New Ocean Partnership to Improve Awareness of Oregon's Marine Reserves and Protected Areas

The Oregon Marine Reserves Partnership engages the public and invites their participation.

Otter Rock Marine Reserve is found just north of Newport and can be accessed through Devil’s Punchbowl State Park. Photo by Bonnie King, Salem-News.com

(NEWPORT, Ore.) - A new partnership focused on sharing information, promoting science and cooperative research, and engaging citizens in Oregon’s marine reserves and protected areas has launched.

The Oregon Marine Reserves Partnership (OMRP) was founded by six member organizations: Audubon Society of Portland, Coast Range Association, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, Oceana, Surfrider Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy.

The OMRP was created to help implement Oregon’s marine reserves and protected areas and engage the public in their stewardship.

“Now that the five marine reserves and nine protected areas have been created, engaging all Oregonians in their stewardship is critical to success,” said co-chair Pete Stauffer of Surfrider Foundation.

“Oregon’s ocean belongs to all Oregonians—everyone has an opportunity to participate in the implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of our marine reserves and protected areas.”

The five marine reserves are Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, Otter Rock, Cape Perpetua, and Redfish Rocks.

Paul Engelmeyer of the Audubon Society of Portland, co-chair of the OMRP, commented on the many volunteer activities that OMRP is promoting.

“People can participate in seabird monitoring at Cape Perpetua, adopt a CoastWatch mile, conduct surveys to document sea star wasting syndrome, take water samples to monitor for water quality along Oregon beaches, or join a community group focused on research and volunteer activities,” said Engelmeyer.

“The OMRP can connect people to marine reserves and protected areas for the simple enjoyment of those areas as well as several different types of volunteer activities.”

The OMRP is working on several outreach initiatives to engage people in marine reserves and protected areas, including signage, a new website, http://www.oregonmarinereserves.org, helping local groups interested in participating in marine reserve and protected area activities, and sharing information at local events.

“We’re excited about the launch of our partnership,” said Stauffer.

“There are many organizations in Oregon and along the West Coast interested in the health of our ocean. Working together, we can leverage resources and make it easier for the public to understand the importance of getting involved, and unique and fun ways to make a difference in the stewardship of our ocean.”