Organization of Biological Field Stations

The Bodega Marine Laboratory and Reserve, located on the Sonoma County coast 60 miles north of San Francisco, will be hosting the annual meeting of the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) on September 22-25, 2011.

The theme of the meeting will be facilitating field research and education in the changing physical, social and financial landscapes that field stations and reserves face today.

We would like your input on topic ideas for plenary and concurrent sessions addressing this theme.  We are also looking for plenary speakers and discussion leaders, so please let us know if you would like to give a presentation or organize a session, or if you would like to nominate someone.
If you have a topic you would like to see addressed at the meeting, please submit a half-page proposal to Karie Slavik ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by Friday, February 25th. The proposal should define the items you would like to see covered. We will contact you for more details once we collect all of the proposals.

Thank you for helping to make the 2011 OBFS Annual Meeting a valuable and interesting event.
Information about the meeting location and agenda

We hope you will be joining us at the September 2011 OBFS annual meeting at the Bodega Marine Laboratory and Reserve!

Karie Slavik,
OBFS Vice President & Associate Director, Univ. of Michigan Biological Station

Suzanne Olyarnik,
Bodega Marine Reserve Director

We now have our OBFS mailing list back! This version is slightly different than the past e-list--it is one that you subscribe to.  Here's the details:
General information about the mailing list is at:  https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/obfs-maillist

You can also get details via email by sending a message to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions.

If you have other questions about the listserver, please contact Philippe at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

There is also an official OBFS announcement list: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  That list is moderated, and only current members will receive or be able to post to that list.

Dear OBFS Community-

I want to draw people’s attention to the fact that NSF’s FSML program has been delayed for the year; proposals will not be accepted in early March. 

At the OBFS meetings in the fall the program officer for FSML, Peter McCartney, indicated that NSF is working through issues in terms of how to manage construction projects, including general project management issues as well as NEPA requirements.  Having talked with Peter since the delay was announced, as well as reviewing NSF’s 2010 Committee of Visitor’s Report which explicitly identifies support of field stations as a highlight, I believe that the delay is largely a matter of resolving how to manage NSF construction projects and does not reflect a decision to discontinue the program.  I’ll note that five or six years ago, the FSML program skipped a fiscal cycle.  Consequently a delay of even 6-9 months in the program cycle will not mean that we lose a fiscal year of funding for FSML.  Hopefully the program will stay in track, even though NSF has some issues to work through.

As anybody who has been reading the papers knows, there is considerable uncertainty about the federal budget and we do not know yet how this will impact NSF’s overall budget. 

I encourage people to stay informed by subscribing to AIBS’ public policy alerts:
http://www.aibs.org/about-aibs/get_involved.html

Notice of the delay to FSML can be found at:
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5449. 

People that have an interest in the program should continue to check this link.  When a decision has been made about releasing a program announcement, it should promptly appear on that webpage.

Ian Billick
Executive Director, RMBL

The North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center based in Research Triangle Park will honor Highlands Biological Station in April 2011 with the Partnership Award in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education.

The award will be presented along with a video produced by Nightlight Productions of Chapel Hill about Highlands Biological Station’s efforts to support science education April 16 at the Cary center’s annual Celebration of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. “It is clear that Highlands can serve as a model for other organizations committed to strong STEM education,” said Lisa Rhoades, a program associate with the center.

You can read more about the award here!