Submission Deadline: Friday, February 2, 2018You are invited to submit an abstract or session proposal to be considered for a symposium presentation.

NWWWS provides a forum for stakeholders from across the U.S. to connect and showcase innovative, successful, and timely solutions to waterfront and waterway issues.

PRESENTATION AND SESSION OPTIONSNWWWS strongly encourages presentations on practical information and tools rather than solely academic research. The program will feature several presentation formats and engagement opportunities to create an educational and interactive forum where emerging ideas, best practices, and information may be shared.

• Individual Oral Presentation: Proposal from an individual for a single presentation of approximately 20 minutes.

• Breakout “Panel” Session: Proposal for a 90-minute breakout session with a panel of speakers (max. 4 total) presenting on topics related to a specific theme.

• Roundtable Discussion Session: Proposal for a 90-minute breakout session designed to engage the participants in an interactive, facilitated discussion.

WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?Planners, managers, attorneys, policy makers, elected and appointed officials, boat captains, waterway and waterfront advocates, users and developers, property and business owners, researchers and students, and others from the following entities:

• Maritime, boating, fishing, aquaculture, and tourism industries

• Navigation districts and port authorities

• Citizen advisory committees and harbor boards

• Local, regional, state, tribal, and federal government organizations

• Environmental and maritime consultancies

• Coastal and marine-oriented non-profit organizations

• Educational organizations

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND SESSION PROPOSALSNATIONAL WORKING WATERFRONTS & WATERWAYS SYMPOSIUM

MAY 14-17, 2018 | GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

nationalworkingwaterfronts.com | @nwwaterfronts | #nwwws18

Keeping Waterfronts Working for the Next Century: Sustainability, Recovery, and Prosperity

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SYMPOSIUM THEMESThe 2018 symposium themes and examples of potential topics are below. This is not an exhaustive list. New ideas and emerging topics are critical to working waterfronts and waterways.

RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY• Best practices, lessons learned, tools, design and

innovation, legal issues

RECREATIONAL BOATING AND HARBORS• Recreational boating economic benefits, anchoring and

mooring fields, access and infrastructure needs, marinas, waterway maintenance, boating safety, partnerships with ports to enhance access and opportunities

INFRASTRUCTURE• Small harbor maintenance, funding, community-

collaborative dredging, partnerships, water access

WATERFRONT INDUSTRIES• Economics, infrastructure and dredging, funding and

financing strategies, land use, environmental issues, data and technology needs

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE• Dockage, processing, off-shore aquaculture

WORKING WATERFRONT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT• Maritime labor issues, training and education, marine

trades (e.g., boatbuilding, net repair), economic value in context of jobs, working with non-English speaking and underrepresented populations

CULTURE AND MARITIME HERITAGE• Tourism, historic preservation, oral history projects,

waterfront festivals

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR WATER-DEPENDENT USES• Community input processes, aesthetics, planning, zoning,

smart growth strategies, transportation connections

OTHER• Additional topics and themes related to working

waterfronts and waterways

INTEGRATED FIELD TRIPSTour coastal working waterfront communities on Lake Michigan including South Haven, Saugatuck, Grand Haven, and the port of Muskegon. Visits will include the Michigan Maritime Museum, downtown waterfronts, brownfield redevelopment, cross-lake ferries, commercial fishing, and academic research institutions. Or take a guided walk along the Grand River waterfront in downtown Grand Rapids discussing waterfront access, community revitalization, and more.

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT OR SESSION PROPOSAL BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018nationalworkingwaterfronts.com

LODGINGAmway Grand Plaza Hotel 187 Monroe Avenue NW Grand Rapids, Michigan amwaygrand.com (616) 774-2000

Block rate of $174 a night available for reservations made by April 13, 2018.

ESTIMATING THE LOCAL WORKING WATERFRONT ECONOMY

PRE-SYMPOSIUM TRAINING

May 14, 2018

Join staff from NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management for a full-day, hands-on workshop on estimating the local working waterfront economy.