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Home / Events / Nature Night: Oregon’s Marine Reserves – What Have We Learned in 10 Years?

January 10, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Nature Night: Oregon’s Marine Reserves – What Have We Learned in 10 Years?

Name: Nature Night: Oregon’s Marine Reserves – What Have We Learned in 10 Years?
Start: 2023-01-10T19:00:00-08:00
End: 2023-01-10T20:30:00-08:00
Location: Virtual

Oregon’s Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas were designated in 2012 with the goals of conserving marine habitats and biodiversity, providing a framework for scientific research and effectiveness monitoring, and avoiding significant adverse social and economic impacts on ocean users and coastal communities. It’s been 10 years since the reserves were established. How has this program performed? What are the next steps? Please join this panel discussion where we will hear from marine reserves experts to understand the successes and challenges of Oregon’s marine reserve program. There will be a Q&A session with an opportunity to ask the panel questions. This is especially timely as OSU recently wrote an assessment report on Oregon’s marine reserve program which has been provided to the legislature in the 2023 session.

A photo of the rocky cliffs leading down to the ocean.

About Dr. Sullivan-Stack

Dr. Jenna Sullivan-Stack is a marine ecologist with a passion for finding and sharing science-driven solutions to threats facing our ocean. She is currently a Research Associate at Oregon State University working on several projects related to marine protected area science and conservation, including as co-lead of The MPA Guide. Jenna conducted her PhD research in ecology of the west coast rocky intertidal communities, also at Oregon State University.

About Dr. White

Dr. Will White is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, and is based in the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Dr. White earned his Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2007, studying the ecology of coral reef fish populations. He then did postdoctoral research at the University of California Davis, and was on the faculty of the University of North Carolina Wilmington before coming to Oregon State in 2017. Dr. White’s research group uses mathematical modeling and statistical approaches to answer basic and applied questions in a wide range of study systems, from oyster reefs to kelp forests to sea turtles. He has advised marine reserve policy in California, Oregon, and British Columbia, and was a member of the Science Advisory Team that informed the design of California’s network of marine protected areas and. He has published more than 95 peer-reviewed articles, including nearly 30 on the design and adaptive management of marine protected areas. Most recently, Dr. White led the team of university researchers that conducted the legislatively-mandated review of the Oregon Marine Reserves program.

About Dr. Aylesworth

Lindsay Aylesworth is the newly appointed Marine Reserves Program Leader, with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife based in Newport, OR. Lindsay has been serving in the interim role since June 2022 and prior to that served as the Marine Reserves Ecological Project Leader over the previous 5 years. She has worked for over 13 years at the interface of science, policy, and marine resource management issues. Prior to coming to ODFW, Lindsay worked on a variety of marine issues including international policy and trade of marine species, bycatch in Pacific Island fisheries, endangered species research, and coral reef ecology. Lindsay received her doctoral degree from the University of British Columbia, where she studied data-poor marine species in Southeast Asia. She has a Master’s degree in coastal environmental management from Duke University, and served as a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil. Lindsay brings with her excellent communication skills, and interdisciplinary experience in social-ecological systems.