Gumboot

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Catie Michel

Prepare for rambling to make up for my lacking-in-words-posts in 3..2..1..

I haven’t written much about activities at work besides the action-packed trips we’ve taken thus far, mostly because the majority of my work-related time has been spent in front of a computer analyzing the available outdoor recreation experiences in southern Oregon and attempting to visualize all of the information in a digestible way. After many weeks of analyzing previously collected data, collecting my own data, analyzing that, creating a report, editing that, losing files, wanting to throw the computer out the window into the lily pond outside, and then thanking it for doing things my brain can’t, collecting more data, reviewing, editing, re-doing, reviewing, number crunching, watching obscure excel tutorials (thanks youtube), having dreams about formatting, editing, and so on (and that description is still probably an understatement) Miles and I have finally agreed on the project’s status as being tentatively finished.

To say the least, it’s been a bit grueling. I’ve never conducted a research project outside of school that didn’t involve sampling methods in a context that I’m already familiar with, i.e. field data collection, lab work. etc. I’ve also never been responsible for writing the final report for the research. I’ve felt a bit stir crazy having to create this project entirely from a desk, but lemme tell ya, does it feel GOOD to see it all laid out in colorful, organized graphs, trends, and a few pretty pictures of the coast to complement the data. To briefly explain its purpose, I’ve added a few paragraphs from the report here.

“This research project was conducted to fill a gap in the knowledge of guided fishing charters and outdoor recreation tours along the coast. Data on the number of and type of operators, how well they are marketing themselves online, the products they offer, and especially the price of services is not readily available. This research was conducted in order to identify guided fishing and outdoor recreational tour businesses that were successfully marketed online so that a search for the specific service offered in the targeted community would appear as a top result in a basic online search. A limited comparison of these results against other inventories of or estimate of the number of operators would then be possible. Collection of price data helps to understand the economic impact of these businesses and potentially to help identify new growth conducted annually to provide long term trend data. In addition, the model is one that could be reproduced for other coastal communities in different states and countries.

The data collected will provide a basis upon which a guide training program will be developed to aid guided tour operators in obtaining the knowledge, skills, and resources to better market themselves, reach customers, sell experiences, and attract more sustainable, experiential, and interpretive tourism to the southern coast of Oregon.”

During this process, I’ve learned a lot about basic data analytics and visualization, interpretive communication, and how to create a project/write instructions that are clear enough to be successfully repeated by others. We have already shown the report to a couple of guides in the area and they are quite pleased with the information. In the fall, Miles will be sharing these findings with the Adventure Travel Trade Association World Summit in Argentina to present the Wild Rivers region of Oregon as a pilot location to implement a guide training development program based off of the needs assessment information we have been collecting. For the amount of time we’ve spent working with this data, it’s going to be a lot of fun keeping in touch with Miles to see what comes of this summit and where he is able to take his ideas. I just wish I could still be here to help make it happen! 10 weeks is just too short.

Now that the core project is finished, I’ll be spending the last couple weeks of the summer interviewing a few guides about their operations to get qualitative assessments of their operations, needs, and perspectives. In addition, I am making videos for the guide training program and working with Dustin to compile literature (about southern Oregon ecology, wildlife, tourism, sustainable business, interpretation, marine reserves, psychology, etc.) to use in the program.

Crabz on the docks in Bandon

In other news, it’s been yet another fun week outside of work. Dustin and I went crabbing with one of the photographers we hired and although most were just shy of the legal size, or female, it’s a pretty great feeling to put in almost no effort (you just throw the pot into the water with some chicken attached) and barely any time to then pull up the pot and there’s nine crabs scuttling around.

That same evening I attended a lecture at the OIMB given by Robert Pitman, a marine biologist of NOAA Fisheries who studies killer whales in the Antarctic. It was a great learning and networking experience; stay tuned for what’s to come of that.

This weekend, Dustin and I got to tag along on a kayaking tour out of Port Orford with South Coast Tours (perks of being a buddy of Dave’s).

Our foggy launch site

The trip was definitely a highlight of the summer. We got to see an unbelievable amount of sea stars, which was incredibly encouraging. I did a kayaking/intertidal survey a few months ago in Morro Bay, CA where I work with the Estuary Program, to write a piece about the sea star wasting disease that’s been heavily impacting populations all along the Pacific coast. I only found one sea star that day, but during this trip there were definitely more than I could count and some were the biggest sea stars I’ve ever seen. We also saw two river otters and a number of harbor seals, pelagic cormorants, black oystercatchers, pigeon guillemots, and a peregrine falcon. We also saw a huge gumboot chiton, which is somehow just a ridiculously fitting name for such a creature.

Later that day, I hiked with my roommate and her boyfriend from Sunset Bay to Cape Arago and back, after having scouted the perfect hammock locations along the trail the evening before.

Prime.

PSA and lesson of the day: Do not let the presence of fog discourage you from a sunset expedition!

