Welcome 2008 WDAFS Annual Meeting Attendees!

We invite you to join us in Portland, for the 2008 Western Division American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting at the Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center Portland-Lloyd Center May 4-9, 2008.

The theme of the meeting is “Human Population Growth and Fisheries: The Western Challenge”. This theme is meant to promote the multidiscipline approach that will be required to address the effects of human population growth on fisheries and habitat in the western United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Portland is an ideal location to explore this theme via 2008 Western meeting events, symposia, posters, and contributed papers at the meeting. The Willamette and Columbia rivers, which flow through and border the city, respectively, have experienced many of the challenges and changes facing aquatic ecosystems and fish communities throughout the West that we will be addressing in the events, symposia, and contributed papers at the meeting.

We encourage symposia, papers and posters that build on the themes of the plenary speakers and our meeting theme “Human Population Growth and Fisheries”, demonstrating how fisheries managers are thinking about and addressing the challenges facing fish populations and aquatic ecosystems.

We also encourage all meeting participants to enjoy all that the Portland area offers before, during and after the meeting.
No matter where your interests lie – cultural attractions, outdoor fun, and adventure – Portland and the surrounding area have the makings of a great family or personal vacation. Amidst ever-green forests, sparkling waterfalls and hiking trails, between mountaintops and the deep blue Pacific Ocean, lies a cultural and adventure hotbed awaiting your discovery.

Amazing things are happening in Portland. Portland’s arts and culture scene has taken an exhilarating turn in recent years, garnering worldwide attention for its meld of enriched classical institutions and innovative new venues. Whether in Portland’s official Cultural District downtown, a transfigured warehouse in the trendy Pearl District, or an emerging neighborhood on the east side, Portland offers opportunities to simply dabble, or fully immerse yourself in the best of Northwest culture. Wherever you go in Portland, you are never far from an art house cinema, performance space or gallery, brewpub, gourmet coffee shop, farmers market, park, or garden.

Portland is also a city that wholeheartedly embraces the outdoors as it is home to more than 37,000 acres of open spaces. Included in that 37,000 acres is Forest Park. At 5,000 acres, Forest Park is an urban oasis that provides paths for hiking and mountain biking.

If more adventurous activities are your style, the nearby Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, or Pacific Ocean provide plenty of opportunities including whitewater rafting, kayaking, wind surfing, skiing, and surfing, to name just a few. Best of all, these opportunities are just an hour’s drive from downtown Portland.

What would a trip to the Pacific Northwest be without sampling the region’s fishing opportunities, especially the Columbia River spring Chinook fishery. Early projections indicate that the 2008 spring Chinook return will likely be of record proportions with the peak of the return coinciding with the 2008 WDAFS Annual Meeting!