Making Connections
Oregon’s Marine Reserves
By Lisa A. DeBruyckere, Oregon Marine Reserves Partnership Coordinator
veryone is busy these days with electronic devices attached to our ears and fingertips. Some say the surge in the use of electronic
devices and technology creates or widens a gap in the relationship that people have with nature, the outdoors, and the ocean. The Oregon Marine Reserve Partnership begs to differ.
Using a suite of outreach tools, the consortium of nonprofit organizations is intent on creating an aware and informed public interested in and capable of participating in a dialogue about the future of marine reserves and protected areas in Oregon – by connecting people to these special places in a variety of ways, including the use of technology and websites.
Photo and Video Archive – A social scientist noted that the key difference between wilderness areas in terrestrial environments and “wilderness areas” or marine protected areas/reserves in marine environments is that you can “see” the difference in one, but not necessarily in the other. Case in point. Look at the difference in an “unmanaged” national park versus neighboring properties. But then look at a marine reserve (from the eyes of the public) before it is dedicated, and after it’s been in existence for 10 years. The marine reserve “looks” the same. What does that tell us? We’ve got a job to do taking people “into” the reserve to see the species and habitats that they cannot, and never will see, without technology. So we recently launched a SMUGMUG site, a video and photo archive of Oregon’s marine reserves that allows people to enjoy the fish, wildlife and landscapes that define our marine reserves.
Interpretive Signs and Exhibits – Interpreting the values and importance of Oregon’s marine reserves in the context of the people that live in and visit these special places, the fish and wildlife that call them home, and the interrelationships that exist within the marine environment and between the marine environment and the land are critical to helping people connect with the ocean and marine reserves. Thanks to the support from the Harder, Lazar, and Packard Foundations, the Oregon Marine Reserves Partnership has been installing interpretive panels on the south coast of Oregon, and has begun the interpretive planning process
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