National News Archives 2005
Link to Articles 10/05 - 2005 National NEMO Network Progress Report Charting a Course for Better Land Use
10/05 - After the U4ia Subsides
10/05 - Northland NEMO Wins Merit in Planning Award
10/05 - Nevada and Connecticut NEMO Programs Honored with Outstanding Educational Materials Awards
10/05 - NEMO: The New TV Show
10/05 - Kudos Tim
10/05 - Welcome New NEMOids!08/05 - NEMO Team Institutes New “Hawaiian Shirt Friday” Policy
04/05 - The National NEMO Network’s Fourth NEMO University Conference is a Success
04/05 - AZ NEMO's Kristine Uhlman is named to the State's Water Protection Fund Commission03/05 - New York Sea Grant Adds Two New Team Members
02/05 - AWARE Colorado's Toolkit for Local Officials is Released
02/05 - The History of NEMO University
02/05 - New Network Members
02/05 - CT NEMO’s New Publication, Putting Communities in Charge
02/05 - Northland NEMO's "View from the Lake" Program is a Success
02/05 - Nevada NEMO Coordinator, Sue Donaldson, Honored
10/05 2005 National NEMO Network Progress Report Charting a Course for Better Land Use
This
summer the National NEMO Network released its second progress report,
Charting a Course for Better Land Use,—kind
of the Network’s Greatest Hits Volume 2. The Report provides
a sampling of local actions that have been catalyzed by NEMO programs.
The first Network progress report, issued in 2003, focused on how the various NEMO programs developed, how they were structured and what they had begun to accomplish. Now that the Network and many of its programs have been around for a few years, those accomplishments have grown into what we feel is a truly impressive body of work. Therefore, this report focuses on “impacts”—the local actions that have been catalyzed, initiated, supported by or in some other way set into motion by NEMO programs.
In compiling this report, we at the Network “Hub” were delighted and impressed by all that our colleagues around the country have accomplished and the wide range of local actions that they have helped set into motion. From changes to community plans to improved land use regulations to on the ground changes, it is clear that education is working in communities across the country.
The report has been distributed far and wide within the Extension and Sea Grant networks, to our many federal and state partners, to a few folks in Congress, and all members of the Network Coordinator’s extended family over age 3. Nevertheless, there are still plenty available in the catacombs beneath the Hub’s Humble Haddam home for anyone interested. Contact Kara Bonsack at 860-345-5227 or kara.bonsack@uconn.edu to request copies of the report.
Well, it took a while, but the U4ia has subsided. This fourth iteration of the Network’s national conference was certainly the largest, with participation from 53 existing and potential NEMOids and an equal number of NEMO partners from federal agencies and national organizations. In its wake, U4ia has left a pleasant hang-over in the form of new ideas and energy that is guiding the Network forward.
First, U4ia has helped regional networking take hold. The Great Lakes/ Midwest folks have been meeting regularly via conference call and are considering a face-to-face confab later this year. The Northeast NEMO programs are participating in a regional Stormwater LID Training Workshop in early November. In the South, NEMO programs are meeting at the USDA Regional Water Quality Conference to discuss bringing the NEMO message to the rural south.
Second, we are in the process of revising the National NEMO Network website to better highlight the great things NEMO programs are doing, while also bulking up and streamlining (if that is possible) the member resources section.
Third, since U4, we have been in discussions with the NOAA Coastal Services Center and Center for Watershed Protection to find new ways to bring their resources to the Network. One idea is to institute a NEMO Training Academy as a complement/counterpoint to the more networking-focused NEMO U conference and help infuse the Network with new tools, ideas, skills and resources. Thanks to all the Coordinators who filled out our handy-dandy web survey on training needs. We are currently in the process of evaluating your feedback and hope to get started on some form of Network-wide training by the spring.
Finally, we have already begun casting our sights on Cinco de NEMO (a.k.a. NEMO U5), coming to a location near you in the fall of 2006. Look for a “Save the Date” announcement soon!
10/05 Northland NEMO Wins Merit in Planning Award
Northland
NEMO’s multimedia Guide to Using Natural Resource
Information in Local Decision Making has been honored with a Merit
in Planning Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the American
Society of Landscape Architects. In addition, the regional planning
agency for the seven county Minneapolis/St. Paul area is using
the guide to help communities prepare a required update of their
comprehensive plans. The idea/inspiration for the guide came out
of the NEMO Network’s
2002 Open Space Planning Boot Camp.
View the Guide online at www.dnr.state.mn.us/nrig/index.html.
10/05 Nevada and Connecticut NEMO Programs Honored with Outstanding Educational Materials Awards
A selection from the NV NEMO fact sheet series.
The Nevada and Connecticut NEMO programs have been honored with “Outstanding Educational Materials Awards” from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP). Susan Donaldson with NV NEMO won a Silver award for her adaptation of the NEMO Fact Sheet series in the “Long Publication” category (she also copped a Gold award for her Truckee Meadows Weed Coordinating Group Public Outreach Campaign and a Silver award for her Are Invasive Weeds Ruining Your Neighborhood? publication). The CT NEMO Team received a Bronze award for the Connecticut’s Changing Landscape (CCL) website in, appropriately enough, the “Web Page” category.