It was a gorgeous trail and we again saw some harbor seals, which always remind me of cookies and cream ice cream. We also saw the massive colony of sea lions located off the coast of Simpson’s Reef. It was crazy how loud they are, and how many there were. At cape Arago, we sat for 40 minutes timing the intervals between spouts of what I’m pretty sure was a grey whale. It was the first whale I’ve seen while here, and there’s really nothing like it. The perfect day filled with so many cool animals was ended with a beautiful sunset as we hiked back to the car.

Extra Curricular Activities??

Posted on August 7, 2017 by sea_tys

Every blog post I have written so far (and the following blogs in the next few weeks) has dealt with work and the work environment. But ya boy hasn’t just writing blogs and working this whole summer. Oh no, the rowdy strapping group of educated youths at Hatfield Marine Science Center have been taking full advantage of their limited time in Oregon. Ranging from weekend trips to Crater Lake to organized camping trips through Sea Grant and REU program, we’ve been getting as much exposure to (arguably) the most beautiful state in the US.

Waterfalls and Mt. Hood

Zach and I were lucky enough to hop on the REU camping trip a few weeks back. The highlight of the trip (besides the wonderful bonding we experienced) was hiking up to the tree line of Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Not a cloud in the sky, yet there was a coolness in the air that made it perfect for shirts and t-shirts. Crossing snow patches in 85 degree weather just boggled my New England mind. If these snow patches were the leftovers, it made me wonder what these trails looked like at the peak of winter. 14 miles round a trip to just over 9000 feet, not too bad!

Zach and Dimitri, part of the DIVAs (Dads in Vertical Ascent) (Not actual dads), under the snow capped peak of Mt. Hood.

Beautiful days in the high 80s with snow are just a recipe for impromptu snow ball fights

The REU camping trip also included visiting just a bunch of waterfalls. Of the ones we did visit, two stick out clearly in my mind. Those two were the Tamanawas Falls and the Multnomah Waterfall. The Tamanawas Falls are a huge 100 foot waterfall at the end of a nice easy hike through the forest. There were a few thing that made these falls stand out:

They were about as thick of a waterfall as they come. It wasn’t a wimpy tall stream coming down, the amount of water pouring off of this cliff was unreal! You could hear the roar a good 5 minutes before it properly came into view.
By scrambling over a few moss covered boulders and accepting the fact the spray was going to drench you, you were able to get behind the falls. Behind the falls was a massive cavern that had incredible views of the water pouring down, the stream winding its way through the forest and the mosses that covered every rock that was touched by the spray. I’ve seen some falls in my days, but this was epic.

This summer I’ve committed to honing the photography skills I’ve picked up during my online intro to photography 101 class I took 2 years a go. Ya boy is shooting on M!

Multnomah waterfall was great too! Thanks to instagram I felt like I had already seen it a hundred times before, but it was still so much more beautiful in real life than in the pictures. The highlight of this waterfall was that I found my doppelgänger?? A more accurate description is someone who likes kind of like me, but was wearing oddly similar clothing. Naturally I didn’t say a word to him. I opted for a casual walk over and awkwardly stand next to him and his girlfriend. Then, as if life became a scene in a movie, the crowd of tourists staring at the Multnomah falls split and gave professional discreet photographer Zach Clemens the perfect moment to snap a picture. Highlight reel moment for sure.

Me, myself and a bunch of tourists.

The next activity was the Sea Grant camping trip! While not as intense as hiking Mt. Hood it was still in tents!!! Hahaha…. God that was dreadful. I am so sorry. Uh.. anyway, the real highlight of the camping trip was getting the chance to really connect with the South Coast Sea Grants. So many great conversations. It’s so interesting hearing the contrast of Newport and Coos Bay living conditions and all of their projects. It’s a shame we’re very quickly running out of weekends! I’d be super keen to go explore a bit more of the south coast of Oregon. Especially the river snorkeling that Catie was talking about, that sounds so sick!

The big activity that we had was visiting the Tamolitch Blue pool. An unreal freshwater spring with water so clear that while it may look 5 feet deep, it’s at least 40 feet in some parts. This perspective change really threw me off when it came time to go cliff jumping. The clearness of the water made it look so much closer than it was! I kept hearing 70 foot cliff, but it just looked life a 30-40 footer. Wrong, it was definitely a 70. I had that realization moment mid air when I found myself thinking that I probably should have hit the water by then, but instead kept on falling. Great stuff! We were also told that the water was around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. But, you hear 38 degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn’t really translate because you have nothing to compare it to. But let me tell you, I’ve never felt water so cold that it made it hard to breathe! It was as if my lungs were being compressed by a large ice block resting on my chest. It was wild. Zach and I joked about bringing our wetsuits, in hindsight, that probably would have been a good idea!

