In June 2016, the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the National Park Service (NPS) hosted the two-day State of the Bay Symposium in Brooklyn, NY. The Symposium was part of a biennial series initiated in 2004 by the NPS and expanded through an affiliation with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) 2007 Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan (JBWPP). Under Local Law 71 of 2005, the DEP was required to develop the JBWPP and provide updates to the plan every two years. The State of the Bay symposia serves to inform the plan and subsequent updates through regular convenings of the various communities of actors working and living in the Bay.
The Symposium program emphasized the intersections of human, physical and ecological components of Jamaica Bay and explored opportunities for enhanced resilience within those systems. Individual sessions focused on the management and decision context within the Bay, community perspectives and needs, and current relevant science spanning the Bay’s socio-ecological systems. The event featured a narrated boat tour of Jamaica Bay and concluded with an evening networking reception at Brooklyn College highlighting posters of graduate and postdoctoral student research in the natural sciences.
The 2016 State of the Bay Symposium Report is available in .pdf format. This report documents the symposium proceedings, providing summaries of the each of the sessions and presentations.
2016 State of the Bay Symposium Report Hi-Res (.pdf) (9MB)
2016 State of the Bay Symposium Report Lo-Res (.pdf) (3MB)
Scroll down for more detailed symposium information.
June 15-16, 2016
Official Hashtag: #2016sotb
Home | Symposium Program | Research Posters | Co-Chair and Speaker Biographies
VIEW THE 2016 STATE OF THE BAY PRINTED PROGRAM HERE (.pdf)
Snapshots from 2016 State of the Bay Symposium
Day 1
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
8:45 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Day 1 focused on management challenges, strategies, and priorities as well as stakeholder and community needs and perspectives. The morning featured an opening plenary panel followed by two presentation sessions. The day concluded with an afternoon boat tour of Jamaica Bay highlighting recent restoration projects, sites of ongoing research, and historically relevant locations.
Day 2
Thursday, June 16, 2016
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Wine and cheese reception to follow from 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Day 2 focused on the state of the current relevant science of the Bay. What is the science saying and how does that fit with local knowledge? A range of science topics including water quality, marsh restoration, storm surge modeling and hydrodynamics, the role of nature-based features, critical species and habitats, ecosystem services, and risk and community needs for resilience were addressed in both morning and afternoon sessions. The day concluded with a wine and cheese reception and presentation of graduate student and postdoctoral research posters.