View Susan’s NEMO fact sheets and visit the CCL website.
Minnesota’s Lakes at Risk is a brand new television program about the impacts of development on lakes and the importance of long term investments to protect our valuable lake resources. The program talks about how increasing development, on the shoreline and in the watershed, impacts habitat and water quality. It goes on to discuss what citizens and local officials can do to restore and protect lakes.
The program (debuting October 30 on PBS’s Minnesota Channel in the Twin Cities) is based on Northland NEMO’s Linking Land Use to Lake Quality presentation.
After years of hard work and stunning academic achievement, Ohio NEMO’s Tim Lawrence has earned his PhD from The Ohio State University. The ceremony was even broadcast live over the internet, certainly due to his national reputation and large following Dr. Lawrence has received as a result of his illustrious work as coordinator of Ohio NEMO. Seriously, Tim, congratulations!
Several new NEMO coordinators and staff have joined the Network over the past few months. Many of you met Steven Mikulencak and Christy Witters of NY NEMO at NEMO U4. While Christy has since moved to Vermont, Steven continues to work with Eileen Keenan to expand NY NEMO’s work on Long Island.
Michael Deitz has joined the CT NEMO team in the unofficial position of Dr. Stormwater (officially he is an Extension Educator specializing in low impact development (LID) stormwater practices). Mike earned all of his degrees at UConn, including his recently completed PhD from the Natural Resources Management and Engineering Department.
The new VT NEMO Program, which is coordinated by the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program, recently hired Emma Melvin to coordinate their efforts in the state. Emma was formerly a hydrologist with the USGS in NJ and grew up along the Neshaminy River in Newton, PA (the focus of one of the PA NEMO projects). In the small world department, her boyfriend works with Christy Witters at the VT DEP.
The GA NEMO program has tapped Katie Hoover Alvarado to take over the reigns from Lee Sutton. Katie is a Duke alum (which we at UConn will try not to hold against her) who grew up in Virginia, and has a background in environmental management.
08/05 NEMO Team Institutes New “Hawaiian Shirt Friday” Policy
This
summer, the NEMO team’s keen interest in sartorial splendor
has translated to a “Hawaiian Shirt Friday” policy. The
policy, unabashedly stolen from the NOAA Coastal Services Center, has
been informally in effect for the past two summers. However, following
the National NEMO team’s visit to Hawaii in February and its
subsequent shirt-related inspiration, strict implementation and enforcement
of the policy is now the rule. Of particular interest to the NEMO team
are two critical issues: (1) does one wear one’s Hawaiian shirt
tucked in, or out?, and; (2) Is the goal to have the loveliest or the
tackiest design possible?
04/05 The National NEMO Network’s Fourth NEMO University Conference is a Success
The National NEMO Network held their fourth NEMO University conference, NEMO U4ia, in Washington, DC April 4-7. The conference is an opportunity for representatives from NEMO programs across the country to come together to share experiences and expertise, network with federal agencies, and share new educational tools and approaches.
The conference was attended by 53 NEMO program staff from 29 states, as well about 15 federal agency staff from USDA, NOAA and EPA. It featured pre-conference topical and Geospatial training sessions, regional collaboration discussions, a program overview poster reception, and topical discussion groups. Most important, it featured “success and survival stories” from programs around the Network, who shared both their bottom-line successes with communities, and their strategies to survive these tough fiscal times.
4/05 AZ NEMO's Kristine Uhlman is named to the State's Water Protection Fund Commission
The Hub was impressed to learn recently that Kristine Uhlman, coordinator of the Arizona NEMO Program, has been named by Governor Janet Napolitano to the State's Water Protection Fund Commission. The Commission oversees an annual pot of funds for measures to protect water of sufficient quality and quantity to maintain, enhance, and restore rivers and streams and associated riparian habitat. For more information on the fund, visit: www.awpf.state.az.us/
The appointment demonstrates how valuable Kristine and the AZ NEMO program are to water quality (and quantity) protection in Arizona.
Nice work Kristine and Congrats!
3/05 New York Sea Grant Adds Two New Team Members
New York Sea Grant is very pleased to announce the addition of two new team members.
Christy Witters has joined the NEMO program as a Water Quality Educator. Christy has a very strong background which includes a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina. In addition,as a Pollution Prevention Specialist, Christy managed the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program for the New England Army Reserve, which entailed the implementation of stormwater management plans at 50 Army Reserve facilities.
Steven Mikulencak comes to New York Sea Grant with a Master's in City Planning from Cornell University and experience as an Intern with the Regional Plan Association, which included facilitating public processes such as local economic development, town planning and greenway design. Additionally, Steven's background includes time spent as a GIS analyst in Seattle with responsibility for data management,technology upgrades and map production.
Feel free to drop Steven a note at sam225@cornell.edu.
02/05 AWARE Colorado's Toolkit for Local Officials is Released
AWARE Colorado’s new guide, "Water Protection Toolkit for Local Officials: Connecting Land Use with Water Quality," was developed to help land use decision makers better understand proven approaches to protect water quality through community planning.