Other highlights include: Allie and her hand + Dutch Bros and their confusion with ordering a normal black coffee + Dustin finding a big fish at night

Zach diving in after a nice 20 minute warm up in the sun

Finally (not really finally for everything we’ve done, but rather for this blog post), last weekend we took it upon ourselves to go camping at Crater Lake! I remember first meeting everyone in Corvallis and having a conversation about how we all are determined to go to Crater Lake this summer. Well guess who did it? Ya interns did. This trip came together as a spur of the moment decision that we decided during the Sea Grant camping trip. With less than a week to plan the trip (mostly done by Julia, thank you Julia), it came together in a hurry. Most camping spots were full, but Julia came through and found some dude on Airbnb that was renting out a camping spot in his yard! However, his yard turned out to be a dusty road in the middle of his farm. There’s nothing like 5 people in a 3 person tent on a slight decline, with some rocks in your spine to put you to sleep at night, am I right? Mediocre sleep aside, it felt like a real adventure and it honestly made the trip so much more interesting. The 2 guys we were staying with lived in a bus with their 3 dogs and 25+ ducks. They were quite the characters and had some very interesting conversations with them about politics, the environment, aliens, and white water rafting. As great as they were, we didn’t come for the conversations. We came for this big ol beautiful lake. You always see pictures of it online. Even National Geographic photographers just can’t seem to capture how incredible it is. Pictures can’t translate the feeling of awe, as you stand before it. That is what gives you the full experience. Can you believe the guys we stayed with had never been there?? They live an hour away! Unreal I tell you, unreal. The hike and drives were incredible. But my favorite moment might have been swimming in the lake itself. Naturally, Zach and I brought our dive masks again. Easily 50 foot visibility with chilly water, but not nearly as cold as Tamolitch! After swimming out for a bit we could see where it drops off. We were able to dive down to stand on the edge of the drop off and peer down into the dark blue. That is so spooky. Even though there isn’t anything that can hurt you living in there (knock on wood) it just made you feel small seeing how awe inspiring it was. 10/10

I really hope this isn’t as blurry as it is in the preview picture…

Two Lazy Weekends

Posted on August 6, 2017 by sea_jam

So to contrast my last post about two incredibly sweet, adventure-filled weekends, I am going to write about the lazy, content slug-state that I have been in for these past two weekends. However to make up for this lack of excitement, I will be posting film photos from the weekend with Justin and Erik that I just recently got developed!

Sunset at Samuel Boardman

If you read any of this blog you may have seen that some of the Scholars went to Crater Lake a couple weekends ago. I was hoping to go and join in on the camaraderie but unfortunately my mental health wasn’t too great at the time. I was stressed and anxious and I just did not feel like I had a lot of time to myself, especially given the hustle and bustle of the last two weekends. So, I opted out of the trip and decided to stay in Coos Bay. Now let me tell you, as an individual who is 90% extrovert and has a very severe case of FOMO, this was a difficult decision to make. On top of that, I was bummed out that I would be missing out on chances to experience these beautiful places with these people that I am fortunate enough to be placed in a program with and who(m) I may never see again till who knows when. I’m a big believer in the notion that people make experiences meaningful. Whether a person is chill or not so chill, they have a story and being able to know just a part of it, or even play a small part in that story, is something that I find is the absolute best part about being human. So yes, it was tough to say no. But, I am very happy I did because I had a fantastically simple time here in the Bae.

Harris Beach

On Friday (last, last weekend) I drove down to Port Orford after work so that I could do a kayaking tour that Dave Lacey had invited me to. Well it turns out that when a person invites you to a 7:30 kayaking tour, they mean AM, not PM. So, rather than sulk around feeling stupid about this horrible miscommunication I contacted Rowland Willis (one of the photographers we work with) and his wife Christie. They took me on a lovely little hike at Coos Head and I got to see a Peregrine falcon baby and its momma! I also found a hat on the trail that I am just in love with (still haven’t washed it though) ((yes, I am dirty and gross)). But yeah, time spent with Rowland and Christie is always nice because they just are two chillsters from a totally different generation coming from a totally different place. They said they would adopt me if I need them too which I think is pretty damn sweet. I really hope to see them again before I leave here.

Fishing in Brookings

On Saturday, I woke up early and went to church. A little background on myself you might not know, I was raised Seventh-day Adventist and pretty much grew up going to church every Saturday till I left for college. If you don’t know the religion, which I’d say 4 out of 5 people generally don’t, you should look it up. Honestly, pretty culty and unusual sounding to an outsider (myself included) but they have a few pretty neat beliefs and they follow a strict diet, so much so that Loma Linda, the Adventist capital of the world, is listed as one of the four Blue Zones in the world (a Blue Zone is where the oldest people in the world live). One of those neat beliefs is the Sabbath. Adventists really take the Fourth Commandment to heart, believing that God created the world in six literal days and that he rested on the seventh. Since I was born I was never allowed to do homework, go shopping, watch Saturday morning cartoons, or anything else that wasn’t seen as “honoring God” on the Sabbath aka Saturday. Even after I gave up on religion I still try not to do work on the Sabbath. No studying, no stress, no nothing. I definitely do not keep it holy like my parents had raised me to do, but I try to refrain from falling into the rhythms of other institutions by just doing me and forgetting about anything that would normally cause me stress during the week. While people might not see it as the most productive of lifestyles, I think it grounds me and gives me some air to get some perspective on why I do all the junk that I’ve got to do as a student, son, employee, and friend, so that I can continue to do them efficiently for the next six days.

