2020 Annual Conference and Meeting has been cancelled

The NYS Wetlands Forum Board of Governors met via conference call on March 25, 2020 to discuss the fate of our annual conference scheduled for April 28 and 29, 2020.  Although this will be of no surprise to any of you, it is still with great sadness that we inform you that the 2020 conference must be cancelled.  As the spread of COVID-19 continues to increase and the duration of school closings and social distancing requirements are extended, it is all too obvious that the conference would be prohibited and, more importantly, unsafe for our membership to attend.  Here are a few important details:

• The conference has been cancelled as opposed to postponed as we have no clear guidance on when we can expect to be back to normal.  Even a fall conference could be in jeopardy and it would be too close to our spring 2021 conference for planning purposes. 
• Refunds will be processed as quickly as possible.  The closure of offices and the need for social distancing has resulted in some delays in processing the refunds.  We kindly ask that you bear with us and everyone will be taken care of.  
• For those who have already made reservations at the hotel, the hotel is in the process of releasing our room block and will refund the first night's deposit to everyone's credit cards.  

And now for some good news:

• Our Student Grants Committee will be announcing this year's winners and will proceed with the awards.  The students will be asked to join us at the 2021 conference.
• We have discussed having our 2022 Conference in Clayton at the Harbor Hotel.  The hotel has released the Forum from our contract with no penalties.  We believe this is a great location for a conference and plan to try again.  More to come on this.
• BUT FIRST, we are very please to announce that our 2021 Conference will be at the DoubleTree Hotel in Niagara Falls on April 27 & 28.  This is a great destination with tons of opportunities for field visits to some unique habitats within the Niagara gorge and site seeing before the summer crowds hit the scene.  The hotel is located along the upper river and in walking distance to the parks. 

Thank you for your understanding in these challenging times.  It is our deepest wish that the Board of Governors sees each and every one of you healthy and happy very soon, and especially at our 2021 conference.  Be well, be safe.

Brad Sherwood, Chair, NYSWF
Chris Einstein, Conference Chair