This study was commissioned and funded by the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station (COMES) to 1) identify the scientific and management issues constraining the advancement of the Oregon bay clam commercial industry, 2) explore scientific, management, and economic opportunities for the enhancement of the fishery, 3) outline and suggest mechanisms...
Satellite remote sensing is an effective tool for mapping snow covered area. However, complex terrain and heterogeneous land cover, due to vegetation and patchy snow cover, present challenges to snow cover mapping. This research compares two techniques for mapping snow covered area: binary and enhanced fractional snow cover mapping techniques....
The U.S. Forest Service on the Willamette National Forest currently employs the “Disturbed Water Erosion Prediction Project” (WEPP) model to determine potential suspended sediment delivery from timber harvests or other treatment scenarios given user-defined hillslope parameters. At the time of this study there was no known calibration or testing of...
Resource managers of Oregon’s tidal wetlands require an improved GIS layer for management of existing tidal wetland habitat and areas considered for tidal wetland restoration. A reconnaissance project was initiated, such that interpretations of remote sensing data, the National Wetland Inventory, Oregon Estuary Plan Book and additional management tools were...
Geographical data and information are virtually unlimited in their quantity and are oftentimes scattered throughout a multitude of locations and stored in various formats on a wide variety of platforms. The Oregon Coast Geospatial Clearinghouse (OCGC) is a web-based central repository for metadata (data about data) corresponding to collected data...
Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vent communities have offered scientists
a unique glimpse into a world that is supported primarily by chemically derived
energy rather than direct energy from the sun. Furthermore, studies of hydrothermal
vent ecosystems have introduced scientists to amazing animals that have successfully
adapted to living...
Spatialization is an innovative way to expand searching capabilities for a
marine/coastal reference database by using a metaphorical map framework to establish
a sense of place for non-spatial information. Spatializing the Catalogue of Oregon
Marine and Coastal Information (COMCI), a coastal reference database, enables the
marine and coastal resource community...
Dramatic declines in several groundfish populations have occurred along
the U.S. West Coast during the last decade (PFMC 1999, Sampson 1997,
Ralston 1998, Bloeser 1999). One problem exacerbating these declines is
insufficient stock assessments, especially for species of west coast rockfish
(Family Scorpaenidae, Genus Sebastes) which comprise the core of...
Ecoregions are regions of relative homogeneity with respect to specific
ecosystem variables (Bailey 1976; Omernik 1995). There has been an increasing
awareness that effective management of environmental resources must be undertaken
with an ecosystem perspective (Omernik, 1995). Ecoregions serve as a spatial
framework for assessing, managing, and monitoring ecosystems that...
An Internet Map Server (IMS) web site was constructed with the goal of
helping middle- through high-school students learn about ocean processes. This IMS was
developed in conjunction with the activities of the Science & Math Investigative
Learning Experience (SMILE) program, and for eventual use with the Oregon Coastal
Atlas,...
Web geographic information systems (GISs) and the Internet are now providing the connectivity necessary to support large-scale data access by a wide variety of users, including not just scientific researchers, but also policy-makers and marine resource managers. However, connectivity alone cannot ensure that those who need natural resource information will...
The 14-km long Netarts Littoral Cell, located on the northern Oregon coast, experienced episodic erosion as a result of the severe 1997-98 El Nino and 1998-99 La Nina. The erosion events led to the development of a unique partnership bridging scientists, stakeholders, and various planning agencies. To address these erosion...
A dynamic bioenergetic model for Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) was built using the STELLA simulation modeling system. The model is intended as an aid for the exploration of ecological questions regarding growth and survival of immature Steller sea lions (ages 1-3) living along the Oregon coast under different nutritional...
This study analyzes public participation in nine regional hearings and six public meetings held by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP) from September 2001 to April 2003. While several researchers have examined whether certain public involvement methods are considered successful or fair, this study characterizes the participants in a...
