Thank you for your interest in touring The Marine Mammal Center during your attendance at The Society for Marine Mammalogy conference in San Francisco, California.

The Center will host a very limited number of free tours for conference attendees on Saturday, December 19.  The tour times are at 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m.  Space is limited to 25 people per tour; please make your reservation early.

You may register here (follow the steps listed below to complete your registration):
http://tmmc.doubleknot.com/facility/society-of-marine-mammalogy-tour/1824394

1.      Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see a calendar (center) and a program listing (left).
2.      Click on the program titled “Society for Marine Mammalogy Tour”.
3.      Advance the calendar to the month of December (using the right arrow, if needed) and click on the calendar cell for Saturday, December 19.
4.      Click on the rust-colored button that says “RESERVE”.
5.      Click on the second rust-colored button that says “CHECK OUT”.
6.      On the next page, complete the registration information, including selecting the tour time you want to join (12:00 or 2:00 p.m.) and the number of people in your group (from the pull down menu options).
7.      Click “Continue”
8.      On the next page (Shopping Cart), click “Checkout”
9.      On the final page, you will be asked to provide your contact information, then click “SAVE”.
10.  You will be directed to a page with a receipt and you will be sent a confirmation to the email address you provided.

If these tour times are sold-out or you would like to visit the Center on a different day or time, you may join a tour offered to the general public.  You can find information about booking one of these tours here:
http://tmmc.doubleknot.com/event/calendar/3026.  Please note that a small registration fee applies for these tours.

Getting to the Center
The Center is located in the Marin Headlands, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Center is accessible by car, bicycle, and public transport busses (on a very limited basis on Saturdays and Sundays only).  While bicycling into the Headlands is possible, we recommend that bicyclists review the routes into and out of the park before making plans to cycle.  Taxis can be booked into and out of the Headlands, but arrangements will need to be made ahead of time.  There is not regular taxi traffic in the Headlands (no cab stands, etc…)

You can find more information about driving directions and public transportation options here: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/visiting-us/directions.html#public_trans

If you have questions, please contact the Center’s education department at edu@tmmc.org or (415) 289-7330.

We are just about one month away from the 21st Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in San Francisco.  By all accounts this is shaping up to be an epic conference.  The plenaries look impressive.  The science is going to be better than ever. So to keep in line with this high standard, we are making sure that the student travel fundraiser is the best party yet. This is an opportunity to dance, to mingle, to turn off your brain for a bit, and help support our student scientists.

We have been receiving some emails asking for more information so here is almost everything you need to know for the party that you can’t miss.

The Venue:  Mezzanine  (444 Jessie St.) http://mezzaninesf.com/private-events/

This is a great space with lounge areas upstairs and plenty of room on the dance floor.  A world-class sound system will ensure the best dance experience all night.  Best of all, the venue is a 9-minute walk from the conference hotel!

The Music:  We know you love to dance.  We are bringing on a professional DJ who has been briefed on the musical wants and needs of our marine mammal colleagues.  You will be moved to dance!

The Date:  The party is Wednesday Dec 16.  Doors will open at 8 PM and things are shutting down at 2AM.  That gives you 6.5 hours of sleep before the Thursday morning poster session.  We are here for sciences so don’t miss the poster session!

Ticket Prices:  Tickets gain you entry into the party and provide a long-lasting warm fuzzy feeling that you are helping our next generation of marine mammal scientists make it to the Halifax conference in 2017.

Student               $15 (comes with 1 free raffle ticket)
Non-Student       $25 (comes with 1 free raffle ticket)
Raffle Ticket       $2 (or 12 for $20)

The Raffle:  As always we are selling raffle tickets to help raise funds and give you the opportunity to take home some excellent prizes.  We are changing things a little this year and having two drawings.  The first drawing for most of the prizes will be at the party and YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.  The second drawing will happen at the closing of the conference
and you don’t need to be there to win.  We will make sure you get your prize.  So what are the prizes? Well just to name a few: iPads, GoPros, gift certificates, shwag from The Marine Mammal Center, tacky marine mammal items and more!  The more tickets you buy, the better your chances, and the more students get to travel in 2017!