When you see it…

All that being said, Coos Bay has an Adventist church here and I told myself I would check it out. Now that I had a free weekend I finally did, and it was pretty nice actually. I walked in and sat in the pews while waiting for the service to start. Within minutes an old dude with a Hawaiian shirt walked over and greeted me. His name was William and he was a 65 year old surfer dude from Corona, CA. We talked about outdoor recreation and how surfing has changed in Oregon over the years, how California has too many people, and more insignificantly chill subjects. It was nice. During the service a woman talked about how her friend’s mother, after three years of being labeled as “Missing” had finally been found. The woman said that in everything that happens, we have to remember that things don’t unfold on our time, they happen on God’s time. And though my own relationship with God is pretty damn dicey, this statement comforted me. It’s comforting to know that the things we want to achieve as soon as possible might not be what we need in the moment. Maybe we all need a little more time to reflect on what we actually have in order to truly appreciate what is going to be given to us in the future. Who knows, who even cares, my mind can go all day with this. That being said, the sermon was just awful. A woman talked for wayyyy too long about miracles in the form of receiving money so I left early and got German food. The day was followed by a stroll downtown, a Disney movie binge (Lizzie McGuire movie, Zootopia (which you have to see if you haven’t already), and Atlantis), as well as a very pleasant nap. All in all, it was a very Happy Sabbath, and while I did nothing of real significance in comparison to the sites I could have been seeing, I don’t regret a single thing.

The Sexiest Man on the Chetco

This weekend was also very lazy and laid back. On Friday, I participated in the Coos Bay Wine Walk with Julia and Katie. Crazily enough, during the walk I ran into a guy I used to play flag football with in seventh grade. That’s probably number three on my list of random encounters/coincidences I have experienced in my life. After the Wine Walk, I went bar hopping with a few friends who I rock climb with. It was a glorious night filled with beer, fantasized business talk, and giant Jenga. I went to bed at 1:30 that night but my sleep was short-lived. I woke up at 5:30 to drive down to Port Orford with Catie so that we could kayak, and I am so happy that I went because it was sweet!! For three hours we paddled along the coast, going through caves and crevices, chewing on various kelp species, seeing river otters and harbor seals and birds of all sorts. Definitely was better than church last week. The rest of the day consisted of a two and a half hour nap and Pulp Fiction at the local movie theater with my roommate Brendon. I have seen that film tons of times; it’s one of my favorites from one of my favorite directors. But seeing that movie in the theaters just blew my mind. It was like I had seen it for the first time and I could not have been more satisfied with a movie going experience. On top of that, tickets were $5! Bless up, for sure.

Dead Harbor seal in Brookings. Poor thing.

Well I’ve rambled on plenty again, but let me take this time to say that I’m a bit of a scumbag and didn’t post last week so expect to see another post by myself later this week (fingers crossed) detailing what I’ve been doing at work and such.

Here’s to the next three weeks! (Photo taken by the talented Catie)

Week 6: Crater Lake

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Julia Indivero

This past weekend, a bunch of the Sea Grant scholars went to Crater Lake National Park. I had only ever been to one other national park, so since Crater Lake is only a few hours from Charleston, it was one of the top things on my list to see this summer.

We first hiked to Garfield Peak, a trail that winds along the ridge of Crater Lake to a high peak that lets you see views of the lake and mountains to the north and south. The trail passes through fields with wildflowers and groves of hemlocks, pines and firs. There were so many butterflies and bees around! There was still snow remaining towards the end of the trail that we had to cross to reach the top of the peak, but it had been compacted down and was pretty easy to cross. It was still a bit of a strange experience to hike through snow in the summer.

At the top of the peak, the views of Crater Lake and the area were beautiful. At points along the trail, you could see Cascades to the north (including one of the Sisters) and south and Mt. Shasta way off in the distance. The water in the lake was completely still when we first arrived, creating a perfect mirror of the sky, caldera, and Wizard Island.

After hiking Garfield Peak, we drove around the rim of the lake to Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only place that the water can be accessed at Crater Lake. It was a short and steep trail down to the water, where we then could jump in and swim. Though the water was cold, it was not nearly as freezing as Tamolitch Falls, so we were actually able to stay swimming in the water for about 30 minutes. It was so cool to be at the bottom of the caldera, in the water, looking up at the cliffs.

We then continued to drive on Rim Road, circumnavigating the entire lake, and stopped along the way to enjoy the view. We eventually made it back to Crater Lake Lodge in the evening, where we decided to have a drink and sit on the deck overlooking Crater Lake. It was a great end to an awesome weekend!

P.S. Thank you to Katie Gregory for letting me use all her pictures since I never take any!

Week 7: Under Pressure

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Katie Gregory

Pressure.

