The tradition of the International Coral Reef Symposium is to offer field trips. Field trips provide participants with a better understanding of the biology, geology of coral reefs in this region.

The 11th ICRS is proud to announce multiple trip offerings in Florida as well as trips to a variety of other places including The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Flower Garden Banks (Gulf of Mexico), Jamaica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. These venues may be reached from Florida or other major airline hubs. Trips will be offered before and after the 11th ICRS. Be sure to read the prospectus for each trip carefully. Some trips are inclusive (the entire trip is included in the fee); however, most trips require participants to travel to a mustering destination, costs for which are not included in the fee.

Some trips will provide insights into management, marine protected area efforts, effect of recent hurricanes, or techniques to restore coral reef habitats.

For those who are not scuba divers or snorkelers, there are land tours to provide a perspective on the River of Grass (The Everglades), Florida Bay, and the south Florida environment including its national and state parks. The trip to the Dominican Republic is a visit to fossil reefs in an upland setting (no diving).

Please see below for the individual field trip postings and for instructions on registering to participate in the field trip program.

Thank you,

Walt Jaap, Field Trip Committee Chair

Field Trip Committee:
Billy Causey
William Dent
Robert Ginsburg
Judith Lang

If you are unable to participate in these field trips, but you would like to see south Florida's natural resources, please take some time to visit a National Park (Biscayne, Everglades, Dry Tortugas) , a nearby Florida State Park (Bill Baggs, John U. Lloyd, Hugh Taylor Birch, among others), and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary web sites.

Benefits for conferees:

• South Florida provides easy access to a wide diversity of coral reef environments throughout the region
• Advantageous for research, education, and recreation, especially for Symposium scientific field trips & workshops
• Travel, diving, and accommodation infrastructure & facilities commonly available

Note that tour prices are based on full capacity. Field trip participants must be registered for the 11th ICRS no later than March 14, 2008. Registrations for the field trips must be made no later than April 18, 2008.

For those participating in the 11th ICRS diving field trips, we strongly encourage you to enroll in the Divers Alert Network (DAN) Insurance program. We make every effort to maximize safety and limit risks; however, going to sea and diving are often controlled by unforeseen events such as weather and vessel operations. There is peace of mind knowing that even though you are in a remote location, DAN will provide you help. Please review the insurance options at www.DiversAlertNetwork.org or call 919-684-2948.

Please click on the icon to view a more detailed description of the fieldtrip
FIELDTRIP	BRIEF DESCRIPTION
1 Andros Island, Bahamas	Andros Barrier Reef System- Geology and Ecology of Bahamian Carbonate Environments Dates: July 12-17, 2008 Cost: $1500 per person including airfare to/from Ft. Lauderdale Airport, lodging (double occupancy; if you prefer to have your own room, there will be an additional cost of $55/night), food, and transportation, and boats, tanks and weights for diving. Cost does not include other dive gear that may need to be rented. Number of Participants: 15-20 Leaders: Robert Ginsburg and Philip Kramer
3 Belize	Belize, Central America - Marine Protected Areas Dates: June 30-July 5, 2008 Cost: $1050 per person, double occupancy. Price includes flights and boat transfers within Belize, meals, lodging and diving/snorkeling, but does not include travel to and from Belize City or dive gear rental. Number of Participants: 8-11 Leaders: Melanie McField and Ellen McRae
4 Bermuda	Bermuda, North Atlantic - Exploring the Islands of Bermuda: A Mid-Atlantic Coral Reserve Dates: June 29-July 6, 2008 Cost: $1200 per person double occupancy. Price includes all food and lodging, all diving/snorkeling. Does not include dive gear or travel to and from Bermuda. Number of Participants: 8-11 Leaders: Thaddeus Murdoch and Annie Glasspool
6 Broward County, Florida	Broward County, Florida Artificial and Natural Reef System Dates: July 6 and/or July 12, 2008 (each are half day dive trips with 2 dives per day) Cost: $50 per person. Does not including dive equipment or diving cylinder rental. Number of participants: 20 Leaders: Lou Fisher, Ken Banks Note: The trip on July 6 is officially full; however, cancellations may occur. If you are interested in being placed on a stand-by list for the July 6 trip, please contact "Lou Fisher" <lfisher barney broward fred org>.
9 South Florida Ecosystem Tour	A Guided Bus Tour of the South Florida Ecosystem: From Lake Okeechobee, through the Everglades and the Florida Keys Dates: July 12-14, 2008 Cost: $400 per person, which includes transportation and 2 nights lodging. Meals are not included. Number of Participants: up to 55 Leader: Bill Causey
10 Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary	Introduction to and Exploration of the Reefs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Dates: July 13-15, 2008 Cost: $300 per person. Does not include travel to and from meeting points, dive gear rental, lodging, or meals. Number of participants: 15 Leader: Leigh Espy
11 Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Restoration	Restored Vessel Grounding Areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Site Recovery and Lessons Learned Dates: July 5, 2008 Cost: $150 per person. Does not include travel to and from venue, meals, and dive equipment, or lodging. Number of Participants: 15-30 Leaders: Harold Hudson and Bill Goodwin
12 Flower Garden Banks	Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Dates: July 1-5, 2008 Cost: $500 per person. Tips are encouraged for the vessel crew. The cost of the trip includes dive tanks and Nitrox fills. Cost does not include travel to and from Houston, TX. Number of participants: 18-25 Leaders: George Schmahl and Emma Hickerson
14A-B-C Palm Beach	Natural and Artificial Reefs- 3 trips are offered Date: July 6, 2008 Cost: $50 to $60 per person. Does not include cylinders or other gear. Number of Participants: 4-15 Leaders: Janet Phipps and Carman Vare, Brock Stanaland, Connie Gasque and L.J. Pugliese 14A Breaker's Reef, Sugar Sands Ledges (Art. Reef) or Royal Park Bridge (Art. Reef) 14B Governor's River Walk(Art. Reef) Breaker's Reef 14C United Caribbean (Art. Reef) Sea Emperor (Art. Reef) San Remo Reef Brighton Ledges Reef
17 The Great Florida State Park Adventure	A Tour of the Submerged and Upland Preserves and Parks in Florida. See the natural beauty of Florida’s State Parks, National Estuarine Research Reserves, and Aquatic Preserves. Several trips will be offered to various locations (see below). One-Day Trips Cost: $95 per person Number of participants: 24 Leader: Carlene Barrett 17D: Jonathan Dickinson State Park – July 12, 2008 17E: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park– July 12, 2008 17F: Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park – July 12, 2008
18 Biscayne National Park	Coral Nurseries and Shipwreck Trail Dates: July 12, 2008 Cost: $200 per person. Includes transportation from Meeting Point, boat time, not dive gear. Number of Participants: 10-45 Leaders: Richard Curry, Brenda Lanzendorf, Tom Capo
19 Key Largo, Florida	Fish Counts in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Coral Reef Management Dates: July 12-15, 2008 Cost: $435 per scuba diving participant; $315 per snorkeling participant (includes lodging, but does not include food or transportation to/from Key Largo). A limited number of scholarships are available Number of participants: 18 people maximum Leaders: Dr. Jim Bohnsack, Paul Humann, Leda A. Cunningham