The continued growth of the world's population beyond six billion places increasing pressure on natural resources and thus a growing demand for effective management of both resources and the recreational users of these resources. This
situation is particularly relevant to the management of Oregon's rivers and growing
numbers of nonmotorized...
Rapid assessments are essential to establish baseline information of ecosystems that can
be used to design management plans such as marine protected areas. A rapid ecological
assessment was conducted to determine the conditions of coral reefs and reef fish around barrier islands that occur within the central Belize Barrier Reef...
This report intends to assist the development of biological and habitat goals and objectives for the Oregon Plan on statewide, regional and watershed scales.
From May 1999 through April 2000, I interned with the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (AWRTA), a non-profit organization that balances responsible tourism development with resource protection and community enhancement. I was assigned to a seven-member task force charged with evaluating the success of AWRTA's "Ecotourism Guidelines2" and was...
Oregon's estuarine wetland landscapes have been changed, especially since the nineteenth century, by diking, dredging, fills, and other alterations. These alterations have removed wetlands from the estuaries, and with them, have removed wetland functions. Currently, efforts are being made to restore estuarine wetlands. The first step in
selecting a site...
Conservation efforts have been increasing in recent years to help preserve threatened coastal and ocean resources. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an important tool to protect and conserve ocean resources. The MPA Center was established to take the lead in developing a framework for a national system of MPAs. The...
Marine protected areas are increasingly popular tools for fisheries conservation and
enhancement worldwide. Monitoring programs that enable managers to track changes in fish stock abundance, size-frequency of target species, and species diversity are critical to evaluating the success of MPA's. The Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR) in southern Belize encompasses...
Quantitative assessments of many West coast rockfish stocks of both major and
minor importance to commercial fisheries have shown varying declines in abundances. The population sizes of less-abundant, co-occurring unassessed species may also be
declining. However, determining stock status of the many non-targeted, minor species with high levels of certainty...
Outreach is a key element in natural resource public participation processes in order to create an engaging, thoughtful, and productive environment for citizen involved decision-making. This project examined the utility of a needs assessment as an initial outreach tool within the context of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries...
In 1997, the Eskimo Walrus Commission (EWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) established a formal cooperative agreement for the conservation and management of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). This arrangement facilitates the transfer of funds from Section 119 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act via the USFWS...
Salmon restoration has become a major priority in the Pacific Northwest. In the State of Oregon, much of
the responsibility for habitat restoration has fallen on local watershed councils, with the majority of their
funding coming from state and federal grants. Funding limitations, including the amount of funds allotted
to...
Situated off the west coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc archipelago and its waters are well-known for their rich natural resources, especially the bounty of fishery resources. Under increasing pressure from the growing population, fishing, and tourism development, there is a strong need to formulate an...
Given the broad scientific consensus that global climate is changing, it is no longer a question if sea level will rise, but rather by how much will it rise. The regional estimates for the Eastern Pacific suggest that the Northwest coastlines will experience a greater eustatic sea level rise than...
One of the crucial components of marine and coastal resource management is
using the best available data for decision-making. There are many facets however,
to what makes data available and useable. Even though data may exist for many
natural resource and marine resource issues, they don't always come in accessible...
Subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska is a political, social, and cultural issue. Since statehood in 1959 the state of Alaska has managed fish and wildlife resources on all its lands. But because the state has been unable to come into compliance with federal regulations mandating a subsistence rural priority,...
Nonpoint source pollution is currently the major source of water pollution in Oregon as
well as the United States as a whole. The Environmental Protection Agency designated
marinas as one of the sources of nonpoint pollution to coastal waters. In an effort to
reduce nonpoint pollution from marinas and to...
The work described herein entailed three separate but related
education/outreach activities aimed at distinct audiences. This portfolio required
acquisition of a range of skills in order to effectively convey information in a fashion accessible to each target audience. The first project consists of contributions to a
sample chapter of a...
Increasing population and land use decisions have had a negative effect on the aquatic ecosystems in the Willamette River Basin. One result is elevated temperatures in many of the Basin’s streams, which adversely affect the fish that live in these streams. There are several regulatory mechanisms in place to improve...
