Presentation Abstract
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has designated eight Aquatic Reserves in the state of Washington that encompass important native ecosystems on state-owned aquatic lands. Seven of these reserves are in the Salish Sea, and of these, six are supported by Citizen Stewardship Committees. These Committees are made up of dedicated local volunteers who help the DNR implement the management actions of their nearby reserve through outreach, education, and citizen science projects. Within the network of the Aquatic Reserves, the current citizen science being conducted by volunteers is diverse and dependent upon the needs of the reserve and the skillset of the volunteers. Their work sometimes adds to baseline datasets, such as forage fish monitoring, intertidal monitoring, and bird and marine mammal surveys. Another important use of citizen science has been to address a sudden or unexpected need of a particular place and moment in time such as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome surveys or European green crab monitoring. Citizen science has also provided new data and insights on projects like bulkhead removal and tracking the changes that occur on beaches before, during, and after their removal and restoration. Having a group of local, experienced volunteers who are intimately involved and aware of what is happening in and around their nearby reserve is invaluable when it comes to tracking changes, implementing management decisions, or providing a group of willing and capable volunteers to researchers in need of helping hands. Through our poster presentation, we hope to provide attendees of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference both an overview of the various citizen science projects currently taking place within the network of Aquatic Reserves and to spark conversation on how we can grow our collaborations with researchers, scientists, and students into the future.
Session Title
Posters: Data & Information Management
Keywords
Citizen science, Aquatic Reserves
Conference Track
SSE18: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE18-31
Start Date
5-4-2018 11:30 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 1:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events); posters
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Volunteer workers in environmental protection--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington (State). Department of Natural Resources
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Citizen science in the aquatic reserves
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has designated eight Aquatic Reserves in the state of Washington that encompass important native ecosystems on state-owned aquatic lands. Seven of these reserves are in the Salish Sea, and of these, six are supported by Citizen Stewardship Committees. These Committees are made up of dedicated local volunteers who help the DNR implement the management actions of their nearby reserve through outreach, education, and citizen science projects. Within the network of the Aquatic Reserves, the current citizen science being conducted by volunteers is diverse and dependent upon the needs of the reserve and the skillset of the volunteers. Their work sometimes adds to baseline datasets, such as forage fish monitoring, intertidal monitoring, and bird and marine mammal surveys. Another important use of citizen science has been to address a sudden or unexpected need of a particular place and moment in time such as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome surveys or European green crab monitoring. Citizen science has also provided new data and insights on projects like bulkhead removal and tracking the changes that occur on beaches before, during, and after their removal and restoration. Having a group of local, experienced volunteers who are intimately involved and aware of what is happening in and around their nearby reserve is invaluable when it comes to tracking changes, implementing management decisions, or providing a group of willing and capable volunteers to researchers in need of helping hands. Through our poster presentation, we hope to provide attendees of the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference both an overview of the various citizen science projects currently taking place within the network of Aquatic Reserves and to spark conversation on how we can grow our collaborations with researchers, scientists, and students into the future.