It’s what pushes us to perform our best, it’s sometimes hard to handle….and it’s also what created Crater Lake.

This week was a pretty routine work week- I spent the first half megacoring with the SEACOR team and the latter half in the office doing background research for our oyster survey, counting shrimp, and conducting surveys of local recreational crabbers/clammers. Pretty low pressure as far as work is concerned.

However, this week we received information on our final symposium taking place the 9th week of the program, for which we have to prepare a 5 minute talk and poster to present to the Sea Grant audience. The due dates for when these final products have to be submitted are fast approaching. Intro pressure. I have done enough public speaking to feel pretty comfortable giving these sorts of presentations. But in such a short time frame, trying to relay across enough information to draw an audience seems a difficult task. I’ve also never created a professional poster before, and trying to get it done in the midst of what will almost surely be my most time-consuming work week to date (with the native oyster survey happening Monday- Friday with just Joe and myself hitting 60+ site by foot, boat, etc), just does not sound appealing. That being said, I will change out of my grumpy pants and rise to the occasion to put together something I will be able to show off with some dignity at the final symposium.

Beyond the pressure of the program, I’m feeling external pressure as well. With only a few weeks left in my internship, I’ll be back home before I know it. The pressure of finding a job to come back to is intensifying. I have always been a person with forethought, planning my next move to get me to my next goal. I remember the relief I felt after being accepted into this program, because it meant I had a next step after graduating college. But I’m at a dead end. This time (as of now) I don’t have a next step waiting for me when I get done. And I don’t like that, not one bit. My long-term plan is to go back to school in Fall ’18 for my master’s, but find a full time position in the mean time to save money for school and make a dent in my existing loans. But finding a full time position in anything even remotely close to my field is proving difficult. Especially in my home state of NY. I’ve been away from home for 4 years and the thought of being back in Rochester for awhile after graduating was comforting. But if I can’t find work I fear I’ll feel paralyzed. Like I’m not living up to the expectations I had for my life beyond graduation.

I have been putting out applications, editing my LinkedIn profile, contacting old mentors- everything they tell you to do when looking for a job. So far, I’ve only gotten rejections or no response at all. Dealing with the rejection has been a bit of a struggle for me, mainly just because it’s often blamed on my lack of work experience. Well how am I supposed to get the experience if no one will hire me?! (I realize this is an issue 99% of recent grads have all been through/ relate to, but this is my blog so let me have my pity party moment, thanks). I kind of hoped having a degree would put an end to my interning days/ working for minimum wage, but I don’t think I’ll be in a big girl job making the “big” bucks anytime soon. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and hope something turns up (if you’re reading this and you have a job opening- hire me? :) or if you have info on any positions please send it my way!).

Now on to hydrothermal pressure. Ah yes, the fascinating natural disaster that gave rise to beautiful Crater Lake. 7,700 years ago the catastrophic eruption of Mount Mazama led the mountaintop to collapse in on itself and form a massive bowl-like depression called a caldera. The caldera, almost 4000 ft deep, then filled with water from rainfall and snow events, to form a lake 1943 ft deep, the deepest in the United States.

The geologic history of the lake is fascinating but its natural beauty is what’ll take your breath away. It was my first time being in a national park, and even with such a high volume of visitors the park was pristine, with the natural features so well preserved, and human presence undetected in a lot of areas. I was in awe all day, impressed by the natural structures and national park service alike. We took a beautiful hike- that was classified as strenuous but totally doable, and not super crowded- up Garfield Peak, which took us through wildflowers, hordes of butterflies, a bit of snow, and followed the edge of the caldera almost the whole way.

Later on we took another hike, this time down to the water at the only access point to the lake. It was a sunny, warm day and I jumped right in without hesitation. After a few sharp breaths and the initial shock of the cold I actually adjusted to the temperature pretty quickly. Julia joined me and we both took our time swimming (a deviation from most people who get in, can’t handle the cold and get the hell out) and taking in the views above and below us. I’m not a religious person, but being in that gorgeous blue water was a spiritual experience. So was sitting in a rocking chair in the back of the luxurious lodge with a drink in hand, looking out over the park while the sun sank lower in the sky. It was a perfect day.

Till next time,

Katie

Cold Water and Car Sing-Alongs

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Allie Blanchette

In the past two weeks, I have gone camping twice, shocked my body with frigid water on multiple occasions, memorized the soundtrack to Moana, and even managed to break my hand (a boring detail compared the rest of the recent adventures). The first camping trip was with all of the other SeaGrant interns at Trout Creek. The creek itself was chilly, but the valley air was like a warm blanket compared to Newport’s constant ocean zephyr (GRE vocab word meaning gentle breeze). The next body of water I encountered was my coldest yet, Tamolitch Blue Pool. It’s up to 40ft. deep, a delicious blue like a melted skylight-flavored snowball, and 38◦F. All of the interns took our turns jumping into the pool (and scrambling out as fast as possible), and two even cliff-jumped into it from a height of some 60ft. Shout out to Neal and Dustin, I’m still insanely impressed at that.

