Announcing Our New Name and New Blog!

After many months of deliberation, F. X. Browne, Inc. has finally chosen a new name for our newsletter. We've also been busy setting up our new blog.

It is hard to believe, but April 2008 will mark the beginning of the eighth year that F. X. Browne, Inc. has been publishing our online newsletter, the Lake and Watershed News. Although we have continuously tweaked the content and layout of the Lake and Watershed News over the years, this month marks a bigger change: the launch of a new name, Sustainable Environments. Lake and Watershed News was a good name, but over time we've found that the name represents a narrower scope of services than our firm provides. We wanted a name that would reflect a growing emphasis on sustainable development, a name that could incorporate our experience with innovative technologies such as bioengineering, low-impact development, and stormwater infiltration Best Management Practices within the context of watershed management. Many of you may recall that we held a contest a few months ago to gather ideas for a new name. Unfortunately, no one came up with the winning name chosen by Frank Browne, Ph.D., P.E., president of F. X. Browne, Inc., but we extend our thanks to everyone who entered. Reading your entries was quite entertaining! We wish to award honorable mention to Larry Butler, Director of Parks and Recreation in Reston, VA, for his entry, "The Flow Must Go On," and to Danielle Dumont at YSI for her play on our company name, "Natural FX."

While we were in the mood for improvements, we decided to initiate a blog, also named Sustainable Environments. The blog includes news items, grant announcements, workshop notices, and other items of interest. The blog will allow us to provide information to our readers throughout the month in between newsletter issues. It will also serve to encourage dialogue on issues facing watershed managers, engineers, teachers, regulatory officials, lake association members, and other readers. One need not sign in or have a Google account to read or comment on the blog, so we encourage our readers to visit and comment  at http://fxbrowne.blogspot.com.