Week 3: Tillamook 101

The Lead Up

Following the holiday this week (which we enjoyed with firework-viewing and snacks on the beach) I traveled 4 hours north to accompany Tony at the Tillamook Estuary Partnership’s (referred to hereafter as TEP) meeting to discuss their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).
TEP is a non-profit organization consisting of many partner groups from federal and more local levels- from Oregon Department of Forestry to Bureau of Land Management to Oregon Department of Agriculture- that exists to conserve and restore Tillamook County’s estuaries and watersheds. This is no small feat, as there are 5 different bays and estuaries that fall under their protection, the largest of them being Tillamook Bay which holds a designation as a “Bay of National Significance” for its role as an economic and ecological resource. For more background on the watersheds themselves and TEP see here: http://www.tbnep.org/about-us.php.
The premise of this meeting was to revise the existing nearly 20-year-old document that serves as the current CCMP. So, my first step to prepare for attendance was to read over and take notes on the ten-odd chapters of the old plan, as well as several pdf documents Tony had sent me that encompassed the planning thus far. When they call this plan “comprehensive” they aren’t kidding. It was a lot of reading about many different aspects of resource management, with focus on four main issues: water quality, habitat loss/simplification, erosion/sedimentation, and flooding. Beyond that, it included a section on the implementation and financing of the plan (money makes the world go ‘round), as well as future research needs. Since my internship surrounds the assessment of shellfish and their habitat, I paid extra close attention to sections regarding those animals. I gathered that Tillamook has a long history of commercial oyster fishing and clamming as well as recreational use.

Armed with my notes, I packed my bag and started my journey to Newport, where I’d be meeting Tony and we’d carpool the rest of the way to Tillamook. I took advantage of my early start and use of the state vehicle and made a pit stop at the Coos Bay farmer’s market (which for some odd reason is held on Wednesday mornings). After picking up some blackberries and the most beautiful breakfast taco I’ve ever seen (pictured below), I was on my way. The drive was very scenic and went well despite the on and off radio availability and bridge construction. On the second leg of the trip Tony drove and talked to me about the history of each town we went through on U.S. Route 101, which basically forms the main road in all of those towns (makes for slow driving). The 101, or Oregon Coast highway here, is teeming with tourists in the summer months, which is no surprise considering it accesses more than 80 state parks along its length. The amount of hotels and resorts was a little perplexing to me, as the climate here does not really meet my expectations for a beach side vacation, but nonetheless most signs read no vacancy. And don’t even get me started on the R.V.s / R.V. parks. R.V.s far as the eye can see. We didn’t have a set time for arrival to Tillamook since the meeting was not till the next morning, so we made a few stops to stretch/check out the scenery. We pulled onto the beach in Pacific City (you can drive on the beaches here!) to take a look at Chief Kiawanda Rock- basically a huge rock standing by its lonesome just off the beach. Pretty neat. Once in Tillamook, we ate dinner and checked into the hotel. I was spoiled with my own king bed and hot tub privileges for a night. All in the name of science. :)

The Meeting

The meeting was held at the local community college in a nice big conference room which could comfortably seat the 20 or so members that showed up. Tony and I were first to arrive, and I was introduced to Lisa Phipps, director of the TEP. She had tacked large sheets of paper all over the front of the room, some with writing and some to be written on later. I took a look at the proposed agenda and could understand why it was predicted to be a 3-hour meeting. There was a lot to cover.
The meeting began with introductions, and I got an idea for how many representatives of each partner group were present. Some had more than others but there was definitely a lot of diversity. They proceeded to reiterate some of the decisions discussed in the previous meeting to give everyone a refresher and then got to work on the agenda items. An example of one such item was the proposal to reorganize the management units. Before the plan had been sectioned by issue, but the proposed change was to break it down by land use; dividing the estuaries into upper, lower, and head of tide, and then address problems specific to those areas. This was the first exchange of ideas I saw, as there was a discussion on what distinction to use to make the land divisions- By salinity or by bacterial line? Several people stated their opinions and gave advice on specific terminology to use in the document. That was how the entire proceedings went on: a question or issue was presented, then they would brainstorm, Lisa would write, and so on. It was step by step decision making, and as we went down the board I began to see who weighed in on what issues, who was knowledgeable about each category. For example, the “forest people” may not give any input regarding burrowing shrimp on the mud flats. The atmosphere was friendly and professional; people gave honest feedback, freely voiced their concerns, and addressed misconceptions if they arose.