Where to Purchase:  At this point you are probably asking yourself where you can get these tickets.  Tickets to the party can be purchased while registering for the conference. If you have already registered, go back into your registration profile, edit your registration profile and add on a ticket to the party and some raffle tickets. We will make sure that they are part of your registration packet when you check in.  Otherwise, we will have a small station set up near registration where you can purchase all the tickets you desire.  Cash only!!

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION:
1.     Must be 21 years old or older.
2.     Must have valid ID.  For our foreign guests, that means bring a passport!
3.     Dress code.  Don?t wear your field clothes.  Hawaiians, no slippahs (flip flops).
4.     Drink Prices: Standard prices for San Francisco. Cocktails between $9-11.  So we recommend a few beverages beforehand and enjoying at least a couple at the venue (we do have a minimum bar tab we need to reach people!).
Stash away a little extra cash in the next month to make sure you help put a dent in the bar bill!

Have any questions? Hit us up on the Seal Clubbing II: Beachmaster’s Ball FB Page!
https://www.facebook.com/Seal-Clubbing-II-Beachmasters-Ball-1439791866338284/

Cheers,
Charles and Ari

Attending the Society for Marine Mammology Conference in San Francisco? Add a whale watch to your agenda! Monterey Bay Whale Watch will be offering special 6 hour trips for conference attendees on December 11th, 12th, 19th & 20th. Join them to search for Humpback Whales, Blue Whales, Gray Whales, Killer Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises, Pinnipeds, Sea Otters, Marine Birds and much more in Monterey Bay. Recently featured in the BBC and PBS production – Big Blue Live and in National Geographic, Monterey Bay is a global marine mammal hotspot. Their newly acquired catamaran, The Blackfin, will be taking trips at 10am with a capacity of 120 passengers. Tickets are $65 for adults and $45 for children ages 4-12 years old. Reservations can by made by phone at 831-375-4658 or online at gowhales.com. They are located on the Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, about 2 hours south of San Francisco.

Can’t make those dates? They will be offering our regular whale watch schedule everyday during the conference as well. Find out more here: http://gowhales.com/

Dear Biennial delegates,

What’s this I hear about leaving early? Friday night is going to be amazing, the frosting on the cake, the birthday celebration of our Society!

And..its going to be in the most amazing building in San Francisco, City Hall! We’ve rented it for you!

We’ll have incredible food available all night, free wine and beer, a champagne toast to our award winners….and dance to Linda Tillery’s Soul Explosion with James and Eric, our DJ’s filling in.

And..we’ve priced this event to be accessible to all of you! Please stay and celebrate with us! Sign up soon, attendance is limited.

Best, Ellen & Frances (It’s going to be great in San Francisco)

The organizing committee of the 2015 Biennial Conference is proud to announce our plenaries. We will change things up a bit and offer two shorter plenaries each afternoon. We start on Monday morning with an opening plenary by Peter Tyack, and continue that afternoon with a panel of scientists and journalists, entitled: How to Make Your Science Matter, moderated by Nancy Baron, COMPASS Director of Science.  This is very exciting, as our panel consists of Marcia Mc Nutt, Editor in Chief of Science, Jane Lubchenko, U.S. Science Envoy for the Oceans, Nick Gales, SMM President, Charles Littnan, NOAA Fisheries, Ken Weiss, from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and David Malikoff, from Science Magazine.  Our subsequent plenaries will reflect themes from the Biennial: On Tuesday, Jennifer Francis (Rutgers University) and Sue Moore (NOAA/NMFS) will discuss climate change. Wednesday’s speakers, Beth Shapiro (UC Santa Cruz) and Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse (AU of Queretaro) will present emerging technologies. Human Dimensions is the theme for Thursday, with plenary talks by Claudio Campagna (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Mike Orbach (Duke University).

