Are you concerned about aquatic resources? You can shape the research agenda for freshwaters! As described in this recent ASLO Bulletin article, survey is now open and a workshop is planned to evaluate the ‘grand challenges’ in aquatic ecology and help set a future research agenda. Concern about freshwater resources twenty-five years ago led to The Freshwater Imperative (FWI), a research agenda designed to improve our understanding and management of freshwaters. Continued degradation and increased pressure on aquatic environments spur us to reflect on our progress, identify emerging threats, and create a new research agenda for the 21st century. 

You can participate in this NSF-funded effort in two ways:

• Contribute to the Grand Challenges for Aquatic Environments Survey here. This survey has 10 questions, takes about 15 minutes, is anonymous, and will both inform an analysis of the broader aquatic science community’s perspective on the issue and inform the context of our workshop. The survey will close in early March 2023.
• Apply to participate in the workshop, “Revisiting the Freshwater Imperative”, to be held 19-21 July 2023 in Colorado. The workshop will build off the results of the survey, with the goal of developing the next blueprint to address challenges for aquatic environments. You can learn more about the workshop here. We especially encourage applications from diverse related disciplines and early career scientists. Stipends will be provided to all those invited to participate in the workshop. Apply by March 10th to be considered.

For more information contact:

Catherine O’Reilly, cmoreil@ilstu.edu 

Steven Sadro, ssadro@ucdavis.edu 

Erin Hotchkiss, ehotchkiss@vt.edu 

Kathy Cottingham, Kathryn.L.Cottingham@dartmouth.edu 

Michael Vanni, vannimj@miamioh.edu