The New River Symposium will be held May 21-23, 2009, at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Appalachian State University campus in Boone. It is sponsored by The Friends of the New River, the National Committee for the New River, the New River Gorge National River, the New River Community Partners, the New River Watershed Roundtable and Appalachian.

The symposium will celebrate the social, economic and scientific value of the New River, bring together the river’s diverse constituents, and provide a forum for partnership, research, and policy development.

The theme “Bridging the Gaps: Collaborations for Sustainability” builds on the multi-disciplinary history of the New River community by focusing on the importance of sharing widely varied perspectives, needs and solutions to promote a unified, achievable vision for the future of the New River.

Abstracts for a poster or a 20-minute oral presentation may be presented. Topics include:

• Policy and Planning: includes sustainable economic development and licensure
• Parks and Recreation: includes all recreation and tourism industries
• Education and Outreach: includes case studies
• Remediation and Engineering: includes case studies and new practices
• Sciences – Bio: includes all biological studies, water quality, health, and human impacts
• Sciences – Physical: includes water quality, chemistry, hydrology, etc.
• Monitoring and Modeling: includes case studies, land use mapping, new techniques and regional climate change
• History and Culture: includes archeology, literature, and the fine arts
• Experiences and Perspectives: share your experiences, motivations, interests, and insights
• Other topics also are welcome

For information about submitting an abstract, visit http://thenewriversymposium.org/. The deadline to submit is Dec. 12.

Presentations should address a non-specialized audience, working to share information across disciplinary lines. Selected papers will be published in the conference proceedings. Awards will be presented to the most outstanding student poster and oral presentation.

Who should attend? Teachers, students, researchers, community leaders, government officials, scientists, engineers, stewards, river keepers, planners, boaters, birders, anglers and friends from of the New River are invited to participate.

Details about registration and fees will be finalized in December; however a top priority is to continue the tradition of making the symposium affordable, especially to students. Partial registration will not be available in 2009. On-campus housing will be available.

For information on Web services and conference administration, including abstract submission, registration, and contribution procedures, contact Amy Sanders at as77619@appstate.edu or 828-262-2744.

For information on the conference topic material, including abstract contents and poster/presentation preparation, contact Dr. Chris Thaxton at thaxtoncs@appstate.edu or 828-262-6836.

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