Meeting Hisory & Notes
Meeting History
Founded in 1883, the American Ornithologists' Union is the oldest and largest organization in the New World devoted to the scientific study of birds. The 2008 meeting in Portland will mark the 125th anniversary of the AOU's founding and is the 126th slated meeting.
This special joint meeting will also mark the 78th meeting of the Cooper Ornithological Society and the 28th meeting of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists/La Société des Ornithologistes du Canada.
How Green is Our Meeting?
The conference organizers have carefully considered the effects of meeting on our environment and selected the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower because it is a certified green property by Green Seal Lodging Properties (www.greenseal.org)
We will also work on keeping the meeting green with the following:
- Publishing the meeting circular on line and mailed only to members who do not use e-mail
- Reduce the use of Styrofoam and paper plates and other disposable items
- The entire meeting is walkable throughout Portland
- Use of MAX rail to/from the airport, Zoo Night, and other popular locations in Portland. (http://www.trimet.org/max/index.htm)
Nearly all events associated with the meeting will be accessible via the MAX which is free throughout the downtown area. - Posting of the abstracts online rather than printed.
- Using the Portland Hilton, a Green Seal Lodging Property
To earn this certification, the hotel changed all lightbulbs to compact flourescents, donates excess food to city food banks, composts all other waste, re-engineered bathrooms to reduce water consumption, and much more. For more information about the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower arned its Green Seal certification see http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2007_2nd/Apr07_HiltonPortland.html.