Takeaways

I learned a lot from this experience, not only on issues specific to Tillamook but about how these sorts of meetings operate in general. I learned how much the waterways there are influenced by agriculture, and that managing land owners is a very dynamic process. I learned that the TEP’s future goals focus on being more proactive than reactive, which will require more outreach and public education. They also want to identify data gaps where more research may be needed. I learned that making a plan like this has to be so all-encompassing because they are planning for the next decade, and this document will be referred to for grant funding throughout that timeframe. I even got to speak up during the meeting, when Oregon Department of Agriculture reps were discussing the role of “hobby farmers” and the expectation that they follow responsible land use practices even though they’re not held as accountable as large industry farmers. One woman brought up the difficulty in knowing just how many people own animals and making sure they are informed. I asked if there was an online resource available to those people, and suggested that they incorporate a place where hobby farmers could register themselves, submit a plan of action, and get their questions answered all on one site. My comments were very well-received and I was glad I had raised my hand (even if my bright red face begged to differ). There are still a few meetings left till the CCMP document can be written up, but it will eventually be submitted to the EPA for approval. I am thankful I got to participate in the meeting and get my first taste of resource management on a large scale (getting out of field work and driving a car again weren’t bad perks either).

Here are some photos of me enjoying the scenic 101.

On to week 4!

-Katie Gregory

Week 3, the dorms really felt like a summer camp this week. Seagrant interns and REU scholars have officially merged into one large group of amazing people. With the extended holiday weekend we left camp and explored the southern coast. We hiked along the Cape Perpetua Coastline to get a peek at the marine reserve, explored tidal pools and their large starfish and got completely drenched by a rogue wave slamming against the rocks. It was a lovely day. We spent the rest of our long holiday weekend seeing what else the town of Newport had to offer (that Fred Meyer place is pretty neat-o, we don’t get that place on the east coast). On the 4^th we celebrated in classic American style: beach, food, fireworks, mediocre country music and extensive temporary patriotism. We all pitched in to throw a big BBQ full of burgers, vege sausages, baked goods and corn on the cob (the key ingredient for a successful cookout).

Who would have guessed that a bunch of 20 somethings hiking, exploring and living together in one of the most beautiful states in the US would be an enjoyable experience? Well… most people would probably say that, 10/10 weekend for sure. The only thing that would have made it better is if we had gotten paid… Curse y’all Seagrants that got paid on the first day! We need that sweet sweet summer internship money. With that lets transition to the main point of the blog, learning the ropes of working for a government agency.

Coming back from the festivities we were stoked to get back into the work we were here to do. I dove right into the Marine Reserves human dimensions reports, looking to get a better understanding of our audiences and the kind of questions and misconceptions we would be tackling (also s/o to Haley for making them straight and to the point, you’re a great writer). These reports were conducted during the implementation and design of the marine reserves. They were loaded with public perceptions of the reserves, perceived and actual economic impacts of the reserves, and comments from both fishers and recreational users of the coastal waters.

These reports are free to look through on www.oregonmarinereserves.com! The entire website has loads of content ranging from reports, to blog posts, underwater videos, and even pictures of the amazing ODFW Seagrant interns.

Anyway, combined with discussions that I had with locals during the outreach events I was really starting to brainstorm story ideas on how to better communicate topics they wanted to hear more about. There seemed to be confusion on the boundaries and rules with the reserves and misconceptions of what research we were doing and why we were doing it the way that we are.

As I ran my story and communications ideas by my supervisor I met my first challenge of working for a government agency with such a large audience. Due to the fact that we have so many target audiences we have to be very careful not to polarize any of those groups. If we come out too positive and sound too supportive of the reserves we risk polarizing the fishers who argued against the reserves. If we were too negative or not supportive enough we risked polarizing the conservationists. Both groups are extremely important to the success of our reserves, so we are walking a fine line.

We had practiced this already during the outreach events, but it seemed natural during the human to human interaction. We were listening to the public to hear their perceptions and answer their questions. When we did speak it was factual, we told them what and how our research worked. Now it was no longer a two way conversation, it was us communicating towards a much larger audience. We could no longer change how our message was to be communicated for each specific person we were talking to. We had to create a single message that got the point across while making it as specific as possible for our target audience. Not only did it limit the variety of stories we could publish and how we wrote those stories. It limited how effective they were at changing attitudes. With a smaller target audience our specific tailored message could really resonate with their interests and answer their questions. With a one size fits all message it rarely resonates as effectively with anyone, but at least it raises awareness of the message subject.

