Announcement
Researchers, decision makers, and stakeholders interested in both the Gulf of Maine and climate change are encouraged to attend the joint meeting of the Gulf of Maine Council's Ecosystem Indicator Partnership and Climate Change Network. This one-day event is the start of a process to answer questions about how climate change may impact ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine region and what implications this may have for indicators and monitoring. The event will be held on June 11, 2007, at the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Attendance is free and open to the interested individuals throughout the Gulf of Maine region, but space and accommodation are limited. Please register early via the registration form (PDF, 53 KB). Further information will be posted here as it becomes available.

Reasons for the event
Following the successful November 2006 ecosystem indicators workshop in Wells, Maine, the Gulf of Maine Council's Ecosystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) and Climate Change Network (CCN) will be hosting a one-day event to explore issues of common interest. ESIP members have expressed an interest in learning more about how climate change will impact their indicator areas and what implications this may have for monitoring. This meeting will start a process by which many of these questions will be answered. This meeting is also the inaugural event for the Gulf of Maine Council's new Climate Change Network. It is scheduled immediately prior to the next meeting of the Gulf of Maine Council's Working Group to allow all Working Group members to attend and to enable discussions generated at the meeting to be continued over the next two days.

Overview
The first segment of the day will include presentations on the latest climate change science, ESIP, and the Climate Change Network. This includes a presentation by keynote speaker Greg Flato on the International Panel for Climate Change’s recently released 4th Assessment Report on the science of climate change. The second segment of the day will include two activities to foster discussion by the participants. A wrap-up session at the end of the day will help determine future directions for the two groups.

In the evening will be the official launch of the Climate Change Network. This informal inaugural event will include networking in a social environment with hors-d’ouevres and a cash bar. During the evening a short illustrated talk on the findings of the New Brunswick sea-level rise study will be presented. Working Group members arriving on Monday evening for Tuesday’s meeting are invited to attend this event. Registration is not required.

Objectives

• Discuss how climate change projections and the use of environmental indicators affect current and future research on ecosystem health and sustainability indicators.
• Determine what information and data ESIP researchers need to help them incorporate climate change and what role the Climate Change Network can play.
• Facilitate networking among individuals and groups interested in climate change in the Gulf of Maine in order to develop partnerships and strategic alliances on these issues.