{"id":5228,"date":"2018-06-24T20:20:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T03:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/seagrantscholars\/?p=5228"},"modified":"2018-06-24T20:32:34","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T03:32:34","slug":"the-human-dimension-of-marine-reserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/seagrantscholars\/2018\/06\/24\/the-human-dimension-of-marine-reserves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Dimension of Marine Reserves"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mission:\u00a0 To inherit the knowledge of every place and people I call home.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

There’s a first for everything. First job, first road trip, first time meeting the people you now cherish. Being a Summer Scholar promises to be full of firsts: this will be the longest that I have been away from home (Seattle, WA), is my first time doing human dimensions research, is my initiation into the world of working for the government and policy-related work, and is my first internship. I am incredibly grateful that the Oregon Sea Grant in association with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife trusted me to do this work and brought me to where I am today.<\/p>\n

Also, thank you mom, dad, loved ones, and my extended family at the University of Washington for all you have poured into me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Me on Nye Beach at sunset<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

For the next ten weeks I will be working with the ODFW’s Marine Reserves Program on the\u00a0Human Dimensions Research Project. This type of work is fascinating, but ultimately I selected this project because of who would become my mentors.\u00a0 Tommy Swearingen is the project leader and is a one man show of expertise, initiative, and charisma. He oversees at least 15 different studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of marine reserve implementation. He has had a Summer Scholar under his wing every year since he was brought onto the team. Being a mentor to him means more than just supplying interns with work–he wants to understand where they come from, and how he can best help them become fully immersed in the work and contribute to their future goals. He is a researcher, but also a teacher. In only the first week under his tutelage, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the history of Oregon’s coastal\u00a0communities and of the scope of the Human Dimensions Research Project.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fishing vessel at dusk approaching the Yaquina Bay Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n

To ensure the marine reserves are not adversely affecting coastal residents, Tommy and his associates have collected socioeconomic data on the scale of communities to individuals. Seeing as the reserves only make up 3% of Oregon’s coastal area, these effects are difficult to disentangle from larger trends. This is where studies on the individual level–specifically of well-being, world view, and feelings–become crucial. For this, you need an anthropologist.<\/p>\n

Specifically, you need Elizabeth Marino. Beth is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at OSU-Cascades, and every now and then she will be driving down from Bend, OR to conduct interviews on fishers and to mentor me. I am inspired by her outlook, knowledge, empathy, and dedication to her work. Just to give you an idea of her background, Beth is the author of\u00a0Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground:\u00a0An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska.\u00a0<\/em>This documents her decade-long research on some of the first climate refugees, the\u00a0I\u00f1upiaq people, who are running out of time while their home is engulfed by the sea. Needless to say, her work has real-world consequences.<\/p>\n

I am humbled to be working under these incredible researchers and people. By the week’s end, I now know where I fit into the Human Dimensions Research Project:<\/p>\n