Dear NACP Open Science Meeting participants,

We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation very closely, and things continue to change rapidly. We have also been considering your concerns seriously. As you may know, several cases of COVID-19 infection have been identified in the Washington, D.C. metro area over the weekend, and many more organizations are implementing travel restrictions. We want all of our community members to be safe and to get the fullest benefit from the meeting. UCAR, the convening organization, has been working closely with the hotel to explore options, and in consultation with the sponsoring agencies (NASA and USDA NIFA), the Meeting Planning Committee co-Chairs (Gretchen Kappel-Alek and Lisa-Marie Wyndham Myers), Libby Larson (NACP Coordinator), and Gyami Shrestha (Director, U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program), we have made the difficult decision to postpone the meeting. The hotel has just offered us the option for postponing to a later date sometime within 2020, as yet to be determined, but for planning purposes we feel this will most likely be Fall 2020 (October or November). 

We had considered doing a virtual-only meeting at the originally scheduled time, but organizing something like that on such short notice would be a significant task. We also feel that because this community and stakeholders meet so infrequently, allowing for in-person interactions is an important aspect. Many people have also suggested offering virtual options in the future for reduction of carbon footprints and to accommodate those who cannot travel, so for the later date the Meeting Planning Committee will investigate these options.

Things to do now:

• UCAR will be reimbursing all paid registration fees automatically in the next week. There is no need to take further action.
• Please cancel your other travel arrangements if you made them individually.
• The easiest way to cancel the hotel is to call:
• Hilton 1-800-774-1500
• Hilton McLean direct  703 847-5000
• Hilton Honors (if you used your HH number)
• If you are an invited speaker and you made your travel arrangements through ICF - they will take care of canceling flights and train tickets that were booked through their travel agency.
• Keep an eye out for our future notices and updates regarding this meeting on the rescheduled date!

We wish you all the best during these times of uncertainty. We are all, including the Meeting Planning Committee, dedicated to putting together an innovative, valuable scientific conference for the NACP community, and will work towards adjusting our plans to create a Fall 2020 meeting for this group.

Best,

Libby Larson, NACP Coordinator

Gyami Shrestha, Director, U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program

Gretchen Keppel-Aleks (University of Michigan), Meeting Planning Co-Chair

Lisamarie Windham-Myers (USGS Menlo Park), Meeting Planning Co-Chair

The NACP Meeting Planning Committee