerals Program at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Gulf of Mexico Office, is planning for the 2024 Gulf of Mexico Offshore Sand Management Working Group (SMWG) Meeting to take place on Thursday, December 5, 2024, from 8:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT. BOEM intends to host the SMWG Meeting as a hybrid event to accommodate virtual participation and in-person participation at the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Regional Office (1201 Elmwood Park Blvd) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Please hold this date on your calendars. There is no registration fee for this meeting.

This year’s SMWG meeting will include panels and updates from recent sand inventory efforts and cooperative/interagency agreements in the Gulf of Mexico. It will also focus on Gulf-wide multi-use initiatives, provide updates related to environmental studies and opportunities to brainstorm new study opportunities, and feature a panel focused on planning for the next 5/10/20 years out for the Gulf of Mexico sand and sediment management.

ACES: A Community on Ecosystem Services represents a dynamic and growing international assembly of professionals, researchers, and policy-makers involved with ecosystem services. The ACES Conference provides an open forum to share experiences, methods, and tools for assessing and incorporating ecosystem services into public and private decisions.

The goal of the conference is to link state-of-the-art science, practice, and decision making by bringing together the ecosystem services community and decision makers from around the United States and the globe. ACES will engage leaders in government, NGOs, academia, Native American tribes, and the private sector to advance the use of ecosystem services science and practice in resource management and other societal decisions.

Conference Theme:
Enhancing Resilience through Relationships, Information, and Technology

Whether you are new to Coastal GeoTools or a previous attendee, don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen relationships and build new ones as we focus on the effective use of data, tools, partnerships, and training to address coastal issues and inform policy matters.

Continuing This Year – An Emphasis on Tribal and Indigenous Applications
Our goal is to become a more inclusive group and increase the knowledge being shared with conference attendees by tribal and Indigenous community members.

New This Year – The Power of Partnerships for Resilience
Hosted by the Digital Coast Partnership
To build a more resilient coast, innovative partnerships are needed. To this end, the Digital Coast Partnership will host informative sessions designed to share stories, explore new partnerships, and identify strategic opportunities. We have so much to learn from each other—you won’t want to miss this!

Potential for Magic: Innovation, knowledge sharing, the effective use of geospatial technologies, and partnerships are what it takes to make the coast more resilient, and that’s what you will find at Coastal GeoTools 2.0.