Our program is really taking shape! Find out more about our plenaries and developing conference program here. Stay tuned for more announcements and a detailed scientific program coming mid-November. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco, its going to be great!

We are pleased to offer childcare within the conference hotel at the upcoming SMM 2015 conference in San Francisco. This is a first for the Society, and we have arranged it so conference attendees can relax and enjoy the scientific sessions while their children are cared for. Childcare is provided by KiddieCorp which has enjoyed a long-time partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, which have helped to establish KiddieCorp as a premier provider of event children’s program services. Ratios of caregivers to children are high (1:2 for children ages 6 weeks through 11 months old; 1:3 for children ages 1 through 2 years old; 1:5 for children ages 3 through 5 years old; 1:7 for children ages 6 through 12 years old).

Prices are $15/hour for children 2-12, and $ 20 for children under 2. (Note we have decreased the price by $ 5 an hour)

Please register at (https://www.kiddiecorp.com/smmkids.htm)

Thank you
Best wishes
Frances Gulland and Ellen Hines

We are planning an informal “LGBT Night” during the SMM Biennial Conference on Thursday December 17. The intent is to provide a space of community for our LGBT colleagues and to promote diversity and inclusivity within our profession. Our current plan for the evening is as follows:

7:30 – 8:30 pm: Mixer with drinks on the 45th floor of the Hilton, the best view of San Francisco!

9:00 – 10:00 pm: Dinner at Chow, 215 Church St, San Francisco, CA 94114.
Chow on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/chow-san-francisco-3
We plan to use public transportation from the Hilton/Marker area taking the Muni train on Market St. and getting off at the Church St. Station (the one before Castro). Chow is just across the street.

10:00 pm: Bar hopping in The Castro (walking distance from Chow)

Folks are welcome to join any or all activities. So that we can provide the mixer and dinner venues an approximate guest count, we would appreciate an RSVP. Please also feel free to direct any questions to us.

We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco. It’s going to be great!

Daniel Palacios <daniel.palacios@oregonstate.edu>
Annalisa Berta <aberta@mail.sdsu.edu>
Frank Cipriano <cipriano@sfsu.edu>
Ellen Hines <ehines@sfsu.edu>
Jaime Jahncke <jjahncke@pointblue.org>

As the conference hotel is now full, we have procured discounted rates at a neighboring hotel, Parc 55, located a block away from the conference hotel.

Secure a discounted reservation at the Parc55 hotel through the Society HERE

Want to share a room?

Go here to find someone to share a room with.

Need a less expensive housing option?

There are beds in shared dorms available (about 50 spaces left at this point). It is San Francisco City Center Hostel at 685 Ellis Street. Earliest check-in date is December 12 and latest check-out date is December 19 (nights of 12/12-18). Dorm beds are $40 per night.

Interested in booking a dorm bed at the hostel for this rate? Download this hostel form, fill it out and send it to  Tenaya Norris at norrist@tmmc.org

(Shared from the COMPASS blog post)

COMPASS is proud to support an impressive group of reporters, editors, and producers in attending the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s 21st Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals: Bridging the Past Toward the Future this coming December. The meeting is expected to bring 2,500 marine mammal scientists and practitioners to San Francisco, CA, for workshops, plenaries, and presentations on topics of importance to marine mammalogy, ranging from climate and changing oceans to effective marine spatial planning. Browse the fellows’ websites for some powerful science and environmental reporting, and easily connect with them via our Twitter list here.

