Category Archives: Oregon Sea Grant

Oregon Sea Grant publication wins Platinum Award

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Oregon Sea Grant’s 2010-2013 Strategic Plan has won a Platinum Award (Best Overall) in the Book/Booklet category of the LACP 2009 Spotlight Awards. The publication earned 98 points out of 100 in the global communications competition, which attracted more than 325 entries from 10 countries.

Christine Kennedy, LACP’s managing director, said “The Oregon Sea Grant 2010-2013 Strategic Plan proves to be remarkable in light of tremendous competition. The first impression is exceptional, while the narrative and visual design are both outstanding. Our belief is that the target audience will find the level of relevance to be exceptional, demonstrating the success of this project in connecting with the right people and delivering a highly applicable and persuasive message.”

The 24-page, full-color booklet was written, edited, and designed entirely by Oregon Sea Grant staff.

LACP (League of American Communications Professionals) provides a forum within the public relations industry to facilitate discussion of best practices while also recognizing exemplary achievements. Its competitions routinely include hundreds of entries from some of the most recognized organizations throughout the world.

Details of the judging can be viewed here.
Download a .pdf version of the Oregon Sea Grant Strategic Plan here.

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Jay RasmussenJay Rasmussen, Sea Grant Extension program leader since 1996, is the recipient of the 2009 Alberta Johnson Award for Excellence in Extension Leadership, presented earlier this month by Scott Reed, OSU Extension Service Director and Vice Provost for University Outreach and Engagement.

Reed called Rasmussen “an incubator of ideas” and “an outstanding leader  whose philosophy of encouragement, mentoring, and support inspires individuals and groups to bring out the best in themselves and others.”

The Vice Provost’s words echoed those of Sea Grant Extension faculty who nominated their program leader for the honor, which is intended to recognize and reward people who’ve made outstanding contributions to the Extension Service through creative and effective administration and leadership.

“Jay is open to listening as we share ideas and dream about creative possibilities,” the nominating team wrote. “His passion for the program and his interest in our professional growth stirs us to excitement and continual learning.”

As program leader, Rasmussen has helped shape and guide a team of   17 marine Extension faculty, both on campus and in communities the length of the Oregon coast.  Oregon Sea Grant Extension has been praised by  federal reviewers as a “best practices” model for the other 29 Sea Grant College Programs across the country.

An historian by education, with a Master’s from the University of Utah, Rasmussen served for 17 years as executive director of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association before joining Sea Grant. He is a past chair of the National Sea Grant executive committee and the Assembly of Extension Sea Grant Program Leaders, and serves on the Oregon Water Resources Commission.

Rasmussen formally retired early this year, but is continuing in a a part-time  interim role while the university seeks his successor.

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Earth Day 2010 logoFor Earth Day 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is highlighting the  implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NOAA provided $167 million in Recovery Act funding to 50 high-quality, high-priority coastal restoration projects around the country. The efforts are helping to jump-start the nation’s economy by supporting thousands of jobs as well as restoring fish and wildlife habitat.

In Oregon, the Act is providing $699,000 to the Fishing Industry Restoration Partnership, a project which has recruited commercial fishermen to begin retrieving an estimated 180 metric tons of  lost and abandoned crab  pots and other fishing gear off the central coast. The gear damages marine habitats and fouls fishing lines; its retrieval not only cleans up the seafloor ecosystem, but it also provides work for fishermen and their boats.

The NOAA grant resulted, in part, from a successful 2006-07   pilot project organized by the Oregon
Fishermen’s Cable Committee with funding and technical support from Oregon Sea Grant.

Squid invasion! speaker at HMSC

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squid-necropsy

Squid necropsy at HMSC

An expert on the  Humboldt squid will give a free, public talk on these large marine predators – which have shown up in Pacific Northwest waters in unprecedented numbers over the past year  – this Wednesday night at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport

Humboldt or jumbo  squid, Dosidicus gigas, are  most commonly found at depths of 200–700 metres (660–2,300 ft) in the central to south Pacific, from Tierra del Fuego to California.  Since the late 1990s the squid have been expanding their range, making their way in increasing numbers as far north as offshore Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. With the expansion has come increased interaction with humans, mainly divers and fishermen.

Professor William F. Gilly of Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station visits the HMSC Visitor Center Wednesday, March 10,  to discuss the  behavior, physiology and ecology of Dosidicus gigas. The public presentation starts at 7 pm in the Hennings Auditorium. There is no admission charge, although donations to the support the center’s public marine education programs are encouraged.

Although reasons for the Humboldt squid’s sudden range expansion during the last decade remain mysterious, recent studies shed light on the ecology, physiology and behavior of these large predators.  They are abundant, fast-growing, short-lived, and extremely prolific. Their diet ranges from small, midwater organisms to large fish. They are powerful swimmers capable of rapid vertical and horizontal migrations. They are tolerant of environmental features, particularly temperature and oxygen. They have large brains and complex behaviors. Scientists have suggested that if one wanted to design a top predator equipped to  cope with climate change, the Humbold squid might be it.