The toolkit has ideas about ways to safeguard water resources, examples from Colorado communities, and suggested resources for learning more. With sections on the water and land connection, reducing impervious surfaces, collaboration, planning and zoning tools, reducing transportation-related impacts, improved landscaping and regulatory programs, the toolkit raises awareness of the importance that planning plays in protecting the state’s water bodies.
Contact: Cynthia Peterson or visit www.awarecolorado.org/toolkit.pdf.
02/05 The History of NEMO University
As the NEMO Nation prepares to gather for our fourth conclave, some brief and painless history might be in order for those new to the "NEMO U" experience.
The first NEMO U (Oct. 2000) was very much a home-cooked affair, held in Haddam, CT, home to the Hub. To the 20 states making the scene, NEMO U posed the question, “Do we really want to do this Network thing?” The answer came back as a resounding “Yes!”
NEMO U2 (Jan. 2002) brought us to the technological marvels of the NOAA Coastal Services Center, and the charming restaurants and back streets of Charleston. At U2, we reconfirmed that NEMO was about more than impervious surface reduction, and that we had some great partners out there. Success stories were starting to trickle in, and it looked like the Network was here to stay for awhile. Most important, we discovered some interesting locations for the NEMO tattoo.
U3 seems like yesterday, but it was May, 2003—almost two years ago. At U3, the subtheme was “It’s not just about Connecticut anymore—no, really!” We had significant, multi-day participation by a goodly number of our federal agency supporters from EPA, NOAA and USDA. We had some Network-wide stories to tell about smart growth/open space planning and the ISAT tool. And for one evening, we peopled the Branford House mansion and assumed the trappings of a more genteel era (it didn’t work).
U4 is almost here. The underlying focus of the conference, “Succeeding to survive or surviving to succeed, (whatever).” Despite dwindling funding opportunities and overwhelming workloads, the Network has grown and NEMO programs have found a way to both succeed and survive. U4 will highlight those stories and seek to explore how we can all continue to succeed and/or survive.
We are happy to announce the arrival of two new NEMOids. The University of Illinois Extension Service launched Illinois NEMO in the fall. The effort will be led by Susan Meeker, Extension Educator, and focus initially on the Peoria area. In addition, the University of Hawai’i Sea Grant Program has recently decided to join the Network and plans to launch a program focused on the islands of Maui and Hawai’i. (Don’t tell them, but we are already targeting them to host NEMO U5.)
02/05 CT NEMO’s New Publication, Putting Communities in Charge
CT NEMO recently printed its first official impact report dedicated to the work of the NEMO Program in Connecticut. The report describes the origin, objectives and progress of the program and includes a number of exciting new initiatives that have begun during this past year.
The main body of the Report, however, is given over to portrayals of selected towns that have worked with NEMO, and the ways that these towns are taking charge of their community’s future development patterns. The report profiles Old Saybrook, Waterford, Woodstock, Salem, Central Naugatuck Valley, Watertown, East Haddam, Candlewood Lake Authority and Stonington. The examples detailed in the report, while they represent only a portion of the good work being done around the state, demonstrate the power of local citizens to bring about positive change in their communities.
The profiled areas (Old Saybrook, Waterford, Woodstock, Salem, Central Naugatuck Valley, Watertown, East Haddam, Candlewood Lake Authority and Stonington) are available as individual .pdf files for easy online viewing at the CT NEMO website Publications section.
02/05 Northland NEMO's "View from the Lake" Program is a Success
The Northland NEMO folks launched their “View from the Lake” program this past summer. Through this program they took land use decision-makers and other interested travelers on 21 different three hour tours (minus Gilligan) aboard a 60 foot tugboat. The boat trips provide a great opportunity to demonstrate the impacts of land use on water quality from a different vantage point. The program proved so popular, they are already receiving requests for next summer’s tours.
(bottom) Northland NEMO's Jesse Schomberg speaks with passengers aboard the L.L. Smith JR (Top).
02/05 Nevada NEMO Coordinator, Sue Donaldson, Honored
Through some unrelated google searching, the Hub inadvertently discovered that Sue Donaldson, coordinator of the Nevada NEMO Program, was awarded the Golden Pinecone award for her outstanding environmental education programs. The ever humble Sue said "This award means as much or more than any other that I've received because it is coming from the community." In case you were wondering, the award is not an actual golden pinecone.
For more information on the Nevada NEMO Program, check out the Nevada NEMO website.
01/05 NEMO
Featured in the Earth Imaging Journal
November/December
2004 Vol.1, No. 6
An article about CLEAR and NEMO was recently published in Earth Imaging Journal, a fairly new high-profile publication in the remote sensing world. EIJ is published by private sector remote sensing interests, and is not a peer-reviewed journal. However, their interest in our work (they solicited the article), and the fact that they put it on the cover of the hard copy journal, is a good sign indicating our growing national recognition. Interestingly, we assumed that they wanted to know all about our latest CLEAR research, but the Editor kept asking us for more about NEMO and the on-the-ground results of our work. Thus, there are nice breakout boxes on both CT and National NEMO. The e-article is at: http://www.eijournal.com/Local_Decisions.asp