The Northwest Science editorial community gained a new member for this Fall. For anyone who missed the social media announcement, Dr. Dana Warren will serve as Associate Editor for Aquatic Biology. Currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, Dana has worked on aquatic biology and ecology in the Pacific Northwest for over 15 years, bringing a wealth of regional disciplinary experience to Northwest Science. His research encompasses wildlife and ecosystem ecology, biogeochemisty, and restoration, with a particular focus on linkages between aquatic and terrestrial realms in natural and managed ecosystems. Few areas of natural resource management in the Pacific Northwest elicit as much scientific, public, and economic interest as our riparian zones and the wildlife that inhabit them. Dana’s expertise and enthusiasm for the study of these systems will be a great asset to the Northwest Science Editorial Board. Welcome Dana!

Northwest Science’s team of Associate Editors provides the regional subject matter expertise that is essential to producing a scientifically-diverse natural resources journal centered on the Greater Northwest. We appreciate all our Associate Editors, Managing Editor Dr. Kathryn Peiman, and Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas.  

The NWSA Board of Directors wishes to recognize Dr. Kenneth Hammond (1934 – 2024), NWSA Honorary Life Member, who sadly passed away on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Dr. Hammond (Ken) was a scientist, a passionate educator, and a contributor to the advancement of science in the Northwest through service to the NWSA and in other fora.

Graduating from Eastern Washington University with two BAs, Ken went on to gain an MS in Natural Resources from Oregon State University, and a PhD in Conservation from The University of Michigan. Although recognized as a distinguished scholar, Dr. Hammond ‘s career is perhaps best remembered for his dedication and skill as an educator. Ken joined the Geography Department at Central Washington State College (now Central Washington University, CWU) in 1967 and, during his thirty-year tenure, taught a diverse range of classes, mentored several dozen graduate students, and was the recipient of large grants for the pursuit of education. He was awarded the Distinguished University Professor Teacher Award at CWU before retiring as Chair of the Geography Department in 1997.

Dr. Hammond’s contributions to the NWSA began in the 1950s while an undergraduate student at Eastern Washington University. During his years of service to the Association, Ken acted as a trustee and on numerous committees. He was awarded a Life Membership in 1997 in recognition of his long service to the Association and to regional science. Ken’s family kindly reached out to the NWSA following his passing to reiterate Ken’s strong support for NWSA and his pride in being recognized with the Honorary Life Member award.

The NWSA Board of Directors thanks Dr. Hammond for his long service and commitment to the Association, and wishes to express condolences to Dr. Hammond’s family.

Save the date!

The 2024 Northwest Scientific Association Annual Meeting is only just in the rear-view mirror, but we are excited to announce the dates of our next Annual Meeting.

For 2025, the NWSA Annual Meeting will take place on March 18th and 19th in Eugene, OR, where we will be hosted by the University of Oregon. As normal, we anticipate an additional day for field trips.

More information will be released as we develop the schedule.

Registration for 94th Annual Meeting of the NWSA is now open! Special rates are available for NWSA members, students, and tribal members.

Key dates:

• April 19th: Deadline for abstract submission.
• May 10th: Deadline for early registration.
• May 20th: Conference opens with an evening social.
• May 21st - 22nd: Plenary speakers, oral and poster presentations.
• May 23rd: Field trip to the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.

See you at the Annual Meeting!

The 94th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association will take place from May 20 - 23, in Spokane, WA, and we are now accepting abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Abstracts may address any of the subjects and disciplines encompassed by NWSA. We also invite contributions to the following special sessions (see the Call for Abstracts).

• Forest health and disturbance ecology
• Geology and climate science
• Wildlife and aquatic ecology
• Science of Lake Coeur D'Alene

See the online abstract submission form for full details of submission criteria. Submissions will be accepted until April 19, 2024.

Key dates for the 2024 Annual Meeting are provided in the first meeting announcement. We are delighted to announce our plenary speakers:

• Erim Gómez: Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology, University of Montana
• Richard Waitt: Research Geologist, USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
• Diana Six: Professor of Forest Entomology, University of Montana

Registration for the Annual Meeting will open in late February. Stay tuned for further announcements!

