The opportunity to visit other sites is essential. It not only brings participant together, but it allows everyone to kick the rocks and smell the mud. This first hand acquaintance with other sites cannot be replaced by pictures. Enthusiasm and bootlegged data collection can only carry an intersite project a short ways. Because of the existence of this sort of data, the LTER network is a wonderful opportunity for intersite research.
Intersite research goes slowly.
The synthesis of stream organic matter budgets was finally published 12 years after the first workshop. It take time to develop the essential relationships among collaborators and the synthesis is always limited by the slowest link. Cullen et al. To this list I add patience and realism realism that not everyone will contribute equally and patience to work with people who might not have equal enthusiasm. Usually it is the combined efforts of several people that provides effective leadership, and I particularly thank Judy Meyer, Pat Mulholland, Bruce Peterson, Jennifer Tank, and Nick Aumen for their role in leading the interactions among stream ecologists within LTER and within the larger community.