AWRA Florida's March 2016 Technical Meeting will be held Friday, March 18 at the Steinhatchee Landing Resort in picturesque Steinhatchee. The meeting will feature presentations on springs, MFLs, recreational opportunities, with several experts from the Suwanee River Water Management District presenting. Onsite accommodations are available. Contact Carol Hinton at 352-392-9570 x209 to be a meeting sponsor.

AWRA is coming to Orlando, Florida in November 2016 for the 51^st Annual Water Resources Conference. The Conference Planning Committee is seeking people to organize Special Sessions for the conference. The organizer’s role  is to propose a relevant and timely subject, attract and recruit speakers to submit abstracts on the subject, and to moderate the session during the conference. The deadline to submit is February 11, 2016. View the Call for Special Sessions.

We want your input! Please take a moment to help us maximize the value and benefits of your meeting experience by completing this brief survey. We are seeking feedback on meeting content and locations, soliciting suggestions for future meeting content, speakers and locations and encouraging future meeting chair volunteers and sponsors. Be assured that we will be taking all comments to heart and will attempt to implement the suggestions. In lieu of completing a survey, feel free to contact any board member.

AWRA Florida recognized 6 award winners for the AWRA Florida Statewide Student Research Poster Contest held on January 15, 2016 at the 25th Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference.

Undergraduate Division
1. Phoebe Stirm, Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches: A Field Study and Health Evaluation of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Cypress Swamp Vegetation
2. Blake Clement, Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches: How Much are Residents Willing to Pay to Protect Their Water Supply?: A Behavioral Economic Evaluation of The Grassy Waters Nature Preserve
3. Samantha Spritz, Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches: Traces of Heavy Metals Found in Tissue of Tillandsia balbisiana in Grassy Waters Preserve (Drinking Water Source) from Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

Graduate Division
1. ReNae Nowicki, University of South Florida: Regional Hydrologic Control of Geographically Isolated Wetlands and Waters in West-Central Florida
2. Natalie G. Nelson, University of Florida: When does tidal creek dissolved oxygen peak at night? Abiotic vs. biotic forcing of oxygen dynamics
3. Drew Liddick, Florida Gulf Coast University: Design Criteria Conformity and Water Quality Assessment of Stormwater Ponds: Lee County Florida

Winners were awarded checks in the amount of $400 for first place, $300 for second place, and $200 for third place.

Please join the University of Florida (UF) Student Chapter of AWRA for Let’s Talk About Water on February 15-16, 2016 in Gainesville. This event is sponsored by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUAHSI) and the UF Water Institute (WI) and is in conjunction with the 2016 Water Institute Symposium.

The News-Press recently published an article on the 25th Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference held January 15, 2016 at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers: http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2016/01/15/fgcu-panelist-water-new-oil/78786032/ 

Policies 15-01 and 15-02, approved by the AWRA Florida Board of Directors in 2015, are available to review here.

Online pre-registration for the 25th Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference being held Friday, January 15 at Florida Gulf Coast University ends Wednesday, January 13. Onsite registration will begin by 7:30am on Friday.

December 2015 Watershed Newsletter

Help us to select field trips for the 2016 Annual Conference by completing a short survey.