Week 8 brought some new and exciting adventures, as usual. The class wasted no time diving right back into marine policy lectures on Monday morning. Some highlights of the day included guest lectures by representatives of ODFW on marine protected areas and also by Karen McLeod who works for COMPASS, a company that collaborates with scientists to help make science more accessible to everyone.

Despite the rain, Tuesday was equally as eventful. The class split into two groups and took a "dock walk" with either the head chef or owner, an alumna of the Marine Resource Management program at OSU, of Local Ocean Seafoods in Newport. On the docks, we learned about various fishing techniques and the differences in their sustainability. With a delicious and sustainably caught lunch in our bellies, we returned to Hatfield to hear Dr. Rob Suryan tell us about some interesting sea birds.

With another field trip on Wednesday, the week was jam packed with fun. The rain kept us from the pinnacle of Cape Perpetua but we enjoyed a damp hike through Ten Mile Creek Sanctuary with Paul Engelmeyer of the Audubon Society. We got a chance to see the ODFW smolt trap on Ten Mile

 

Creek and got rather "attached" to a adult lamprey that we found there. After that, Paul showed us some prime old growth Spruce habitat for a seabird called the Marbled Murrelet, which nests high up in the canopy of coastal forests.



Some of us began to feel the pressure of impending deadlines for papers and presentations due Thursday morning. We were divided into groups and assigned a specific issue related to marine policy to present on. Selected target audiences ranged anywhere from 6th grade students to Chilean policymakers. All in all, the presentations were a success and everyone came out of Week 8 a champ!