Working waterfronts include waterfront lands, waterfront infrastructure, and waterways that are used for water-dependent activities, such as ports, marinas, small recreational boat harbors, fishing docks and hundreds of other places across the country where people use and access the water. Florida Sea Grant stock photo
The registration deadline is now approaching for the 4th National Working Waterfronts and Waterways Symposium to be held November 16-19, 2015 in Tampa. Regular registration lasts until October 19, 2015 and costs $425.
The goal of the symposium is to increase the capacity of saltwater- and freshwater-based coastal communities and for stakeholders to make informed decisions, balance diverse uses, ensure access, and plan for the future of their working waterfronts. People from across the United States attend the symposium each year to connect with one another and showcase innovative solutions to their waterfront issues.
“Being in the company of hundreds of such like-minded souls can be downright transformative!” said Bob Swett, Florida Sea Grant’s boating and waterways specialist and organizer of the event. “This describes the atmosphere when people gather during a National Working Waterfronts & Waterways Symposium.”
This year, the five symposium themes are climate change, maritime culture and heritage, recreational boating, waterfront industries and working waterfronts workforce development.
Panels of particular interest to Floridians include:
- “Waterway management of large vessel congregations: A case study”
- “Anchoring conflicts on Florida’s Waterways – A case study”
- “Water access projects: How can we address permitting delays”
- “Aquaculture: A powerful tool in the preservation of commercial working waterfronts”
- “Maintaining the stream of commerce: Issues facing the Atlantic Intracoastal waterway”
- “Solving the abandoned/derelict vessel dilemma”
- “NWWN policy roundtable: Bracing for working waterfront policy change”
The full symposium agenda can be found at http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/NWWWS/agenda.html.
Planners, managers, attorneys, policy makers, elected/appointed officials, waterway and waterfront advocates, users and developers, property and business owners, researchers and students, and others from the following entities are encouraged to attend:
- Federal, tribal, state, county and municipal governments
- Navigation districts and port authorities
- Citizen marine advisory committees and harbor boards
- Local, regional, state, tribal and federal government organizations
- Environmental and maritime consultancies
- Marine, boating, fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries
- Coastal and marine oriented non-profit organizations
- Educational organizations
The registration fee covers participation in the symposium, a field trip, a welcome reception and Wednesday’s evening dinner at The Florida Aquarium. Visit the registration page for more details. Also, be sure to take a look at the field trip options before registering. Each has a maximum number of people that can attend and spots may fill quickly. The field trips will give attendees an opportunity to see successful waterfront planning up close!
The Symposium will be held at the Hilton Tampa Downtown and the hotel is offering attendees a $99 per night group room rate. To get the reduced rate, simply identify yourself as a NWWWS participant. Attendees that book under the group rate will also receive complimentary Wi-Fi in their guest room and $4 off the overnight valet-parking rate. Reservations for the hotel must be made by October 16th in order to receive the group rate.
For more information on the symposium, visit: 4th National Working Waterfronts & Waterways Symposium.
