CoastWatch
Oregon’s CoastWatch program is unique in the nation. Oregon is the only state whose citizens have adopted every mile of its shoreline. Fawn Custer, who serves as CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, is inviting the public to join her at the Bandon Public Library (1201 11th St., S.W.) this Saturday, May 3, from 6-8 p.m., to learn about CoastWatch and ask questions about monitoring the shoreline, participating in citizen science, and all things coastal. CoastWatch, a program of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, engages volunteers who adopt and keep watch over a one-mile segment of the shoreline. Any number of people can adopt a mile. There are now more than 1,300 CoastWatch “mile adopters,” but there is always room for more. Custer will explain how CoastWatch works and the kinds of things volunteers observe. She will also explain many of CoastWatch’s citizen science projects, which include surveys for stranded marine mammals and other stranded organisms, beached birds, and marine debris. CoastWatch is also just beginning to organize a project to monitor for “sea star wasting syndrome,” a disease which is afflicting sea stars on the West Coast. Custer will also provide background information on shoreline science, and invite questions of all kinds. She will have specimens of shoreline creatures available for viewing. The event is free and open to all. For more information, contact Fawn Custer at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.
Bandon Field Trip & Lecture Focus on Sea Star Wasting
Oregon’s CoastWatch program is pitching in to help with a citizen science effort to track the sudden upsurge of “sea star wasting syndrome” on the West Coast. A public informational talk and field trip coming up in Bandon will help to prepare volunteer observers who can assist scientists in scouting for signs of sea stars in distress. CoastWatch is sponsoring a presentation by Melissa Miner, a researcher with the University of California at Santa Cruz, on Sunday, May 4, 2-4 p.m. at the Bandon Public Library (1204 11th St., S.W.). Earlier that day, Miner will lead a field trip at Coquille Point, 9 a.m.-noon, to provide training in field techniques for volunteers willing to participate (rendezvous at Coquille Point). Both events are free and open to all. Melissa Miner has spent 20 years monitoring rocky intertidal communities from Alaska to Mexico as part of MARINe (Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network), and now coordinates MARINe sampling in Washington. She is currently leading efforts to incorporate citizen science monitoring of sea stars into the MARINe program, to better document the spread and impact of sea star wasting syndrome. Sea star-wasting syndrome is a general description of a set of symptoms that are found in many species of sea stars. Lesions appear in the ectoderm, which are easily seen by closely inspecting an individual animal. Typically, these lesions expand, leading to arm loss and eventual death, sometimes after just a few days. The MARINe group has made widespread observations of sea stars with signs of wasting syndrome at sites ranging from Alaska to southern California, indicating that we are in the middle of a major sea-star disease event. Although similar sea star wasting events have occurred previously, an epizootic (animal epidemic) event of this magnitude, with such broad geographic reach, has never before been documented. Because wasting syndrome can lead to rapid declines in sea star numbers, it is essential that as much of the coast as possible be surveyed prior to or during the wasting event. These “pre-decline” surveys will allow scientists to estimate impacts of wasting syndrome on sea star populations, and document recovery over time. The MARINe researchers are working at a few established sites, but to survey the vast amount of unsampled coastline in Oregon, they are seeking the help of citizen science programs, and CoastWatch is responding. CoastWatch, a program of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, will be coordinating the efforts of volunteers to survey rocky intertidal areas, and continuing to provide training. The methods used for counting and measuring sea stars and assessing the prevalence of wasting disease are relatively simple, but in order to ensure repeatability of sampling effort within a group and standardize methods among groups, some initial training will be required. For questions, contact: Melissa Miner, cmminer@ucsc.edu. If you are interested in participating, and can’t attend the May 4 sessions, contact Fawn Custer, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.
Oregon Shores Auction
People who love the Oregon coast have a chance to support conservation work while purchasing an array of goods and services. The Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition’s second annual online auction is now accepting bids through May 11. The auction provides coast-lovers with the opportunity to bid on lodging, restaurant meals, tours and classes, as well as travel-related and other merchandise. The full amount of each purchase goes to support Oregon Shores’ work to preserve Oregon’s public shoreline, nearshore ocean and coastal resources. This year’s auction items include a three-day stay at the secluded Oregon Coast House north of Florence; a guided kayak trip from South Coast Tours; a week’s stay at a private beachfront lodge in Belize; and such items as night-vision binoculars, backpacks and duffel bags. These items and many more can be found on Oregon Shores’ special E-Bay auction site, http://tinyurl.com/kwv62cr. Oregon Shores is a 43-year-old regional conservation group that works on land use planning, shoreline management, water quality and marine conservation. It sponsors the CoastWatch program, through which volunteers have adopted every mile of Oregon’s shoreline, watching for both natural changes and human impacts. For questions or help with participating in the auction, contact board member Corrina Chase, (541) 921-7394, aquilegia@gmail.com.