The journalist fellows will be woven into the conference in a variety of ways, to help them connect and interact with the marine mammal scientists and experts. The fellows will first be introduced at the “How to Make Your Science Matter” plenary panel, moderated by Nancy Baron, COMPASS Director of Science Outreach, and comprised of:
• Jane Lubchenco, U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean
• Nick Gales, President of the Society for Marine Mammalogy
• Marcia McNutt, Editor-in-Chief, Science
• Charles Littnan, Lead Scientist, Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Project at NOAA Fisheries
• Ken Weiss, Independent Journalist, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
• David Malakoff, Deputy News Editor, Science Magazine

COMPASS will facilitate the fellows’ meeting and mingling with scientists at the reception after the plenary session.

On Tuesday, at a COMPASS media mixer, we will help the fellows broker connections to pursue their story ideas and arrange for “beat dinners” with experts on their topics of interest. The fellows are also invited to provide their perspectives on what makes a great story during our lunchtime communications workshop on Tuesday, “One Minute to Impress: How to Sell Your Science To Anyone.”

SMM 2015 COMPASS Journalist Fellows

Matthew Berger
Freelance – @matthewoberger

Matthew Berger has covered science and environment issues for the past six years at a number of local, national and global outlets. He has also covered global development, global health and foreign policy extensively during his reporting career, based primarily out of Washington, D.C. He has been a staff reporter at Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, Inside Climate, Inter Press Service, and the Grand Junction (Colo.) Sentinel and has contributed to Nautilus, IntraFish, Reuters, and a number of smaller outlets. Matthew focused on the political and economic questions of science and environment issues for most of his early career, particularly those related to the oceans, and holds a master’s in political economy from the London School of Economics, where he focused on fisheries policy, and a graduate certificate in marine resource management from Oregon State. He is currently based in Portland, where he is focusing on questions of environmental ethics and identity in his freelance reporting, including a number of marine mammal-related stories.

Madeline Bodin
Freelance – @MadelineBodin

Madeline Bodin has been writing about conservation science for over 20 years for publications such as Yale Environment 360, Nature News, JSTOR Daily, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, Discover, The Boston Globe, and Newsday. She lives with her family in Vermont. As a child, she treasured a bottlenose dolphin plush toy named Panama.

Lesley Evans Ogden
Freelance – @ljevanso

Lesley is a freelance science writer-producer based in Vancouver, Canada. After scaling the ivory tower, turning a lifelong fascination with birds into a PhD and postdoctoral research in ecology, she parachuted into the wilds of science journalism. During that career transformation she was educated and inspired at the Banff Science Communications Program and the Santa Fe Science Writers Workshop, and spent a year working for the Science Media Centre of Canada.  Now a regular contributor at BBC Earth, Natural History, New Scientist and BioScience, her work has also appeared in venues including Mosaic, CBC, Science, and Nature. Lesley’s enthrallment with marine mammals was cemented over a decade ago by a close encounter with a pod of orca whales while kayaking through thick morning mist in Johnstone Strait, BC. When not working on her next story, Lesley enjoys trail running, hiking, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, and spending time with her family, preferably in the outdoors. She shares her workspace with a budgerigar poet.

Ben Goldfarb
High Country News – @ben_a_goldfarb

Ben Goldfarb is a correspondent for High Country News, a magazine that covers natural resources throughout the American West. His freelance writing has appeared in Scientific American, Pacific Standard, Earth Island Journal, Hakai Magazine, and many other publications. In 2013 Ben received a Masters of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Read his work at www.bengoldfarb.com.

Isabelle Groc
Freelance – @isabellegroc

Isabelle Groc is a Vancouver-based freelance writer and photographer, focusing on environmental science, wildlife natural history and conservation, endangered species, marine mammals and ecosystems. Her stories and photographs have appeared in National Geographic News, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Wildlife, New Scientist, and many other publications. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With her dual background in photojournalism and urban planning, Isabelle brings a unique perspective in documenting the impacts of human activities on threatened species and habitats. She is a fellow of the Explorers Club.