Trout Creek

Tamolitch Blue Pool

The weekend after was camping trip #2: Crater Lake! This water was around 50◦F, and yes we swam in that too. After spending as much time in the water as we could bear, we crawled out and basked on rocks, chatting and reheating our cores to a decent temperature. During this weekend trip, we also hiked through clouds of butterflies, befriended some trippy Oregonians living out of a school bus, and participated in hours of car singing, at least 40% of which was the soundtrack to Moana. I am not ashamed nor sick of it yet.

Crater Lake feat. Allie

The last cold-water encounter was a ride in the relatively swift current of the Rogue River, and also my favorite. It was a spontaneous decision at the end of the long day at Crater Lake, prompted by us driving right past it and being a little toasty in the car with five people crammed inside. I was definitely the most hesitant, traumatized by the cold water at Tamolitch, worried about only being able to swim with one hand (remember the other is broken), and honestly just being scared to make the jump into the current. After watching everyone else float some 40 yards down the river multiple times and begging for someone to hold my hand, I succeeded in floating the river too. It was numbingly cold, but the excitement of riding the current (think strong Lazy River from water parks) and conquering my fear overrode the temperature drop. Getting out of the water also sent a surge of heat to the muscles as they regained feeling, leaving all of us giddy with adrenalin and endorphins.

While we are all here because of our love for the marine world, Oregon’s freshwater systems have certainly demanded their equal respect and awe as well. You go Mother Nature, you are one beautiful being.

Conservation, more than just behavior

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Sarah Ann Coffin

“What do you think of when you hear the word ‘conservation’?”

What do you think of when you hear the word “conservation”? Do you approach it in the biological sense, as a need for sustainability of resources to continue to survive? Or perhaps see it through a historical lens, with images of colorfully clad activists of the ‘70s with ideals of peace and love?

The word “conservation” is often perceived as politically loaded. With the current debates surrounding climate change (or lack thereof), conservation has become a word that connotes a lifestyle change for many. This lifestyle change can come in a range of forms. A simple example of this would be the California Plastic Bag Ban, which requires multiple-use bags of thicker material to replace single-use plastic bags that cause pollution. This change can also be more complex, such as mass job loss in the coal industry due to the shift towards more renewable energy. In order to understand the ultimate result of behavioral change that occur from embraced efforts towards conservation, it is important to first understand the term.

When discussing the role of conservation in the professional realm, a common thread of education emerges. Though many environmentalists in the workforce aim to conserve different resources, the need for communication and education surrounding why and how to conserve is present for all. Though what constitutes conservation varies across the workforce, conservation will be defined broadly in this blog post as the “ethical use and protection of valuable natural resources”.

Anthropologists, activists, psychologists, and economists from around the world voice the the importance of teaching values rather than the concept of conservation. By communicating values such as respect, care, and responsibility, many professionals believe that individuals are then able to use their own discretion about how to treat natural resources. This makes sense, as it is not enough to teach behaviors (such as recycling) if overarching concepts such as respect and responsibility for maintaining a healthy environment free of pollution are not discussed as well.

When communicating to children in particular, teaching these core values such as respect for nature are easier to learn than countless facts about resource management, as they have already been modeled by human interaction in their families and schools. If a child first learns the deeper value of respect, he/she is then able to apply that concept across situations, including that regarding natural resource conservation. This reverence of core values is a strong tool when acquiring an understanding and providing education to people who all think of conservation and its effects differently.

“Don’t simply teach the ‘how’, teach the ‘why’.”

If you have been reading these weekly blogs, this concept is very similar to our discussion about Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development in my post “A Green Perspective on Rights and Wrongs”. As ethical views develop, children are able to make decisions out of moral judgement instead of simple obedience. Over time, “don’t take cookies from the jar” transforms from a behavioral command to the concept of stealing, an ethically moral wrong. As children shift into adulthood, this ethical train of thought continues to grow, further defining the difference between behaviors and deeper core values. Though not all professionals working towards conservation are child educators, keeping this developmental trend in mind is useful when communicating new concepts to an audience. Don’t simply teach the “how”, teach the “why”.

Let’s go back to our original question. What do you think of when you hear the word “conservation”? Where did you learn the ideals behind your connotations with the word? Leave your comments in the provided box below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

In the meantime, below is my photo gallery from the past two weeks. It is not all work here out on the Oregon coast!

Joined in on the sea star wasting surveys with ODFW and the Nature Conservancy last week!

Healthy sea star in the intertidal at Cape Perpetua.

Tamolitch Blue Pool was an incredible sight this past weekend on the OSG camping trip.

This pool was 38 degrees and we all jumped in! Oregon Sea Grant camping trip 2017.

No shortage of water here in Oregon!

Family visit this weekend. Toured lighthouses here in Newport.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in Newport, OR.

In search of great coastal views? Visit this stone lookout point at Cape Perpetua, one of five marine reserves on the Oregon coast!

Nothing like a little Merlot and a beautiful sunset to end a perfect weekend.