The leasing of submerged and submersible lands is emerging as a new marine conservation method. Using a geographic information system, this study: (1) examines the suitability of estuary tideland sites for conservation leasing in Lincoln County, Oregon, and (2) explores the relationship between adjacent terrestrial land use zones and the...
Latinos are less likely to be civically involved in their community than any other minority group, despite the fact that they are the biggest minority in the United States. A great concern exists over ways to effectively promote and improve this group’s participation in their community’s decision-making process [or civic...
The goal of this analysis is to use the social construction framework to determine 1) whether the Oregon Drug Take Back Program stakeholder group can design a public policy that will ultimately reduce water contamination from the improper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals from the general public, and 2) use the...
In Oregon, property tax revolts and school equalization measures have led to increasingly unstable and more non-discretionary public funding for schools. As a result, public schools are turning to private donations to provide both basic and supplemental educational opportunities. Some schools and districts are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars,...
Many communities emphasize participatory involvement in local development or reinvention efforts. Recognizing barriers among specific groups could help community leaders identify what may be constraining underrepresented groups from joining in. Utilizing data from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey, this research examined identified “barriers” to community involvement among individuals in rural...
Oregon’s high hunger and food insecurity rates have been a concern throughout the last decade. These high rates earned Oregon the dubious distinction as the most food insecure with hunger state in the late 1990’s. While Oregon’s ranking has improved in recent years, our understanding of why Oregon ranked so...
This paper will address Oregon's ability to regulate and manage its wetland resources as a means for protecting and enhancing salmon habitat. After identifying the importance of wetland environments the paper will look into OWRF to assess its effectiveness. Ultimately the paper will conclude that OWRF's design is an effective...
This analysis determines the impact of campaign contributions on Senators' legislative activity on the Energy Policy Act of 2003, identifies organizations within the power policy-planning network, and examines the social netwrok of the energy industry and its relationship with the power policy-planning network. After describing the research methods used for...
Diversity development has achieved higher agenda prominence based on the culmination of historical developments in problem recognition, political events, and university policies that have generated a window of opportunity. Oregon State University is currently at a critical time that will significantly transform the university's commitment inclusiveness and a diverse campus...
In addition to analyzing rural and non-rural differences in health insurance coverage among Oregonians, this essay examines the effect of key socioeconomic and demographic factors in relation to differentials in health insurance coverage.
In a democratic system, or a system of rule by the people, economic arguments are not sufficient for the creation of public policy. There are many important values that should influence our public policy decisions including: human dignity, justice, trust and authority. Public policy is not only a matter of...
The Pacific Northwest and Oregon in particular, have a rich fishing history. There are several fishing communities that rely on the resources found within Oregon waters. This research project explores communication in one particular fishing community, the coastal marine recreational fishing community (CMRFC) and the fisheries management community (FMC).
Objectives...
Vessel traffic places the sensitive environmental, natural, and cultural resources of Washington’s outer coast at risk of oil or hazardous materials spills. In 1995, International Maritime Organization established the Area to be Avoided off the Washington Coast (ATBA) to reduce this risk. Annual estimates of vessel compliance with the ATBA...
From a landscape ecology perspective, meadows are often seen as landscapes in
transition. Succession and change in meadows may be investigated by considering the
physical and anthropogenic factors that influence the landscape through time. What is
often unknown is how changes occur and how physical and anthropogenic factors
contribute to...
During the last 10 years or so, enormous amounts of money
have been invested in Manzanillo for several new installations
and improvement of others. Some of the most important are the
building of the thermoelectric power plant, the development of
the interior port, construction of new highways, exploitation of
iron...
Global Graduates/Oregon International Internship Program offered an internship position working in Senegal with the Institut Senegalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) and the Natural Resource Based Agricultural Research (NRBAR). The author of this paper was accepted for this internship and lived and worked in Senegal from October 1 through December 15,...