This brings me to the second challenge, funding and work force. The entire ODFW Marine Reserves program communications team is essentially my boss Kelsey. For the limited resources that she has and the amount of constant things she is requested to do, I’m thoroughly impressed. She has done loads of graphic design, science communications, organizing events and manages our content creation for social media and website. It’s a massive job and I don’t know how she does it. Unfortunately because she is stretched so thin, she is almost forced to try and reach as many people with each post as possible. She rarely has time or resources to organize or make it to outreach events. I’m hoping that I can take some of that pressure off her shoulders so that more of these events can happen.

The example that really gets me the most is of the signs. Many of the people I talked to at the events were not entirely sure on where the boundaries of the reserves were or where they could access them for recreation. When I asked about this I was shocked to find there were no signs at the reserves. Surely there would be signs talking about the reserve, the rules, the boundaries, maybe a map?? But no, there ain’t. Surely that would be the first step to making the reserves more attractive to visitors and to help spread knowledge to those who were visiting. However, when I asked if creating signs would be possible I learned the process that it takes to make them. Finding a contractor, talking to multiple agencies to get permission to put in a sign, talk with the communities to get their opinion on what should be on the sign. Lots of work and lots of time. Unfortunately because this would not hit a large audience, this was not high on the priority list or even on it. It boggled my mind that this had not been addressed earlier. Surely there is a solution to this? I sure hope there is because it seems like a necessary thing to have at a reserve. Also I had this sweet idea to have lookout points over the reserves where the signs would go. These signs would not only have maps with boundaries and pictures of the land where the boundaries start, but also have QR codes that could be scanned to take you right to underwater footage of the reserve you were currently standing at. It would totally go along with the “take a deeper look” and “see what’s beneath the surface” thing we’ve got going. Maybe I can settle for some sick stickers with that slogan and code on them.

Anyway… going camping this weekend, that’ll be neat.

Port Orford

Neal and Zach perfecting the ODFW sign at the Port Orford barbecue on June 25, 2017.

This week was a testament to the value of human interaction. We began our escapades at the dock of Port Orford in southern Oregon. Three coolers of burger patties, rockfish, and Coca-Colas later, we had ourselves a barbecue! After a mad dash for pastries and slaw, the Marine Reserves team from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) gathered together to talk with local fishermen. Over burgers, I heard the story of one couple that I found especially exceptional.

Michelle

Michelle and her husband were new to Port Orford and happened to be out on the sea for the day. When they returned to the dock, they saw our gathering and stopped by. Having recently retired, Michelle found herself reaching out to the community to begin to engage and meet others around her. She shared that it was odd to go to the grocery store and not hear a single hello or partake in a conversation with a neighbor, as she once had experienced in her hometown in California. As we chatted, I found hope in her story. Through her love for nature and concern for ocean preservation, Michelle found friendships within our tent. I watched as a group of people breached social barriers and connected in their mutual interest in science, food, and marine conservation.

Sarah and Jaqui at the Port Orford barbecue on June 25, 2017.

Later that night as we gathered for science at the pub, I saw Michelle once again. After a few rounds of scientific bingo and facts about rockfish, Michelle introduced me to her husband. They informed me that they had signed up as volunteers and would now be involved with the Redfish Rocks Community team, working towards ocean preservation. I left Port Orford the following day with a pleasant reminder that social science and human interaction plays an important role in the natural sciences and conservation.

Garibaldi 

Flag from the Port of Garibaldi on June 27, 2017.

What was that count again? Over 100 people showed up at our Garibaldi barbecue! There wasn’t a moment to spare between wrapping fish boats and restocking patties as our grill master cooked up a storm. Once again the significance of communication was the spotlight of our event, as fisherman and community members shared with us their thoughts on the marine reserves. As you may recall from my last post, the focus of this summer is to study the socioeconomic effects that the implementation of marine reserves may have had on surrounding fishing communities. This event was the ideal example of varieties of feedback, valued equally in an open space. By encouraging communication of all kinds, we are able to better balance preservation efforts with human need for resources. As I am learning repeatedly this summer, resources continue to be limited as populations grow. Whether addressing economic or marine preservation topics, finding an equilibrium is key in creating effective change.

Humbug Mountain State Park

Humbug Mountain State Park.

Did you know that people who frequently experience a sense of awe report higher life satisfaction? Though this fact may seem obvious, it can easily be overlooked. Humbug Mountain State Park boosted my life satisfaction by miles.

Sparse pink flowers in the sunlight.

The variety of ferns, mosses, and trees kept me constantly amazed. Perhaps I was a botanist in another life. I’d like to close this week by sharing photos from our hike. Seeing this kind of beauty makes it difficult to keep experiences all to yourself.