I AM MOOAANAAAAA

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Meagan Hayes

Well I’m incredibly late to the game in finally watching Moana, but let me just say that in the middle of all my emotional turmoil this movie has really brought me happiness. Never really thought that I would find an animation so inspiring but I truly do, especially after our Crater Lake trip and my hesitancy to enter cold water because 1. I hate cold anything and 2. I can’t really swim all that well. So I’ve watched this video approximately 37 times in the last few days and aspire to bring out the Moana in me exhibited at 2:17 in the song below.

Moving Forward

Our current struggle with the King Tides project is our reliance on our partners to supply us with the information we need. We are working with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association to host a photo contest this year and are now just waiting to hear back about the details so we can start spreading the word. We also have a few meetings with members of the Coastal Management Program coming up to get our photo submission form published and accessible as well as some contact information for potential new partners like REI.

In the mean time I have planned more field work for myself to get out of the office and enjoy the Oregon coast. I will be heading to Nehalem next week to take photos and spend a few hours around the Newport Bayfront as well. I am really happy to have the chance to be outside for a bit because I must admit that I’ve been really jealous of other scholars getting to be out in the field so often!

How to Share King Tides Photos

I have also been working on some content for our social media including tips on how to take good King Tides photos and how to share them online!

King Tides Tips and Tricks

My mentor Meg has been incredible in working with me this week and helping me find ways to benefit as much as I can from this opportunity. As Neal would say, “Top 3 mentors, top 3 opportunities.”

A Big Hole With Water In It

This weekend was exactly what I needed to get my head back on straight. A handful of interns as well as my boyfriend and best friend from back home came to visit and we headed down to Crater Lake to camp and hike.

Little did we know the so called “campground” was a pot farm run by two dudes and 3 dogs living out of a school bus. Their names were Austin and Norton and they were actually really kind and interesting people. They had about 20 ducks and ducklings as well. If the bathroom wasn’t just a trail into the forest I would say top 3 camping trips but that’s still a bit of a stretch.

I’ve been slacking on my photography game lately so I literally only took one okayish photo of the lake which wasn’t even at the peak of Mount Scott, though we tackled those 5 miles like champs.

Still, cheers to week 6, a beautiful view, and great company.

Week 5: Sharing the word about green crabs

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Julia Indivero

July has passed in a blur, and it’s somehow already August, with only four weeks left in Oregon. I’ve had–during the Sea Grant camping trip to the Tamolitch blue pool, and Crater Lake National Park—which I’ll hopefully get to in another blog post. This week, though, I wanted to give an update on the green crab work numbers in Coos Bay since they were first found in 1998. Last year, a total of around 200 crabs were caught throughout all of Coos Bay, including in South Slough. So far this year, more than 1,500 crabs have been caught in the estuary.

Before getting into more detail, I want to explain a technicality that makes understanding the data easier. We use something called Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) for our measurement of crab abundance as a way to standardize crab numbers. CPUE is calculated by dividing the total number of crabs caught by the number of traps set. In this way, we can control for the number of crabs by the trapping effort. If we used just abundance numbers (like the 200 crabs caught in 2016 and 1,500 in 2017) to compare between sites or between years, our values might be impacted by the fact that we set a different number of traps at each site or year. Using CPUE allows us to more directly compare crab abundance.

So, back to the data. Luckily for the South Slough, the drastic increase in green crab abundance seen in Coos Bay has been almost entirely restricted to the upper part of the Coos Bay and not in the South Slough specifically. While a couple sites in South Slough have seen a CPUE increase of about 0.5—1 crabs/trap, a couple other sites in the South Slough have actually decreased by about the same amount compared to last year. In the other side of Coos Bay, though, the CPUE has increased by 15 crabs/trap/day—more than a 600% increase!

The map below shows the change in CPUE across all sites in the different parts of the Coos Estuary. The triangles show where green crabs were present in 2016. You can see from the colored circles that the Upper Bay has seen a much higher increase in CPUE than the South Slough.

Because of the massive increase in green crabs this year, we are trying to get the word out to the community. I have encountered people a few times while out doing fieldwork that ask questions about what we’re doing, which provides a great opportunity to share about green crabs and let them know about the issue. We’ve printed flyers that we can hand out to the community with information on how to identify green crabs, why they are a problem, and what to do if they are found. I am going to continue outreach about green crabs by updating the information flyer and distributing them around.

The human community members we’ve encountered have been great to talk to, but the dog community members have been even better. One of our field sites has two dogs that have joined us every time we’ve been there. They live in a house somewhere behind our field site, but I’m not exactly sure where, because every time we are there they just come running down the hill through a patch of forest behind the beach and join us for crab trap setting.

A good dog:

Also a good dog:

They are really helpful workers and will be great scientists someday 12/10

A little bit of Rockfish in my life, a little bit of Otolith aging by my side, a little bit of everything is all I need… in order to properly communicate to our target audiences.

