In last week’s post I expressed the possibility that I might work on tsunami marine debris issues, and as it would have it, in the last week the perfect opportunity arose. Earlier this week, I continued working on several tasks  concerning the Heceta Head Coastal Conference and other things related to Oregon State’s Marine sciences webpage. However, early on I was made aware of a proposal intended for submission to the National Sea Grant office to request for funds for a West Coast wide workshop to help West Coast scientists, managers and communicators to form a coherent framework for response, risk assessments, management, outreach, policy, and research relative to the introduction of nonnative species by marine debris. This workshop is tentatively scheduled for the end of July and therefore requires an extensive amount of work in planning and coordination in a short amount of time.

Enter, Melissa. I have been designated (if all goes according to plan, that is) as the person to “to spearhead and keep track of all workshop arrangements/details/logistics.” Immediately, I’m a little intimidated. This simple description requires me to have a  working know-how of everything that’s going on in the seemingly countless number of Federal and State agencies, NGOs, nonprofits and spin-off task forces containing any number of combination of representatives from these groups. Not to mention keeping up to date and making sure everyone who should be included, is, among other pertinent specifics.  While such details and responsibilities are still emerging, I find myself already intrigued by this process. The number of technical workshops I’ve attended in the past is largely limited to non-pressing/impending issues such as marine reserves or spatial planning, so to have a similar process be applied regionally to an issue that is will be of high importance on current and future scales, is very interesting. I am curious to see how necessary protocols will develop.

Heading into next week my agenda includes getting steering committee members and invitees signed up to newly created listservs as well as preparing for a conference call to initiate planning for a resultant pre-workshop working group which will prepare a document regarding risk communication and coordination. Specifically this group will work to “draft a evaluative-based framework for  risk communications , outreach and engagement plan  associated with an overall risk analysis to  more effectively and consistently communicate the threat and engage managers, researchers, policy makers, educators and stakeholders in appropriate planning, reporting  and responses to: a) biofouling organisms associated with the Japanese tsunami marine debris,  b) minimize risks to people, c)  minimize risks from further human-mediated spread, d) integrate risk communications and coordination with risk assessment and  risk.management.”

Many of the aspects covered by the conference for collaboration and communication are very new to me, but have exceedingly important implications for my interests in how scientific and economic principles are integrated and communicated within multidimensional processes, such as responding to an impending threat like invasive species which has the potential to adversely affect everything from our west-coast ecosystems to our economies. I therefore enter the next week excited about gaining new insights about inter-agency workings, but also the implications these have for my broader interests.