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Working Together for a Healthy Ocean Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington January 18, 2006

Working Together for a Healthy Ocean Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington January 18, 2006. Who is Oregon Ocean What’s the Problem: An Ocean in Crisis A 21 st Century Opportunity: Create an Ocean Ethic Protect Special Places: Ecosystem Approach One Remedy: Marine Protected Areas

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Working Together for a Healthy Ocean Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington January 18, 2006

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  1. Working Together for a Healthy OceanGrantmakers of Oregon and SW WashingtonJanuary 18, 2006

  2. Who is Oregon Ocean • What’s 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

  3. The oceans are our largest public resource—an area 23% larger than our nation’s land area • Yet, less than 1% of our nation’s oceans, and none of Oregon’s ocean are protected

  4. WHO IS OREGON OCEAN? • A statewide alliance of conservation organizations and science and communications partners

  5. Formed in 2004, Launched in 2005 • 7 State and National Conservation Members • 7 Advisory Council Partners • Carolyn Waldron, Director • Paul Engelmeyer, OPAC Liaison

  6. Audubon Society of Portland • Conservation LeadersNetwork • Natural Resources Defense Council • Oceana • Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition • Oregon State Public InterestResearch Group • Surfrider Foundation

  7. COMPASS–Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea • PISCO–Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies on Coastal Oceans • Green Fire Productions • Resource Media • The Nature Conservancy • Coast Range Association • Pacific Marine Conservation Council

  8. The Lazar Foundation (Oregon) • Meyer Memorial Trust (Oregon) • David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Calif) • The Bullitt Foundation (Washington) • The Harder Foundation (Washington)

  9. 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 children’s future.

  10. WHAT’S 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

  11. HUMAN SERVICES Weather Water Quality Transportation Energy Food Aesthetic Value Medicines Play / Rejuvenation

  12. MORAL IMPERATIVE • Intrinsic Value of Marine Life and Ocean Resources - Wildlife: Invertebrates/Anemones/Coral (starfish, barnacles, sponges, crabs), Fish, Pelagic Birds, Mammals (whales)

  13. Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves

  14. Once considered inexhaustible and resilient, we now know the ocean is finite and fragile • Sweeping changes are needed in coastal, ocean protection

  15. Pew Oceans Commission (May 2003) America’s 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

  16. 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

  17. Stemming the biodiversity crisis is credibly one of the most important social movements of our time.

  18. 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

  19. Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves

  20. Conserve and recover full range of native biological diversity in Oregon’s nearshore waters and coastal shore • Habitat designation and other methods: permanent protection of ecological values and representative habitat areas

  21. Heceta Head to Heceta Banks, Astoria Canyon, Cape Blanco to Port Orford Reef + + + • Protect the Columbia River Gorge, Wallowa Mountains, Mt. Hood of Oregon’s Ocean

  22. Help identify significant marine habitat areas for conservation and protection • Apply best available science and technologies to protect marine biodiversity (gov’t, NGO, academic collaboration) • Establish creative policy solutions

  23. 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

  24. Ecosystem-based management: • Differs from current approaches that usually focus on a single-species , sector, activityor concern • Instead, considers the cumulative impacts of different sectors

  25. 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

  26. Adoption of a comprehensive strategy for sustaining Oregon’s coastal and ocean resources: - Strategic action plan for instituting ecosystem- based management / Meyer Memorial Trust - Marine biodiversity conservation planning / OSU

  27. Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves

  28. Human behavior is centered in a discontinuity between people’s ability to act and our ability to understand the consequences of our actions

  29. Global Climate Change • Overfishing • Invasive Species • Coastal Development – Habitat Degradation • Land Use Impacts – Water Pollution

  30. 2006: warmest year on record • Past 9 years: warmest of last 25 • Warmer ocean water • Sea-level rise

  31. Pew Oceans Commission (2003) America’s 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)

  32. ‘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

  33. Protect the Habitat One Remedy: Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas

  34. Marine reserves – “places in the ocean that are completely and permanently protected from uses that remove animals and plants or alter their habitats.” (PISCO)

  35. 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

  36. Photo courtesy of Ben Nieves

  37. 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:

  38. 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

  39. 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

  40. Create an economically viable and ecologically sustainable plan for Oregon’s ocean • Local action to protect our ocean will bring local benefits

  41. 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

  42. “One thing that most people don’t 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

  43. Photos courtesy of Ben Nieves

  44. Restore and Protect the Habitat • Protect Special Places • Conserve Significant Habitat Areas

  45. Establish Marine Protected Areas: Marine Conservation Areas Marine Parks / Recreation Areas Wildlife Management Areas Sanctuary Preservation Areas Research-only Reserves

  46.  “All organisms need a place to live. That’s their habitat. So if the habitat goes, so does the organism. It’s as simple as that.” - Oregon State University’s Mark Hixon, M.A., in the documentary film, Common Ground: Oregon’s Ocean

  47. As Federal Ocean Commissioner William Ruckelshaus puts it, "A healthy ecosystem has healthy fish stocks."

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