|
|
 | | West of the beach . . .
Oregon Shores' Ocean Program was established to help protect and restore that area of Oregon located West of the Beach. The program is focused on achieving six overarching goals: • Empowering citizens to use laws, science and communication tools to help protect the ocean. • Building momentum for improving our ocean's health by working within a statewide ocean coalition. • Establishing a system of marine protected areas, including fully-protected marine reserves, to protect intact ocean ecosystems for future generations. • Identifying ways to implement recommendations, in Oregon, from two seminal ocean reports — 2003 Pew Ocean Commission and 2004 US Commission on Ocean Policy • Bringing attention to the need for citizens and policy makers to consider the land-sea-air connection when managing and making decisions for Oregon's future. • Providing deliberative review of ocean development proposals, including those for wave energy facilities, to assure potential ecological impacts are identified, studied, and minimized or avoided. CONTACT Robin Hartmann, Ocean Program Director — 541-817-2275 |
|
| | NEWS | | | Dec 28 2011 First Marine Reserves Become a Reality with New Year |   Researchers working with an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). Photo courtesy of NOAA.
The first two reserves are at Redfish Rocks, near Port Orford in Curry County, and Otter Rock, near Depoe Bay in Lincoln County. Much work has been done at these two sites since they were established by law in 2009 and designated through rulemaking in 2010, all leading up to these prohibitions. Researchers with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and other scientists have conducted two years of baseline data collection, including mapping the seafloor and surveying for fish, invertebrates, algae and more using various techniques and equipment including SCUBA, an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and video sled.
 Canary rockfish photographed from an ROV off Cape Arago, an area being considered for a future marine reserve. Photo courtesy of Oceana.
Two small reserves are a start, but don’t come close to fulfilling the goal of a network of reserves reflecting ecological knowledge and protecting the complete range of offshore habitats. The campaign to create such a network continues. Opportunities to get involved and make a difference will begin right away, with a marine reserve bill expected to be considered during the four-week-long 2012 legislative session, which begins Feb. 1. The bill that is being prepared by Oregon’s Coastal Caucus, it is anticipated, will designate the next three reserves at Cape Falcon, Cascade Head and Cape Perpetua. These sites were recommended by Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council in December, 2010 and were based on a year’s worth of deliberation by three balanced marine reserve community teams.
 Redfish Rocks, site of one of Oregon's two new marine reserves. Photo courtesy of Redfish Rocks Community Team.
 Contact: Robin Hartmann, Ocean Program Director, (541) 817-2275, or EMAIL
|
MORE NEWS... | Jan 18 Public Invited to Sit in on Marine Monitoring Workshop
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct an ecological monitoring workshop on Friday, Feb. 3, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Oregon State University Alumni Center in Corvallis. Oregon State University’s COMPASS program is co-sponsor. Members of the public interested in how marine reserves are monitored and studied are welcome to sit in as observers, though not as participants. Marine ... MORE | | Dec 23 2011 First Trace of Japanese Tsunami Debris Reaches West Coast
Many CoastWatchers have been anxiously waiting for news about the vast patch of debris generated by the March tsunami in Japan and making its way across the Pacific. The first confirmed debris has now reached the West Coast. A black float about the size of a 55-gallon drum was found two weeks ago by a crew cleaning a beach a few miles east of Neah Bay at the northwest tip of Washington. The ... MORE | |
|
|
|
|