Melati Kaye
Freelance – @tadipagi

Melati Kaye is an environmental journalist based in Southeast Asia. She has lived in and reported on fishing communities along the Pacific Rim on a range of subjects including cyanide fishing, sea gypsies and coral-stifling mine runoff. Her work can be found at Mongabay.com, Al Jazeera, Indonesia’s national newsweekly Tempo, and various American magazines.

Paul Kvinta
Freelance

Paul Kvinta writes about the environment, wildlife, and science for several magazines including Outside, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, GQ, National Geographic Traveler, and Fortune, and he has read his essays on National Public Radio’s Weekend All Things Considered. He has won a number of awards, including the Daniel Pearl Award, and has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award. In 2005 his story on human-elephant conflict in India, “Stomping Ground,” appeared in The Best American Magazine Writing. He has been a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University, and a Templeton Journalism Fellow in Science and Religion at Cambridge University in England.

Susan Moran
Freelance/KGNU – @susan_moran

Susan Moran is a freelance journalist living in Boulder, Colo. She writes about biodiversity conservation, energy, science, agriculture and other areas for Popular Science, Discover, the New York Times, The Economist, Science News for Students and other publications. She also contributes as a host and producer to KGNU community radio’s science show, “How On Earth.” Susan taught journalism as an adjunct instructor at the University of Colorado-Boulder for seven years. She was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in 2009-1010, and a Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalist at the University of Colorado in 2001-2002.

John Platt
Freelance – @johnrplatt

Freelance journalist John R. Platt covers endangered species, wildlife trafficking and related environmental topics for Scientific American, TakePart, Vice, Mother Nature Network and other publications. His work earned the Animal Action Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2012 and was recently a finalist for the L.A. Press Club Awards. John lives in Portland, Oregon.

Elizabeth Preston
Freelance – @Inkfish

Elizabeth Preston is a freelance science writer and editor based in the Boston area. Her writing has appeared in Slate, the Boston Globe, Jezebel, Nautilus, Hakai, National Geographic, and others. Her science news blog, Inkfish, is published by Discover. Previously, Elizabeth was the editor of the children’s science magazine Muse.

Christopher Solomon
Freelance – @chrisasolomon

Christopher Solomon is a contributing editor at Outside and Runner’s World magazines and a frequent writer for the New York Times who has written for publications ranging from Popular Mechanics to Scientific American to the Times Sunday Magazine. He writes frequently about science, the environment and travel. His work has been featured in the anthology The Best American Sports Writing and twice in The Best American Travel Writing and been an Honorable Mention for The Best American Science & Nature Writing.  He lives in Seattle.

Michael Werner
Werner Media – @mwerner1

Michael is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist. His work has been featured in / by: The PBS NewsHour, HBO Films, Showtime, The New York Times Company, QUEST, CBS This Morning, MSNBC, The Associated Press, PBS SciTech Now, Nat Geo Wild, EarthFix, Voice of America TV, The World Channel, Gawker Media, The U.S. Olympic Committee, Yale University Press, Media Storm, and the Cannes International Film Festival. Michael won the 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Award in the television category and has won Emmy awards for producing, photography and editing. In addition, he is a Logan Science Journalism Fellow, a Woods Hole Science Journalism Fellow, an MBL Arctic Fellow and a Corporation for Public Broadcasting International Fellow.

Allie Wilkinson
Freelance – @loveofscience

Allie Wilkinson is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist and Forbes contributor covering science, technology and the environment. Her writing has appeared in various print and online publications, including the New York Times, Wired, Scientific American, Popular Science, and Discover, among others. Her work has also been anthologized in The Best Science Writing Online. In 2014, she was a fellow of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting. Prior to earning her M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University, she studied marine biology and conservation.

Zheng Yu
Xinhua News Agency

Zheng Yu is senior science writer and columnist at Xinhua News Agency, a Beijing-headquartered multimedia news group, covering areas such as environment and ecology, energy, natural preservation, as well as innovations and emerging technologies. He authored three books and lectures at universities.