JOIN US NOVEMBER 4TH AT 6:30 FOR OUR NOVEMBER COMMUNITY MEETING

Oregon's kelp forests are vital habitat for an amazing variety of marine species that sustain life and livelihoods on the Oregon coast. Changing ocean conditions and unchecked sea urchin populations have thrown the ecosystem that supports these highly productive forests out of balance, but a highly motivated group of researchers and community members on the Oregon coast is taking action to better understand and save Oregon's kelp forests. In our November community meeting, we will be hearing from Tom Calvanese, the coordinator of the Oregon Kelp Alliance (ORKA). ORKA aims to promote the health of Oregon's kelp forests through monitoring and researching conditions in kelp forest ecosystems, reducing urchin density in key areas to promote kelp forest regeneration, and engaging communities that rely on these systems. They recently received notice of a large federal appropriation to engage coastal communities in coastwide kelp surveys that will greatly enhance our ability to understand these systems and to promote kelp forest stewardship.

Along with being the coordinator of ORKA, Tom Calvanese also manages the OSU Port Orford Field Station. The field station supports a wide variety of research and community activities throughout the year. He also served two terms as a commissioner for the Port of Port Orford. He earned his master's degree in fisheries science while studying the movement behavior of rockfish at the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Area and spent several years as a commercial sea urchin diver. He has a wealth of knowledge about marine ecology and the many stakeholders that use the marine resources of the Oregon Coast.