Are you interested in helping the Marine Program of NCLC with sea star surveying this summer at Cape Falcone Marine Reserve? Join us for volunteer training from 7 to 9 a.m. Friday, June 7.
The training will take place in the intertidal zone of Short Sand Beach, in Oswald West State Park, which is adjacent to the marine reserve. This is also where the surveys will be conducted during Summer 2024, in partnership with the Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network (MARINe) and the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition.
Why do we survey sea stars?
Sea star surveys monitor the health of sea star populations on the U.S. West Coast after an initial sea-star wasting event in 2013. Volunteers are asked to sign up for at least three shifts of three hours each. Physical demands related to survey activities include getting from parking site to the tide pools on the beach, bending over for sustained periods, and being in the water.
Shifts occur one hour before and one hour after minus-tides events. Volunteer surveyors should be interested in interacting with wildlife and completing detailed work, as the program focuses on finding, measuring and documenting sea stars' size and physical state.
