Title: Working Together for a Healthy Ocean Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington January 18, 2006
1Working Together for a Healthy
OceanGrantmakers of Oregon and SW
WashingtonJanuary 18, 2006
2Who, What, Why
- Who is Oregon Ocean
- Whats the Problem An Ocean in Crisis
- A 21st Century Opportunity Create an Ocean Ethic
- Protect Special Places Ecosystem Approach
- One Remedy Marine Protected Areas
- Our Legacy Extending Beach Bill to
- Marine Waters
3Our Ocean A Priceless Resource
- The oceans are our largest public resourcean
area 23 larger than our nations - land area
- Yet, less than 1 of our nations oceans, and
none of Oregons ocean are protected
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5Working Together
- WHO IS OREGON OCEAN?
- A statewide alliance of
- conservation organizations and science and
communications partners
6A Statewide Alliance
- Formed in 2004, Launched in 2005
- 7 State and National Conservation Members
- 7 Advisory Council Partners
- Carolyn Waldron, Director
- Paul Engelmeyer, OPAC Liaison
7Conservation Members
- Audubon Society of Portland
- Conservation Leaders Network
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Oceana
- Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
- Oregon State Public Interest Research Group
- Surfrider Foundation
8Advisory Council
- COMPASSCommunication Partnership for Science
- and the Sea
- PISCOPartnership for Interdisciplinary Studies
on Coastal Oceans - Green Fire Productions
- Resource Media
- The Nature Conservancy
- Coast Range Association
- Pacific Marine Conservation Council
9Partners
- The Lazar Foundation (Oregon)
- Meyer Memorial Trust (Oregon)
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Calif)
- The Bullitt Foundation (Washington)
- The Harder Foundation (Washington)
10Mission and Goals
- Mission Statement
-
- Oregon Ocean is a statewide alliance
- promoting the protection and restoration of
- marine life and habitat for a healthy ocean,
- thriving communities and our childrens future.
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12Oceans in Crisis
- WHATS THE PROBLEM?
- Collapse of West Coast Groundfish Fishery
- -- largest fishery closure in US history
- Beach Closures
- Seabird Die-offs
- Sedementation/Water Pollution
- Dead Zones
- Loss of Biodiversity
13Why Care?
- HUMAN SERVICES
-
- Weather
- Water Quality
-
- Transportation
- Energy
- Food Aesthetic Value
- Medicines Play / Rejuvenation
14Why Care?
- MORAL IMPERATIVE
- Intrinsic Value of Marine Life and
- Ocean Resources
- - Wildlife Invertebrates/Anemones/Coral
(starfish, barnacles, sponges, crabs), - Fish, Pelagic Birds, Mammals (whales)
15 Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
16Oceans in Peril
- Once considered inexhaustible and resilient, we
now know the ocean is finite and fragile - Sweeping changes are needed in coastal,
- ocean protection
17National Call to Action
- Pew Oceans Commission (May 2003)
- Americas Living Oceans Charting a Course
- for Sea Change
- U.S. Commission on Oceans (July 2004)
- An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century
- Joint Ocean Commission (Oct. 2005)
- www.joint oceanscommission.org
18Be Bold
- Develop an Ocean Ethic in Oregon
- Marine parks and wildlife refuges
- Harness current regional, national, and
international momentum driving urgent need for a
new ocean policy ethos - Extend Beach Bill legacy into ocean waters
- All 362 miles of ocean beaches are public access
recreation areas
19 20Biodiversity Crisis
- Stemming the biodiversity crisis is
- credibly one of the most important
- social movements of our time.