(Professor Gilly’s lab has resources for teachers, parents and students at  Squids For Kids)

OSG scholar writes about wave energy, law

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Former Oregon Sea Grant scholar Holly V. Campbell has an article exploring the legal implications of wave energy development in the winter 2010 issue of the Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal, published by the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi.

Campbell’s article, “A Rising Tide: Wave Energy in the United States and Scotland,” compares and contrasts the two countries’ legal policy and permitting environments for the development of  wave energy, an emerging renewable energy technology that uses the power of ocean waves and to generate electricity.

The journal, and Campbell’s article, are available online at  http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/SGLPJ/SGLPJ.htm

Campbell, a PhD candidate in environmental science at Oregon State University’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, holds law degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Utah.

In 2007, she was among Oregon Sea Grant’s Legislative Fellows, graduate students assigned to work with coastal lawmakers and learn about marine policy-making. She has also worked with Sea Grant Extension sociologist Flaxen D. Conway on a grant-funded project, “The Human Dimensions of Wave Energy,” where her assignment was to examine the legal and institutional framework surrounding wave energy development. And she has assisted Michael Harte, head of OSU’s Marine Resource Management program and Sea Grant’s climate change specialist, on several projects.

Read more about the Sea Grant Scholars program for graduate and undergraduate students.

Oregon Sea Grant’s Pat Corcoran quoted in NY Times article on tsunamis

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Pat Corcoran, hazards outreach specialist for Oregon Sea Grant, was quoted in an article that appeared in the February 28, 2010, NY Times, “Chilean Quake a Warning to U.S. Northwest“:

“The release of pressure between two overlapping tectonic plates along the subduction zone regularly generates massive 9.0 magnitude earthquakes –- including five over the last 1,400 years. The last ‘Big One’ was 309 years ago. We are in a geologic time when we can expect another ‘Big One,’ either in our lives or those of our children. Prudence dictates that we overcome our human tendencies to ignore this inevitability.”

He was also quoted extensively in an Associated Press article appearing in the Feb. 27 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, among other places. (“Tsunami barely registers in Pacific Northwest“).

Corcoran appears in an Oregon Sea Grant video about tsunami preparedness called Three Things You Need to Know. You can view the 3-minute video here. Oregon Sea Grant also has a 14-minute video about tsunami preparedness called Reaching Higher Ground. Watch it here.

Sea Grant “all hands” meeting this week

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Oregon Sea Grant’s faculty, staff and funded researchers meet today and tomorrow in Corvallis to share plans and achievements, discuss new initiatives and work on integrating the program’s research, outreach and education elements into the “one Sea Grant” envisioned in the program’s new Strategic Plan.

In addition, a team of communications, Extension and education specialists will be live-blogging the meeting and presentations as a proof-of-concept for using social media tools  to support our outreach and engagement mission. Check out the blog here – we’ve already posted links to current research on the use of social media in education, along with OSG blogger Rob Emanuel’s extended discussion of his experience integrating social media into his Extension work on the North Coast.

On Wednesday, researchers whose projects have been funded under our 2010-2012 grant cycle will talk about their work in areas ranging from climate change and tsunami hazards to shellfish disease and marine reserves.

After hours, we’ll gather to celebrate the retirement of two long-time Sea Grant professionals: Extension program leader/assistant program director Jay Rasmussen, and Jim Waldvogel, marine extension agent for the northern California and southern Oregon coast.

Summer Scholars program offers undergrads marine science experience

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A new Oregon  Sea Grant Summer Scholars program is accepting undergraduate applicants who’d like to get an inside look at marine science and resource management careers by spending the summer working on a marine science project for a state or local agency.

Sea Grant plans to select five or more Summer Scholars, each of whom will spend 10 weeks this summer working with a marine research, outreach, education or public policy agency or institution in Oregon. Potential projects range from collecting and analyzing biological data to developing museum exhibits and assisting on information campaigns. Scholars will each receive a $2,000 stipend to help with living expenses.

The program is open to any undergraduate student who will have completed the equivalent of two years of full time study and is currently enrolled in any U.S. college or university. Students of color, from first nations, non-traditional students, and those from other diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is March 31.

For more information, see: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/funding/fellowships/undergrad_fellows.html , or contact Eric.Dickey@oregonstate.edu

Oregon Sea Grant publication seeks to prevent the spread of New Zealand mudsnails

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NZ-Mudsnails-2010-coverThe New Zealand mudsnail is an introduced aquatic species that has invaded estuaries, lakes, rivers, and streams in Washington, Oregon, California, and many other states in the western U.S. Its small size (<5 mm), cryptic coloration, and ability to survive out of water for weeks make it an ideal hitchhiker.

New Zealand Mudsnails is a guide for  field detection and for treating field gear to prevent the spread of these aquatic invaders. It is intended for researchers, monitoring crews, watershed survey groups, and anyone else who travels frequently between aquatic or riparian locations.

The brochure is free of charge for the first 10 copies, and 50¢ each thereafter. To order, please call 541-737-4849 or e-mail sea.grant.communications@oregonstate.edu. You may also download a printable PDF of the brochure from http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs.html