EACH FALL, OUR COMMUNITY GATHERS TO SHARE.
President's Message | September/October 2023
Each Fall, our community gathers to share learnings from the past year. This year, we came together in Raleigh, North Carolina, and once again deepened our connections to this work and one another. In formal and informal settings, we gleaned the wisdom of our colleagues from all walks of life and areas of expertise. This issue captures some of that wisdom, with articles from many presenters co-edited by conference committee chair Jason Doll.
This issue also delves into the region of our conference. We have multiple articles that capture the latest innovations in watershed restoration and management in the state of North Carolina and across the East and Gulf Coasts more broadly. We learn how coastal communities across the state are handling natural disasters and other water concerns through nature-based solutions, community-driven processes, and deep social connections. We also explore the distinct challenges presented to river basins across the region and how there, too, nature-based solutions can be most effective.
Elsewhere in the issue, we zoom out to consider the global and the planetary. What can we expect for our collective future? How can we plan for it? Elaine Hanford and Michael Davidson offer their insights on the slipperiness of sea level rise and the centrality of agriculture to averting systems collapse, respectively.
In the last year, new technologies and frameworks have emerged, helping these water professionals make the best decisions they can for the planet and local communities alike. We are lucky to have the opportunity to gather and share the stories and studies that will form the foundation of our future. I am pleased to offer some of that experience to you here, in print, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Jason Zhang is the 2023 president of AWRA.