McCree Captures Top Slot on Water Management Board

Heidi McCree has become the first woman to chair the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board. The 11-member Governing Board establishes policies for the entire 16-county district.

McCree received a bachelor of arts in political science from Vanderbilt University and a juris doctorate from George Mason University School of Law. She is a member of the Maryland Bar. McCree served for four years as the executive director of the Hillsborough River Greenways Task Force. Her prior experience includes working for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and for two governors of Maryland in their Chesapeake Bay and Save Our Streams programs. She is a member of the Florida Greenways and Trails Council, Tampa Bay Conservancy, Audubon Society, Mayors Beautification Program and the Community Water Leadership Program.

The Governing Board represents a wide variety of interests, including agricultural, recreational, business, industrial, urban, rural and the public. Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. McCree has been a member of the Governing Board since 2000. Her current term will expire in 2008.

Khator Named to EPA National Advisory Council

University of South Florida Provost Renu Khator was recently appointed to serve as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) through February 2007.

Khator completed her bachelor's degree in liberal arts and received her master's and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in political science specializing in environmental policy. She has published four books and numerous articles in leading national and international journals in environmental policy, public administration and political science. Her areas of expertise include water policy and the impact of globalization on the environment.

NACEPT advises the EPA administrator on environmental policy, technology and management issues. Council members include senior leaders and experts representing academia, business and industry, community, professional and environmental advocacy groups, environmental justice organizations, and state, local and tribal governments.

Tampa Bay Scientists Tapped for Ocean Studies Board Holly Greening, senior scientist at the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, and Frank Muller-Karger, a biological oceanographer at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, have been named to the National Academy of Science's Ocean Studies Board. Greening had previously worked on Ocean Studies subcommittees that produced reports on the effects of nutrient pollution in coastal waters and geospatial frameworks. At TBEP, she coordinates bay research projects and oversees its Technical Advisory Committee. She also supervised development of the program's habitat restoration strategy, which emphasizes restoration of low-salinity tidal stream areas that provide vital nursery habitat to juvenile fish. Director of USF's Institute for Marine Remote Sensing, Muller-Karger conducts research using satellite remote sensing, large data sets, networking and high-speed computing. This research helps in the location and monitoring of large-scale phenomena, understanding climate control and climate change, and in the interpretation of numerical models of the ocean. He also has helped educate teachers about using new technologies in oceanography through workshops sponsored by NASA and has received the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Award for Outstanding Contributions and the NASA Administrator Award for Exceptional Contribution and Service. As part of the National Academy of Science, the Ocean Studies Board and its committees provide a balanced approach for addressing controversial ocean science and policy issues. It is involved in a comprehensive range of activities including the status of marine and coastal environments, the ocean's role in global change, technology and infrastructure needs, ocean-related aspects of national security, fisheries science, management and policy, living and nonliving marine resources, education and public outreach, and research review.

A BIG THANKS! to these sponsors for making Bay Soundings possible - with our deepest appreciation for your commitment to celebrating and preserving Florida's largest open-water estuary.

Pinellas County Environmental Foundation Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Tampa Bay Estuary Program The Southwest Florida Water Management and its Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Northwest Hillsborough, Pinellas-Anclote River and Manasota Basin Boards. Port Manatee

If you or your comapny would like information on becoming a sponsor of Bay Soundings, please contact Suzanne Cooper at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, 727-570-5151, ext. 32, or email suzanne@tbrpc.org