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Conference Marks Anniversary of Conservation Work On Oregon Coast Published 08/22/2011 (Newport, Oregon) - This year's 28th annual Coast Conference, taking place in Newport on Saturday, September 17, has a special significance. It is also the 40th anniversary celebration of its sponsoring group, the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition (above: near Yachats). The event will feature a number of speakers in the Newport Performing Arts Center. But it will also feature a tour of the new NOAA Pacific operations center, a cruise on Yaquina Bay and an evening bonfire on the beach. Registration is now open on the group’s website, http://oregonshores.org/. Oregon Shores is also encouraging conference participants to begin their day by picking up beach debris as part of SOLV’s Fall Beach Clean-Up.
The main portion of the conference begins at 11 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center. The morning portion will include the Oregon Shores general members’ meeting, and an historical overview of the group’s 40-year-long efforts to preserve the coastal environment. A buffet lunch in the PAC’s lobby will be catered by Local Ocean, a Newport business which supports a local, sustainable fishing industry. Afternoon speakers begin at 1:15. They will be led by Oregon State University historian William Robbins, who will discuss the ways in which civilization has changed the coastal landscape over the past two centuries. Robbins, author of Landscapes of Promise: The Oregon Story, 1800-1940, and Landscapes of Conflict: The Oregon Story, 1940-2000, has explored the interaction between human beings and our region’s environment during a long and distinguished career. Photo above: Cannon Beach area. Other speakers include Oregon Shores board member Al Solomon, a retired forest ecologist whose final position was as head of the U.S. Forest Service’s climate research team, who will discuss coming climate change and its likely impacts on the Oregon coast, and Steve Adams, managing director of the Climate Leadership Initiative, associated with Willamette University, who will explore the topic of preparedness and adaptation to climate change. Geologist George Priest of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries will describe the recent Japanese earthquake and the impacts we might see in Oregon if a comparable event took place here.
The conference will also feature a 5:30 p.m. dinner cruise of Yaquina Bay with Marine Discovery Tours. Participants will learn about estuarine ecology from the on-board naturalist and gain insights into how climate change may affect the bay, all while enjoying food and drink. Festivities will wind up with a bonfire at 7 p.m. Cost of the conference is $25 for members, $35 for non-members. The cruise, a fund-raiser for Oregon Shores, is $75 for members, $100 for non-members (including membership). The NOAA tour and bonfire are free. For more information about the conference, contact Pat Wolter, (503) 647-2012; pcwolter@comcast.net.
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