Journalists

Registration

The registration fee will be waived for active professional and freelance journalists, provided that they are registered as a media representative with SCB and that they pre-register on or before 20 June 2003. Journalists are requested to provide a business card or copy of their membership card (i.e., NASW, SEJ) listing their name and affiliation. Registration for journalists includes admission to all of the scientific sessions, receptions, and exhibits. However, any additional items not covered by the waiver (i.e., Book of Abstracts, meals, field trips, entertainment) must be purchased separately.

Press Information

There will be two events for journalists scheduled in conjunction with
the meeting. The first is an earlybird tour of the University of
Minnesota's Cedar Creek Natural History Area on Friday, 27 June from
10:00 am - 12:00 noon with director David Tilman. Cedar Creek gave
birth to the modern science of ecology through the work of Raymond
Lindeman, who used Cedar Bog Lake as a laboratory for his revolutionary
ideas about how ecosystems function. Cedar Creek's nine square miles
harbor remnants of native prairie, oak savannah, cedar forest, hardwood
forest, northern black spruce bog and mile-wide Fish Lake. For the last
20 years, it has been designated a Long Term Ecological Research site
by the National Science Foundation. Studies headed by Tilman have shown how diverse assemblages of plant species help sustain ecosystems and keep them healthy.

Tilman, a professor in the University of Minnesota's College of
Biological Sciences, is one of the world's leading scientists in the
area of biodiversity and most cited environmental author of the past
decade. Tour participants will visit experimental plots, along with the
forest, savannah and bogs that make Cedar Creek such an unusual -- even magical -- place. The tour can accommodate 6-20 reporters. Transportation and lunch will be provided.

The second opportunity is a media briefing, held on Sunday, 29 June,
from 9:30 - 10:30 am at the meeting facility. The science briefing will
highlight recent developments in the field of conservation biology, and
will feature eminent scientists scheduled to present their
ground-breaking research at the meeting.

Specific information about the briefing and tour will be mailed to
journalists prior to the start of the meeting. Journalists who want
this information and who are not already on the Society for
Conservation Biology or Minnesota Sea Grant's media mailing lists can
contact Marie Zhuikov at mzhuikov@d.umn.edu or by calling 218-726-7677. A meeting press packet will be available at the media briefing, and
will be mailed afterwards upon request by contacting Marie Zhuikov.

Registered journalists will also have access to a reserved press room during the meeting, equipped with two external phone lines for laptop Internet access. We suggest that journalists bring their own laptop computers. The press room will be available for conducting interviews during the meeting, and will be stocked with scientific articles and additional information relevant for journalists.

The SCB photographer will be on-site throughout the meeting and will provide a variety of meeting photos for journalists' use.

Morning refreshments will be available in the press room Sunday, 29 June through Wednesday, 2 July.

March 3, 2003 Meeting Announcement News Release

Media Contact

If you have any questions regarding journalist opportunities during the
2003 SCB Annual Meeting, contact:

Marie Zhuikov
Communications Coordinator
Minnesota Sea Grant College Program
Phone: 218-726-7677
Cell: 218-348-7133
E-mail: mzhuikov@d.umn.edu