Sharing the Coast Conference

Cannon Beach's Haystack Rock at sunrise.\Photo by Rena Martin.

The time has come again for the annual Sharing the Coast Conference.  This annual extravaganza of information about coastal natural history, taking place March 2-4 in Cannon Beach, is a joint project of CoastWatch and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME).  This year the Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock Awareness Program is a local partner.  All activities aside from field trips and the Saturday evening party take place at the Cannon Beach Community Hall (207 Spruce St.).

The event kicks off with a speaker at 7 p.m. on Friday evening.  On Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., we’ll hear talks and panel discussions on such topics as seabirds and shorebirds, tidepool ecology and sea stars, marine debris, marine mammals, “beached marine critters”  found on the shoreline, and other topics.  We will have some amazing raffle items donated by CoastWatchers and many other fantastic supporters.  A Saturday afterparty, featuring our annual, cutthroat trivia contest, starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Public Coast Brewery (264 E. 3^rd St.).

On Sunday, an early morning tidepool walk at Haystack Rock is planned (weather allowing).  We’ll gather back at the community hall at 10 a.m. for a series of short talks about citizen science, then head back out to the beach for field trips.  If the weather is overly inclement, we will have additional talks inside instead.

Sharing the Coast is a chance to have fun learning some intriguing new things about the shoreline and socialize with fellow coast-lovers, but the underlying goal is to provide background information that will assist CoastWatchers in monitoring their miles, and NAME members in educating others about marine and coastal science.

Cost is $30 for current members of either organization (includes Saturday lunch and evening appetizers), or $45 for non-members and $20 for students.  Those joining either group or updating their memberships when registering can take the discount.  You can register at the conference, or pre-register online:  http://bit.ly/2EiD2NC.  If you are a current Oregon Shores member, you can obtain a discount on the conference fee by using this code: Coast2018.  If you aren’t a member or your membership has lapsed, you can seize the opportunity to join or renew now through our website, https://oregonshores.org/, and then take the discount.

For more information, contact Fawn Custer, CoastWatch volunteer coordinator, (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org; or Melissa Keyser, Oregon NAME president (and coordinator of the Haystack Rock Awareness Program), 503-436-8060, keyser@ci.cannon-beach.or.us.