Photo by Neal Tyson.

Until next time, Sarah Ann Coffin

I have begun my experiment. To tell the truth, it is not a glamorous affair. It wasn’t even my idea, though I wish it was. It consists of nothing more than 5 gallon plastic jugs, black plastic, duct tape, and several HOBO U26 dissolved oxygen data loggers. The idea came out of a planning meeting where the desire to get more precise measurements of microbial production in the rivers flowing into Tillamook Bay was one of many topics discussed. The method proposed was to incubate samples of water in the dark for a period of time, and measure the change in dissolved oxygen from start to finish. Any decrease in the oxygen level should be the result of organisms in the water respiring, eating or decomposing organic material in the water.

It is important to know how bacteria change the conditions of the water, changing the amount of nutrients that flow into the bay and the concentrations of both oxygen and carbon dioxide. The ocean is warming and becoming more acidic, bringing increasingly acidic water into the bay with every incoming tide. The nutrients that flow into the bay from the surrounding watersheds lead to increased bacterial growth that close the oyster beds in the bay to harvesting, as well as further acidifying the waters, as dissolved carbon dioxide increases in the water as bacteria release it as a waste product of their metabolic processes and it reacts with water to form carbonate, bicarbonate or carbonic acid. The relationship between higher nutrient inputs into marine waters from terrestrial systems and increased acidification is not just a bay or estuary problem, but a coastal problem as well. The EPA, along with the Navy and many other players, hope to assemble the big picture of how Tillamook Bay works with respect to all of these issues so that the people of the region can better plan for climate change and mitigate potential problems, as well as improve the health of the ecosystem and the lives that depend on it.

There was a considerable debate about how best to go about incubating the water and how to measure oxygen changes in a scientifically valid manner. The issue with the incubation lies in the transporting of the water to the lab. Changes to the temperature of the water will effect the solubility of oxygen in the water, as well as the rate of production of bacteria, affecting the results. Maintaining water samples at a constant temperature remains impractical and a concern, but a greater concern is with the Winkler method. The Winkler method is a method of analysis that allows for measuring the dissolved oxygen at a single point in time, but not continuously, but the measurement can be more precise than that of a datalogger. It was proposed that only initial and final oxygen measurements would be used to determine the total change in a sample, and the incubation period would be short, a few hours at most. As the experiment was discussed, it became apparent that such a short period of incubation may not adequately capture microbial growth, and that a time series of measurements would be the only valid method of determining a rate of microbial production. Thus, the 5 gallon jug trials, to gather a time series, determine a proper incubation period, and as a basic proof of concept.

Friday we drove to Tillamook and collected samples, though not as many as we had planned to. We are also evaluating an alternate incubation method using 2 gallon ziplock freezer bags kept dark in a cooler. The samples have been incubating all weekend. On Monday I will download the data from the loggers and see what there is to see. I may even have a graph or two to share next time!

Week 2

Neal Tyson

Pictures to be added soon

Following the success of the Port Orford Red Fish Rock Marine Reserve BBQ with a side of SCIENCE (that’s a mouthful), we were in high spirits going into the next outreach event. The next BBQ with a side of science was to be held at the Garibaldi port. We were there to again talk about and answer questions surrounding the local reserve, in this case the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. However, before heading out we were warned that we might not have the same warm reception as the previous event.

Some background info:

The implementation of the marine reserve started in 2011 with the initial talks of where they might be established. As with any talk about closing off areas for economic use, there was some tension right off the back. Many of the coastal communities rely on fishing as a primary source of income and very few were happy to hear talk about a marine reserve. Port Orford was different as they believed this change may be for the best and after community discussions established their reserve in their second best fishing grounds. Garibaldi was different. The Cape Falcon marine reserve was the hottest contested marine reserve (that was established, others did not make it). In order for the reserves to be accepted and established a majority of the population had to vote for it, many of the commercial and recreational fishermen believed that the voting had been rigged against them by environmentalists and those “from the valley” (people from inland where the majority of the political power and population are from). That being said, not all fishermen were against the reserve. Most fishermen are environmentalists at heart and care very much for the sea, however being told what to do and limiting their options for income when money is already tight is always hard. After long discussions the reserve was established off of Cape Falcon in 2016. It was the last marine reserve established and done 4 years after Red Fish Rocks.

Oddly enough the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve was not a traditional fishing ground and very rarely did anyone fish there. The fight became more a symbol of people not in the industry telling fishermen what to do rather than an effort to establish a functional reserve.

