Abbie Sherwin

M.S. Candidate, University of New Hampshire

Conference Travel Grant Type 1 (NOAA Social Coast Forum)

“The Social Coast Forum is a conference designed to facilitate constructive discussion about how natural resource managers and decision-makers are integrating natural and social science to address the nation’s coastal issues. The conference presents a valuable opportunity for me to learn how issues such as climate change, sea level rise, and development are being addressed by coastal scientists and decision-makers as well as how scientific research is being integrated with social science methods to improve understanding, appreciation, and management of coastal wetlands.
My objective for attending the conference is to discover how coastal managers are addressing and planning for stressors and threats to coastal wetlands including climate change, sea level rise, anthropogenic pollution, and land use and development. I also wish to learn about new methodologies being employed for valuing ecosystem services of coastal wetlands for management and decision-making purposes. The conference provides a valuable opportunity to begin developing working relationships with natural resource professionals to expand my professional network and facilitate future sharing and potential collaboration. Additionally, I hope to share and build upon the knowledge, skills, and experience that I acquired during a recent internship at the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve where I was involved in engaging stakeholders in a collaborative process to better understand freshwater inflows required to support healthy and productive coastal wetlands and estuaries in Texas.”