Community Outreach and Engagement

Marine Reserves:
Listening and Learning

At the request of Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon's Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) is developing recommendations for establishing marine reserves that would allow the state to test their effectiveness as a tool for managing Oregon's territorial waters.

To that end, OPAC has asked Oregon Sea Grant to put together an outreach effort to inform the public about marine reserves, listen to community concerns and gather feedback about the concept and the process.

Sea Grant held public outreach meetings in eight coastal communities during February 2008, and hundreds of participants were invited to submit written comments. Those comments are being compiled at OSU, and will become part of a report to OPAC for its use in finalizing an Oregon Marine Reserve Policy guidance document (currently available in early draft form) later in 2008.

Informed citizen participation that incorporates the beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions of a wide range of Oregonians is critical to the success of this effort.

Oregon Sea Grant, based at Oregon State University, has been conducting public outreach and education on ocean and coastal matters for four decades. Through its network of Sea Grant Extension agents and specialists stationed the length of the Oregon coast, the program has built strong community connections and a track record of gathering public opinion and comment on subjects ranging from fisheries to coastal hazards and long-term research planning.

Sea Grant's role is to attempt to bring diverse parties together under principles of inclusiveness, neutrality, and respectful contribution toward positive outcomes.

The marine reserve outreach effort aims to engage the full range of coastal communities and ocean users, including:

• Commercial, charter, and recreational fishermen
• Seafood industry and fishing support services
• Port commissioners and managers
• Conservation leaders in coastal communities
• Coastal recreationists
• Local government and staff
• The public at large

This effort is taking place in two distinct phases:

• Phase 1: Sea Grant has completed a series of listening and information-gathering activities in several coastal port communities, requesting written feedback on five questionsabout marine reserves . The more than 2,000 comments received during the information-gathering period have been combined in an interim report for delivery the week of March 24 to OPAC, the Governor and state agencies involved in the marine reserves process. Because of the short deadline for preparing the report, Sea Grant is no longer accepting public comments.
• Phase 2: OPAC intends to use the interim report to help complete their marine reserve policy recommendations to the governor. During this phase, Oregon Sea Grant will support local working groups and assist OPAC and the state in communicating with the public about the marine reserve nomination process.

The outreach report

Oregon Sea Grant has compiled the more than 2,000 comments received during and after the public outreach meetings into a 476-page document, "Listening and Learning: Marine Reserves Coastal Community Forums." We are making the entire report available here in two versions.

• The entire 476-page report . Note: This is a 160 MB file and will take a long time to download and open if you have a slow Internet connection.
• The same report divided into smaller files, which may be easier to download:
  • Ch 1-4. OPAC charge to Oregon Sea Grant; Scoping Report; Design of Forums; Press and Media About the Forums (4.5 MB)
  • Ch 5: Implementation of the Forums (38 MB)
  • Ch 6: Astoria Forum (8 MB)
  • Ch 7: Garibaldi Forum (32.5 MB)
  • Ch 8: Newport Forum (8 MB)
  • Ch 9: Florence Forum (200 KB)
  • Ch 10: Reedsport Forum (7 MB)
  • Ch 11: North Bend Forum (15 MB)
  • Ch 12: Port Orford Forum (2.5 MB)
  • Ch 13: Brookings Forum (8 MB)
  • Ch 14 Web, E-mail and Other Comments (4 MB).

You need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to open and read these files. Simply click on the links to open the files in your Web browser. Alternately, save the files to your own computer for later (and faster) reading by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save target as ...", or "Save link target as ..." from the drop-down menu that appears (Mac users click and hold to reach that menu).

If you are unable to download or open the files, printed copies will be available for examination at coastal county offices of the OSU Extension Service in early April . (find your nearest Extension office here here.)

Get involved

For more information about how to get involved in, and stay informed about, the marine reserves process, visit the new Oregon Marine Reserves Web site hosted by by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.

Contact us

Sea Grant is no longer accepting public comment for this phase of the public outreach process. However, you may still contact Ginny Goblirsch, Sea Grant marine reserves outreach coordinator, for information about the process at marinereserves@oregonstate.edu