Regrettably, there will be no NWSA Student Research Grant competition in 2024. In previous years, the NWSA has awarded up to $750/$1500 per student in support of promising research proposals at the undergraduate/graduate levels. After a turbulent financial year, the Association will be pausing the Student Research Grant for 2024. The was a difficult decision to take, and we very much hope to resume the award in 2025.

Northwest Scientific Association

Exciting changes are afoot in the submission and publication process at Northwest Science, the journal of the Northwest Scientific Association. As part of these changes, the editorial team recently completed work on revisions to the author guidance.

The new author guidance improves clarity, streamlines the manuscript submission process, and provides new preprint options for authors of accepted articles. In addition to a revised guidance manual, new guidance documents include:

• A guide for references
• An optional Word template for manuscript development
• Submission of article key points to improve visibility in literature searches
• A new citation style language (csl) file

If you have visited our Accepted Articles and Notes webpage in recent months, you may have noticed the addition of links to preprint versions of accepted articles that are in the publication pipeline, as well as figures that offer a preview of the content of accepted articles. These preprint options are a new feature of the Northwest Science publication process, available to all authors, and are a great way to get study findings out into the world before the formal publication process has been completed.

With these changes, submission of articles to Northwest Science is simpler and more attractive than ever. So, if Thanksgiving break leaves you with more free time than you know how to fill, our editorial team has provided even more reason to channel your creativity into a Northwest Science manuscript!

The NWSA Board is delighted to welcome four new faces to the Editorial Board of our quarterly journal, Northwest Science!

• Dr. Kathryn Peiman will succeed Robin Lesher as the new Managing Editor of Northwest Science. Currently working as an independent contractor at the nexus of science, communication and the arts, Kathryn previously worked in the non-profit sector and in academia. She has a PhD in evolutionary ecology from UCLA.
• Dr. Karen Capuder joins Northwest Science as Associate Editor for Anthropology. Karen has over a decade of professional experience in archaeology and is currently Senior Archaeologist for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. She has a PhD in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Washington.
• Dr. Frank Fogarty joins Northwest Science as Associate Editor for Avian Ecology. Frank is currently Associate Professor for Applied Avian Ecology at Cal Poly, Humboldt, and previously held research and teaching positions for Cal Poly, Humboldt, the University of California, Davis, and New Mexico State University. Frank has a PhD in Ecology from the University of California, Davis.
• Dr. Chris Johnson joins Northwest Science as Associate Editor for Wildlife Ecology. Chris is Professor of Landscape Conservation and Management at the University of Northern British Columbia, and a Registered Professional Biologist. His research integrates the disciplines of wildlife, landscape, and conservation ecology to plan for and mitigate the influences of human developments on the environment. Chris has a PhD in animal ecology from the University of Northern British Columbia.

We are excited to work alongside Kathryn, Karen, Frank and Chris, and to benefit from their expertise!

As a reminder, Northwest Science is also seeking two new Associate Editors for wildlife ecology and coastal marine ecology. Please see this announcement for details.

Northwest Science will soon be accepting Open Access submissions!

Open Access publication is well-suited to the Northwest Science audience, which includes amateur and applied scientists working outside traditional research institutions, for whom fee-based journal articles may be challenging to access. Licensing options for Open Access submission in Northwest Science are currently under consideration and will soon be available through the journal's electronic submission management portal. The fee for Open Access submission will be $2,500, but standard page fees (currently $65 and $80 per page for members and non-members, respectively) will be waived.

Authors currently in the review/revision process and interested in Open Access publication should make this preference known following acceptance of submitted manuscripts, if this occurs before the electronic submission portal has been modified to allow Open Access option.

The Northwest Science Editorial Board looks forward to receiving your Open Access submissions!

The Northwest Scientific Association is looking to fill two new Associate Editor positions for its quarterly journal, Northwest Science.

Northwest Science relies on a team of Associate Editors to supervise review of articles within their fields of expertise. We are now looking for Associate Editors in the following fields:

• Wildlife Ecology
• Coastal Marine Ecology

Please contact Northwest Science Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas (lucy.kerhoulas@humboldt.edu), for more information about these positions and to express interest.