Abstract
The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) Management Conference consists of five constituent committees: Community Action Committee, Community Resources Committee, Government Networks Committee, Business Resources Committee, and Project Implementation Committee. A Science Advisory Committee (SAC) of experts from multiple scientific disciplines and agencies provides insight and ensures sound basis for decisions made by the other MBNEP Management Conference Committees. The purpose of the SAC is to provide guidance on MBNEP priorities based on scientific understanding of the issues and to recommend necessary monitoring and research activities to inform the development of status and trends of the estuarine environment. Specifically, the SAC charge includes the following: 1. Assessment of trends to determine where stresses are most acute in the system. 2. Development of frameworks and monitoring protocols for measuring changes in ecosystem health. 3. Provision of technical or scientific opinion based on scientific review of issues/activities requested by other committees. 4. Identification of opportunities for public participation and project involvement (i.e., citizen monitoring). 5. Assistance with project planning and implementation (i.e., water quality monitoring, data management) as requested by other committees. 6. Cooperatively identifies tasks/roles for MBNEP in addressing issues or galvanizing action. This presentation will provide an overview of the Science Advisory Committee’s activities for the past year and a look forward to upcoming topics and activities of the committee.
