Breaking Waves

Scotch broom, Japanese eelgrass, Quagga mussels, and Oregonians: How are they related? The first three are non-native, invasive species of plants and animals -  and  Oregonians often unknowingly spread these and a growing number of other invaders. But they can also stop invasive species before they spread.

A year-long educational effort to prevent the spread of invasive species in Oregon ramps up this month, with the premiere of a new documentary film produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting. The hour-long documentary, “The Silent Invasion,” has its OPB broadcast premiere on Earth Day, April 22 at 8 p.m.

But Oregon Sea Grant’s contributions of time and expertise to the production is bringing special advance screenings to Corvallis, on April 9, and Nweport, on April 17.

Read more …

Visit our new Marine Invaders page for more tools to aid in the fight to identify and control the spread of invasive animals and plants.

A fast-track “listening and learning” process that drew nearly 800 people to meetings on Oregon’s coast has produced more than 1,700 separate comments on the question of establishing marine reserves in the state’s territorial waters.

Oregon Sea Grant, which was asked to conduct the outreach effort, will deliver the comments this week to the state’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council. The council is expected to use the report to help formulate recommendations for addressing Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s goal of creating a limited number of marine reserves – areas of the near-shore sea where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited - off the Oregon coast. …

• Read more
• Download the full 267-page report

Many Oregon communities are facing rapid population growth and increases in housing and industrial construction, without a matching increase in the resources necessary to manage such growth and make wise land use decisions. One result may be added stress from increased stormwater runoff on already overtaxed water management systems.

To help communities address such issues, Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University (OSU) has published Barriers and Opportunities for Low Impact Development: Case Studies from Three Oregon Communities.

More information: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/communications/releases.html#lowimpact

A series of “listening and learning” forums in eight communities up and down the Oregon Coast this month will gather a wide range of interests and viewpoints to explore the issue of marine reserves.

The forums, starting in North Bend on Feb. 18, are being organized by Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon State University-based marine research and outreach program, at the request of the state’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC).

 Read more …

Marine fossils and sea turtles take center stage in February and March as OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center presents two special learning and exploration events for the whole family.

On Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11:30 a.m., join us for FossilFest, one of our most popular winter events and a chance to learn about the fascinating fossils you can find on the Oregon coast. Bring your own specimens for expert identification or to swap with other fossil enthusiasts, or pick up a free fossil from our sample table and start a new hobby. Guest speakers include Dr. William Orr of the University of Oregon and Guy “the Oregon Fossil Guy” DiTorrice of Newport. Children’s activities, presented by the North America Research Group (NARG) include digging for shark teeth, making a shark tooth necklace, painting a fossil replica, and an ammonite toss.

On Saturday, March 1, come learn about the fascinating world of sea turtles as the Visitor Center hosts Sea Turtle Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m. Speakers include Dr. Larry McKenna, author of “Almost Gone,” the story of the endangered leatherback sea turtle, and Dr. Selena Heppell, an OSU marine biologist who will talk about successful turtle conservation efforts around the world. Kids can take part in a Leatherback Painting Contest where everone goes home a winner!

The Visitor Center is located on Yaquina Bay in Newport, just south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Admission is by donation.

Graduate students in marine science and resources have only a few weeks to apply for two major fellowships being offered by Oregon Sea Grant and/or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The opportunities include:

• The National Marine Fisheries Service/Sea Grant NOAA’s Coastal Management Fellowship, which provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide project assistance to state coastal zone management programs. Application deadline: Jan. 28, 2008
• The John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship , which matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative branch, the executive branch, or appropriate associations and institutions located in the Washington, D.C. area. Recipients spend one year working on substantive national policy issues related to marine issues; a stipend is provided. Application deadline: Feb. 29, 2008

For more information about these and other Sea Grant fellowhip opportunities for qualified graduate and undergraduate students, visit our Web site.

Melissa Feldberg
Fellowship Application
322 Kerr Admin.
Corvallis, OR 97331

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for information about either of these opportunities.

The following publications and DVD are available online at http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/newpubs.html

This is Oregon Sea Grant

Oregon’s Coastal Marine Recreational Fishing Community:….

Public Outreach and Behavior Change:….

Responses to the West Coast Groundfish Disaster:….

Salmon and Estuaries:….

Tsunami Awareness for Fishermen and Mariners

Oregon Sea Grant Program Report 2007:…. [DVD and booklet]

Oregon Sea Grant is pleased to announce the launch of a new series of audio podcasts, Communicating Climate Change. The podcasts will feature in-depth conversations with prominent social scientists whose work informs public communications about science. Joe Cone is the producer. The first conversation is with Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change:

http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/blogs/communicatingclimate/

Given the importance of appropriate actions in response to climate change, successful communication with various audiences is vital and deserves to be informed by the best communication research. These podcasts will present some of that research through informal conversations with the researchers themselves. Complete text transcripts of the conversations will also be online.

Links on the web site guide listeners to subscribe to the podcasts via RSS, iTunes, or even email.

Residents of coastal Oregon, Washington and California have until Jan. 31 to take part in a survey designed to identify ocean and coastal research and information priorities for  the region.

The survey, jointly sponsored by Sea Grant programs in the three states, is part of a federally funded effort intended to:

• Ensure the region’s unique resource management challenges are better understood and represented at the federal level
• Help the region progress toward effective, ecosystem-based management
• Identify the common needs of west coast communities of place and interest to encourage further region-wide collaboration on critical ocean and coastal issues

The project, supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and endorsed by the governors of all three states, is a response to recent national recommendations calling for a regional approach to research planning.

Survey responses will be combined with comments received during a series of community meetings held up and down the West Coast in 2007, and will be incorporated into a final report to be delivered to NOAA in 2008.

The survey, along with information about the planning process and collected comments from community meetings, can be accessed here.  Although three versions - one for each state - are provided, the questions are identical and all responses will be compiled for the final report. Respondents whose interests overlap state boundaries need only respond to one survey.

People come to Oregon from all over the United States each year to learn about - and try to spot - the gray whales that migrate past our coast. Now’s your chance to join the host of volunteers who take up stations at prime whale-watching spots each winter and spring to teach people about these majestic marine mammals.

Oregon Sea Grant, the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon State Parks and Recreation team up Nov. 17-18 to offer training for volunteers in the Winter Whale Watch Week “Whale Spoken Here” program. Dr. Bruce Mate, OSU marine mammal specialist, and John Calambokidis, research biologist and co-founder of Cascadia Research, will lead the Newport training.

Pre-registration is required; sign up through Whale Spoken Here, the Oregon State Parks & Recreation whale-watching site.

This year’s Winter Whale Watch Week is Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

(Additional training will be offered in January and February for those interested in volunteering for the Spring Whale Watch Week, March 22-29, 2008).

(photo of surf scoters and breeching gray whale courtesy of the Oregon State Parks Whale Watching Center, Depoe Bay)