We welcome and invite you to Omaha, Nebraska, the location for the 2027 annual meeting for the Society for Freshwater Science. Omaha – a place that takes its name from the Omonhon people living there before European colonization, traveling each year upstream, against the current of the Missouri River. Our theme “Navigating braided waters: past present and future” is inspired by these upstream journeys through braided and shifting river channels alongside tallgrass prairies and challenges us to think critically about where we have been as a Society of freshwater scientists, and how we can stand together solidly against the present and future capricious currents created by unprecedented and interwoven freshwater crises.

Omaha is framed by two iconic rivers, the Platte and the Missouri on the eastern edge of Nebraska, an area of fascinating climatic and ecological changes that have influenced the people and ecosystems nearby for millennia. Omaha’s proximity to the confluence of these two rivers evokes a profound sense of place defined by journeys upstream, exchange of ideas and resources, discoveries, and transitions both ecologically, and historically. We aim to meet and support each other as we navigate the challenges rapidly flowing toward us from seemingly innumerable channels and sources unseen around the bend. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Midwest to share your work toward charting next steps in our freshwater science journeys.