21Create an Ocean Ethic
- OUR AMBITION
- Protect Special Places
- Conserve Significant Marine Habitat Areas
- - spawning grounds, nursery areas,
- biodiversity hotspots
- Just as we have done on the landscape by setting
- aside national / state parks and wildlife refuges
22- Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
23Protect Marine Habitat
- Conserve and recover full range of native
biological diversity in Oregons nearshore waters
and coastal shore - Habitat designation and other methods
- permanent protection of ecological values and
representative habitat areas
24Protect Special Places
- Heceta Head to Heceta Banks, Astoria Canyon,
- Cape Blanco to Port Orford Reef
- Protect the Columbia River Gorge,
- Wallowa Mountains, Mt. Hood of
- Oregons Ocean
-
25Science-Policy
- Help identify significant marine habitat areas
for conservation and protection - Apply best available science and technologies to
protect marine biodiversity - (govt, NGO, academic collaboration)
- Establish creative policy solutions
26Ecosystem-based Management
- The cornerstone of a new vision for healthy,
productive, resilient marine ecosystems - Described by exerts as
- A comprehensive, integrated approach that
considers the entire ecosystem, including
humans. - provide stable fisheries, abundant wildlife,
clean beaches, - vibrant coastal communities and healthy
seafood. - COMPASS, Scientific Consensus Statement on
Marine Ecosystem-Based Management, March 21, 2005
27A Holistic Approach
- Ecosystem-based management
- Differs from current approaches that usually
focus on a single-species , sector, activity or
concern - Instead, considers the cumulative impacts of
different sectors
28Comprehensive Marine Management
- Specifically, EBM
- Acknowledges interconnectedness among systems,
such as between air, land and sea and -
- Integrates ecological, social, economic, and
institutional perspectives, recognizing their
strong interdependences
29Comprehensive and Ecosystem-based
- Adoption of a comprehensive strategy for
sustaining Oregons coastal and ocean resources - - Strategic action plan for instituting
ecosystem- based management / Meyer Memorial
Trust - - Marine biodiversity conservation planning /
OSU -
30 Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
31The Challenge Hypertrophic Hubris
- Human behavior is centered in a
- discontinuity between peoples ability to act
and our ability to understand the consequences of
our actions
32Threats to Ocean Health
- Global Climate Change
- Overfishing
- Invasive Species
- Coastal Development Habitat Degradation
- Land Use Impacts Water Pollution
33Global Climate Change
- 2006 warmest year on record
- Past 9 years warmest of last 25
- Warmer ocean water
- Sea-level rise
34Overfishing
- Pew Oceans Commission (2003)
- Americas Living Oceans Charting a Course for
- Sea Change
- U.S. Commission on Oceans (2004)
- An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century
- United Nations
- Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)
- Worm, et al, Science (2006)
35Overfishing
- Race to Fish is driven by fishery mgmnt
policies (overcapitalization, overharvesting,
bycatch) -
- Divide the spoils rather than conserve resource
- --ancient argument over freedom of the sea
-
- Hypertrophic perspective has crippled efforts
- to implement protective policies
36Restore the Bounty
- Protect the Habitat
- One Remedy Marine Reserves and
- Marine Protected Areas
37Our Ocean, Our Future
- Marine reserves
- places in the ocean that are completely and
permanently protected from uses that remove
animals and plants or alter their habitats.
(PISCO)
38Marine Protected Areas
-
- Marine protected areas are tools that can be used
to achieve specific management goals - -marine wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries
- -marine parks and recreation areas
- -wildlife management areas
- -research-only areas
-
39Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
40Marine Reserves
- Scientific data show that marine reserves have
bigger fish and more fish and significantly
greater species diversity - Established marine reserves have yielded three
essential results -
41Recovering the Bounty
- 1. Increased abundance of life
- 3Xs as many plants and animals
- 2. Size of organisms significantly increased
- on average, fish and other animals and plants
size increased by over 80 and -
42Recovering the Bounty
- 3. Increased number of species
- 70 increase, on avg., in species diversity
- Spillover to adjacent waters animals move to
other areas outside of reserves and positively
impact fisheries and ecosystems
43An Oregonian Solution
- Create an economically viable and ecologically
sustainable plan for Oregons ocean - Local action to protect our ocean will bring
- local benefits
44A New Ocean Ethic
- Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve, FL 2001
- - 150 square nautical miles
- Marine Life Protection Act 2006
- - 18 of Central CA protected
- NW Hawaiian Islands National Monument 2006
- - 140,000 square miles
45Oregons Ocean
- One thing that most people dont appreciate is
the phenomenal diversity of species that we have
off our shores in Oregon. This is one of the
richest temperate marine ecosystems in the entire
world. We just have a wealth of plants and
animals.- Jane Lubchenco, distinguished
professor of zoology, Oregon State University
46 Photos courtesy of Ben Nieves
47Its the Habitat
- Restore and Protect the Habitat
- Protect Special Places
- Conserve Significant Habitat Areas
48An Ocean Ethic
- Establish Marine Protected Areas
-
- Marine Conservation Areas
- Marine Parks / Recreation Areas
- Wildlife Management Areas
- Sanctuary Preservation Areas
- Research-only Reserves
-
49Its the Habitat
- All organisms need a place to live. Thats
their habitat. So if the habitat goes, so does
the organism. Its as simple as that. - Oregon
State Universitys Mark Hixon, M.A., - in the documentary film, Common Ground Oregons
Ocean
50Its the Habitat
- As Federal Ocean Commissioner
- William Ruckelshaus puts it,
- "A healthy ecosystem has healthy fish stocks."
-
51- Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
52Extending the Beach Bill to Marine Waters
- Visionary / Bold
- 1913 Governor West Public Coast Hwy
- 1967 Governor McCall Beach Bill
- 2001-2006 Marine Ecological Reserves
- 2006 West Coast Governors Agreement
- 2007? Oregons Ocean Our Legacy
-
53 Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves
54Our Ocean, Our Future
- Its time to get smart about a
- healthy ocean.
- YES WE CAN !
55Working Together for a Healthy Ocean