Volunteer Coordinator Helps with Whale Watch Training

Fawn Custer, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, will participate in a special presentation on Whales of the Oregon Coast, taking place on Tuesday, March 15 at the Oregon Coast Community College branch in Lincoln City, from 6-9pm. The principal speaker at this free public event will be Joy Primrose, president of the Oregon chapter of the American Cetacean Society, who will provide a broad overview of the marine mammals seen off the Oregon coast—and sometimes beached on our shores.Jim Rice, director of the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, will then discuss his program and how volunteers can assist with it.

CoastWatch is an active partner in the stranding network, so Fawn will discuss our work in monitoring whale and other marine mammal strandings and cooperating with the network, as well as CoastWatch in general and our other citizen science activities.

This event serves as background for aspiring whale watchers.  The spring migration of gray whales headed for the Arctic is already beginning to pass our shores, and Spring Whale Watch Week is scheduled March 19-26.