The 30th Annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF) will be held at the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association (YBRA) field station (https://ybra.org/) near Red Lodge, Montana. The fieldweek will run 21–30 July 2021 and registration fees will be $1200 for Student TRS Members ($1300 for Students) and $1400 for Professional TRS Members ($1500 for Professionals). Students should send a photocopy of their student ID with their registration. Your registration fee includes room and board for the entire week. Registration fees are due by May 30, 2021.

If you have any questions about #NADEF2021, please contact Dr. Jim Speer, Professor of Geography at Indiana State University (Jim.Speer@indstate.edu)

To register for #NADEF2021, please visit the Register to Attend page.

NADEF organizers are still in the process of planning #NADEF2021, but here are some of the potential groups:

Introductory Group: Grant Harley (University of Idaho)

Dendroclimatology: Stockton Maxwell (Radford University)

Ecotone Shifts from Climate Change: Jim Speer (Indiana State University)

Dendrogeomorphology: Maegen Rochner (University of Louisville)

Applications of Blue Intensity: Karen Heeter (University of Idaho)

Timing

The first event on July 21st is dinner around 6pm, followed by introductions by all of the participants, and an introductory lecture. Please arrange to arrive at the Billings (BIL) Airport by 4pm on July 21st so that we can get you out to the field station in time for the first events. Also, please arrange to fly out from Billings (BIL) after 10am on July 30th so that we have time to get you down to the airport without having to leave the field station before 7am.

*COVID-19 Policy for #NADEF2021*

[1] YBRA and Sheila Boggio, the Carbon County Public Health Manager, highly recommend that all attendees be vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to coming to YBRA. Almost all US attendees should be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations by May 1^st, 2021. Current exceptions are those attendees who are less than 12 years of age. YBRA also recognizes that some attendees may have medical conditions (or in rare instances, religious convictions) that may not support vaccination—these cases will require written confirmation.

[2] Unless the vaccines are inaccessible to the attendees prior to arriving at YBRA, we expect that with the few exceptions indicated above, that all attendees will have completed their vaccination program. Note that vaccinations should also be available at the Beartooth Billings Clinic in Red Lodge, MT. If an attendee is not vaccinated for any other reason than those outlined in item #1 above, the attendee must petition the YBRA Board president (ybrapresident@gmail.com) for permission to enter the YBRA campus – the President’s decision will be final. Please do not wait until arriving at the YBRA campus to petition as last-minute accommodations will not likely be possible.

By YBRA rules, we are limited to 50% capacity, so we only have room for 22 people. Thus, registration/attendance will be based on first-come/first-serve. Once we are on site, we will be limited to stay on the site except for field sampling (no social visits to town). There will be a group of paleontologists at the field station, but we have been asked to keep our groups separate to keep the risk of cross-contamination to a minimum. The field station is deeply cleaned between each group and a heightened cleaning schedule has been put in place during our stay. YBRA is working with the Montana Department of Health in the development of their COVID-19 guidelines. Of course, the COVID situation has been and is changing quickly. These rules may change as we approach the event, but we will keep participants informed of major changes through email.

Deliverables

Each group will develop and present a PowerPoint presentation to all of the fieldweek participants, starting at 1pm on July 29th. These presentations will subsequently be posted on the NADEF website. Each group will also produce a 5-page written report that will be compiled into the final report for the funding agencies, the field station, and the participants.

Websites

North American Dendroecological Fieldweek: https://sites.google.com/view/nadef

Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association Facility: https://ybra.org/

Register to attend: https://sites.google.com/view/nadef/register-to-attend

Accommodations

The YBRA is a non-profit organization that was established in 1930 to "further fundamental geological science and the training of students under exceptionally favorable conditions." YBRA conducts geology and other applied field science in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming. The station is located on the road that connects Cooke City with Red Lodge, which is considered to be "the most scenic drive in America" along the Beartooth Pass on U.S. Highway 212 .

The YRBA facility (aerial picture below) is located in a gorgeous, mountainside setting outside Red Lodge, Montana. To check out the facility accommodations, take a virtual tour! Included in the following link is a custom YBRA Map of our the facilities. This maps includes clickable images and descriptions of the facilities, so be sure and take a look around. https://ybra.org/facility-tour/