Dear MARMAM Subscribers, At the 2003 Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Greensboro, NC the Scientific Advisory Committee took up the issue of aerial survey safety, and formed a working group to develop guidelines for improving aerial survey safety. We have enlisted the assistance of a low-altitude flight safety expert to develop a set of recommendations for the working group, but we are also interested in hearing directly from scientists and technicians in the field. The committee is interested in hearing your experiences, questions, concerns, etc. relative to planning and executing marine mammal aerial surveys. We're particularly interested in hearing about concerns related to the following: * aircraft * pilotage * training * equipment * funding (related specifically to survey safety) * risk assessment * mishap response * issues in developing countries Once fully developed, these guidelines will be posted on the Society's website to be freely available to the worldwide aerial survey community. Please help us to develop a set of guidelines that will meet your safety needs! ************************************************************** Leslie A. Cornick, Ph.D. Chair, Aerial Survey Safety Working Group Assistant Professor, Marine Biology & Statistics Department of Environmental Science Alaska Pacific University 4101 University Drive Anchorage, AK 99508 lcornick@alaskapacific.edu 907-564-8885