Knowing this, we figured that the BBQ would probably not bring in many people and if we did, we would probably get some heated questions. With out enthusiasm still high we were ready to forward those heated questions onto our superiors! In all seriousness we wanted those heated questions, we wanted fishermen to bring their questions so that we may explain any misconceptions that they may have about the reserve. We were also welcoming the general public and encouraging everyone to come and get involved with the reserves research program. We had just finished our hook and line, scuba and long line surveys in the Spring but we were letting everyone know we were coming back in the Fall.

We set up at the cross roads before the docks and began grilling up. We expected to start seeing people at around 1, an hour after we started at 12. But by 11 we already had 15 people asking about our programs, we hadn’t even started serving food yet! We expected less than 15 and in total we had over 100 people show up with just under half being commercial, recreational and charter fishermen! Conversation about the reserve was flowing faster than the food. We had to make 2 trips to the local store to pick up more hamburgers. We had more sign ups for the reserve e newsletter than any out reach events. The word kept spreading as fast as their interest. They were curious to see how they could get involved and if we had seen any differences yet. I’ve never handed out more Marine Reserve Stickers and swag in my entire life, highlight reel moment for sure. The hardest part was trying to stay neutral and not spread how positively we felt about the reserve (as a government agency we cannot formally promote how we feel about the reserve). But, hey its good practice!

It was a huge success and the biggest turn out we had ever had (granted we’ve been here for 2 weeks and only been to 2 events, BUT STILL). In all it was an amazing experience and I’m super stoked to have been a part of it.

This week, green crab monitoring was in full swing. We sampled across five different sites throughout the South Slough, setting 12 crab traps at each site. Everything went pretty smoothly—except for getting stuck to the mud up to our thighs at one point. We had been warned about the mud here, but we were not quite ready for what that could actually entail. As I walked toward the small stream of water still remaining at low tide, my boots started sinking more and more into the mud until I was up to my thigh. Another intern came over to help, and then she got stuck too. We were eventually able to get our feet out of our boots and army-crawl out, and then had to dig our boots out as well. My entire lower body and arms were covered in thick, sulfurous mud. I wish I had pictures, but we were too covered in mud to touch our phones. It was all worth it, though; so far, we’ve caught green crabs at every site, for a total of about 40 crabs across all sites. In the other side of Coos Bay, they have been even more abundant this year. Another researcher caught over 100 green crabs within one day. As we continue to re-sample sites throughout the next few weeks, we will be able to more accurately compare their abundance to previous years and provide a more complete assessment of the population trend.

Because green crabs will be a majority of my time here and I will be writing about them frequently, I thought I would take a digression and also write about an eelgrass research project that I assisted on this week. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a seagrass that can form dense beds along bays and estuaries. These beds provide important habitat and nurseries for many shellfish and fish and provide feeding ground for birds and other wildlife. Eelgrass has been declining throughout the United States, with various natural and anthropogenic causes: nutrient runoff, invasive competitors, shellfish harvesting practices, rising temperatures and sea levels, and eelgrass wasting disease.

Researchers from Oregon State University are conducting a multi-year study on eelgrass decline along the Oregon coast, including sites in Coos Bay. We took a boat out to two sites with dense eelgrass beds. We then navigated to approximately 40 randomly selected GPS coordinates throughout the site. At each GPS point, we counted the number of eelgrass shoots within a .25x.25 m square (called a quadrat) and collected a single eelgrass shoot and all of the algae present within the quadrat. These samples of eelgrass and algae will be processed later for various measurements, including quantifying the biomass and the number of epizoa (animals living on the surface of the eelgrass). Even just spending a few hours in the eelgrass beds offers a glimpse of how much life they can support. We saw baby starfish smaller than a pinky nail clinging to eelgrass, countless shellfish and crabs, and birds such as gulls, cormorants, and even a few Great Blue Heron out on the eelgrass beds at low tide, searching for food. It was a beautiful place to spend some time doing research.

The eelgrass bed site (called Clam Island) that we sampled at low tide. At low tide, the eelgrass is matted down as the water recedes. But as the tide rises, the water will allow the eelgrass to lift up, and it will more resemble a forest of grass.

Another intern and I counting eelgrass shoots at one GPS coordinate at Clam Island. The white square is called a quadrat: at each GPS coordinate, the number of eelgrass shoots within the quadrat were counted and algae and eelgrass from within the quadrat were collected.

Me standing at the edge of Clam Island where the water is starting to come back in as the tide rises. (My eyes are open this time!).

More information about eelgrass:

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/abouthabitat/eelgrass.html