More than 180 aquatic scientists and water resource professionals gathered in early February in Westbrook, Connecticut for the 2026 Northeast Aquatic Biologists (NAB) Conference, celebrating the event’s 50th anniversary and five decades of advancing aquatic science and collaboration across the region.
The NAB conference continued its long-standing tradition of bringing together participants from state and federal agencies, academia, the private sector, tribal nations, and watershed organizations throughout New England and New York. The milestone anniversary provided an opportunity to reflect on the conference’s enduring role in fostering regional partnerships while looking ahead to emerging challenges in aquatic resource management.
The event began with an optional pre-conference workshop led by Steven Burian, emeritus professor at Southern Connecticut State University. During the two-day, hands-on session, Burian guided participants through identifying three key groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates: mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies. He highlighted distinguishing characteristics of each order, as well as their importance in biological monitoring and water quality assessment.
The general session opened with remarks from NEIWPCC Commissioner Mike Bisi and Emma Cimino, deputy commissioner of Environmental Quality at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP). They championed the legacy of the NAB community and its continued commitment to protecting and restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Northeast’s waters.
Andy Fiske, Northeast regional director for American Rivers, delivered the plenary address that connected a national vision for clean, healthy rivers to the realities facing New England and New York. He invited attendees to reflect on whether New England, where interstate water collaboration and watershed-based management date back to the 1940s, has long been “ahead of the curve” in protecting water resources.
Fiske outlined ambitious national goals to protect 1 million river miles, restore 100,000 floodplain acres and remove 30,000 dams. He drew on data from the National Inventory of Dams and broader barrier inventories to underscore the scale of river fragmentation nationwide.
He also emphasized the range of river protection mechanisms available at the federal and state levels. Fiske noted that roughly 90% of floodplains in the lower 48 states have been altered; and how advancing natural, integrated and equitable floodplain management at local, watershed and state scales is essential to strengthening resilience and restoring river function across the region.
The conference featured more than 55 oral and 35 poster presentations covering topics such as aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring, harmful algal blooms, diatom research, invasive species management, community science, and water quality. Several presentations focused on Long Island Sound, located just outside the conference venue. For example, Katie O’Brien-Clayton, environmental analyst with CT DEEP, and Ismar Biberovic, an aquatic ecologist with Tetra Tech, discussed a recent project in partnership with NEIWPCC that produced a multimetric index for evaluating macroinvertebrate populations in Long Island Sound embayments.
The conference included an annual banquet and awards ceremony. The 2026 Legendary Aquatic Biologist Awards honored Ben Jessup, senior scientist at Tetra Tech; Leslie Matthews, environmental scientist at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation; Ernest Pizzuto, formerly an environmental analyst with the CT DEEP; and Hilary Snook, senior environmental scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The awards recognize individuals whose careers have significantly advanced aquatic science, monitoring, and water resource protection across the Northeast.
Additional awards acknowledged outstanding student research and presentations. The 2026 Student Presentation Award recipients were Lev Becker, Evelyn Hall, Erich Nitchke and Skylar Ross of the University of Connecticut; Sienna Moore of the College of the Holy Cross; and Zachary Utz of Middlebury College. Their presentations reflected the depth and diversity of emerging aquatic science talent in the region.
As NAB marked its 50th year, participants had the opportunity to reflect on the conference’s evolution from a small regional gathering to a cornerstone event for aquatic professionals across the Northeast. A 33-foot timeline spanned the conference wall, detailing five decades of NAB milestones and providing a place for attendees to add their own memories.
The conference was organized by NEIWPCC in partnership with its member states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 2027 NAB Conference will take place in New York, with updates to be posted on the event webpage as details become available.
