Kaety Hildenbrand, our Sea Grant Extension marine fisheries specialist on the central Oregon coast, has a great guest article on the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center. Among other things, she observes:
“… I can name fishermen in each port that I have worked with on wave energy issues. But, that isn’t what’s important, not really. What’s important is that I can tell you their wife’s name, how many kids they have, the name of their dog, I can describe the inside of their vessels, tell you what kind of truck they drive, and what kind of drink they order at Starbucks. They could do the same for me. I didn’t need to know any of this, I wasn’t asked to find it out, and I didn’t do it to gain something. It’s part of building a true relationship with someone, its part of doing what’s right, its part of what happens when you focus on building trust and not getting buy-in.”
For more about Oregon Sea Grant’s work in marine renewable energy and stakeholder engagement, see:
- Wave Energy: Testing the Future in Oregon (NOAA Coastal Services magazine, Nov.-Dec. 2012)
- Marine Renewable Energy