Posted on August 1, 2017 by sea_tys

Blog #4

Neal Tyson

The past couple weeks have been almost entirely in the office. Yet somehow these weeks are just flying by. I’ve never been one to see myself working in an office setting. I get antsy when I sit for too long and am almost constantly longing to be out in the field. But I guess when you find a purpose in the writing and are writing about fascinating topics it ain’t so bad. I would say 90% of my time, these past couple of weeks, have been dedicated to creating stories to share to fishers, tourists, environmentalists and the general public about Oregon’s marine reserves. All in hopes to write a story that peaks someone’s interests to get them involved in our research or become more knowledgeable about all the amazing things below the surface. Before I can even begin to write a blog post or a social media post there is naturally a research process. My focus has almost always been on tropical reefs in the South Pacific… a slightly different ecosystem to Oregon’s cold, rough, and rocky coastal waters. Although I will say I prefer the bright corals and visibility higher than 5 feet, its been pretty wicked learning about a new area. Stories so far have included biographies on species found in the Oregon marine reserves (mainly rockfish, who get wicked old??), explanations of research techniques and highlights of any super sick stuff going on.

I’ve never done this science communications thing and it definitely takes a bit of getting used to. My mentor Kelsey has been giving me some stuff to keep in mind in mind while I’m writing these stories:

That because we have such a large audience it can be really easy to alienate a certain section. By taking a neutral position based off of what we see in the reserves we can avoid pissing off anybody who disagrees or feels alienated.
As a government agency we are here to state facts, peak interests and inform, not to take a position on a subject.
As we deal with scientific research, it’s pretty important to fact check things. We don’t want to be accused of spreading any fake news by any political groups and/or individuals.
Make sure it is relatable. By having content that is relatable to our audiences (i.e. talk about local fisheries, things they may have experienced at the reserves or questions they may have), they can find connections with the research and the work that we are doing in the reserves.
Make sure that the content is primarily and almost entirely focused on the marine reserves. As part of the overarching Department of Fish and Wildlife, it’s pretty easy to step on other department’s toes on their content. By keeping content directly related to the marine reserves we are able to avoid that.

The struggles are real, and they’re great teachers

I’ve always wanted to go into behavior change and environmental campaign planning. Science communication is definitely a part of those topics, but I haven’t done much if any in that field. So there has definitely been some getting used to during this internship where the goal has mainly just been to educate rather than to persuade.

Other struggles have stemmed from learning how government works. I didn’t see a reason why we shouldn’t be covering topics that are related to the marine reserves. I figured creating a story on a topic that another department works on and one that is related to the marine reserves would serve both departments. In my mind as along as we are spreading the same message and pointing people in the right direction to find out more, then it’d be all good. But, I’m starting to understand why sometimes that isn’t feasible/the best option. By focusing our content on specifically what we are doing (our research, our researchers, specific sightings that we have collected), we highlight our work and become more in the spotlight of the communities’ focus. Spreading our message out to incorporate topics that are related to the reserves (like a story on trash in our waterways/beach clean ups) we take some of that spotlight away from our specific work, while also taking some of that spotlight away from those who focus on that work (ODFW park services).

At least that is my understanding of it at the moment… I could be wrong, I’m very much still figuring it out. There is always more to learn from experience, plenty more questions to ask and mistakes to make.

Good things yeeeeah!

While creating some of this content is still a rough work in progress coming from a persuasion background (progress that is getting better), I’ve been making good use of some of the techniques I’ve learned!

One of the techniques that has been really easy and seems to be pretty effective is the use of relatable visual comparisons. One of my favorites has been about how old the Yellow Eye Rockfish gets:

“Studies have dated these beautiful fish to living well over 100 years old, with maximum age at 147 years. Some of these fish would have been exiting their awkward teenage years by the time Washington was granted statehood back in 1889”

A comparison like that really puts that age in perspective. Man, fish are so cool.

Another one of my favorites talks about the maximum size of the Giant Pacific Octopus in terms of Shaquile O’Neals:

“The largest Giant Pacific Octopus ever recorded was 30 feet from arm to arm and over 600 pounds! That means they were the length of 4 Shaquille O’Neal’s head to toe and twice as heavy (he’s a big guy). However, the average adult will grow to “only” 16 feet in length and 110 pounds.”

I have also been attempting to use anthropomorphism, to apply humanistic traits to fish or habitats. For example associating adjectives often applied to humans, like beautiful, sleepy or hungry to fish or other species. Other ways include comparing the behaviors of certain species to human behaviors, like species hiding beneath the kelp bed at night, similar to humans sleeping in bed. Another example is relating how Wolf Eels mate for life, occupy the same cave and carefully care for their eggs until they hatch and comparing that to how humans live. This is all in the hope that the audience can connect more with the species and become more empathetic and think about them in a more connected way.

Anyway, keep an eye out on Oregonmarinereserves.com and our (new) social medias @oregonmarinereserves (not actually out yet) these next few months to see some quality relatable marine reserves content!

Sea Grant Scholars

Learning through experience, for the future of our oceans