On Sept. 20, Nicolle presented at a stakeholder workshop hosted by the new U.S. Coast Guard National Center of Expertise for Great Lakes Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. The workshop was designed to identify freshwater oil spill research gaps and opportunities, and was a great opportunity to share the recent updates to ESI maps and data in the Great Lakes region. ESI data is critical to protecting the natural and human resources of this vibrant and unique ecosystem, which is crisscrossed by pipelines, and provides the necessary information for emergency planning and disaster response in the region. 

On Sept. 27, Nicolle presented at the Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference in Long Beach, California. Wildlife are represented in the biological information in ESI maps and data, including threatened and endangered species, allowing responders to know whether any at-risk species are present in the event of an incident. ESIs also reflect seasonality information regarding the presence and activities of species, showing whether they might be breeding, nesting, and/or migrating through at a certain time of year, for example. 

These events were a great opportunity to speak with many key ESI end users and spread information about their varied uses and the upcoming refreshes of the data.