Check out upcoming opportunities to get involved.
We’d love to see you at Haystack Rock. Join us at an upcoming event!
We have hosted many nature talks. Recent ones are listed below.
Chris Wold describes the laws and history of how Oregon's shores became public in the Friends of Haystack Rock Nature Series.
Video about shorebirds along the Pacific northwest presented by Roy Lowe to Friends of Haystack Rock nature talks.
North Coast Land Conservancy discusses the various ecosystems along the Oregon Coast for the Friends of Haystack Rock Nature Series.
Josh McInnes is a marine mammal scientist and graduate student at the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Marine Mammal Research Unit. He will share a presentation titled: “Transient Killer Whales of the Outer Coast of Oregon and California” Transient killer whales are important apex predators in marine ecosystems along the Pacific coast. Insights into the latest findings regarding ecology, abundance, distribution, and community structure of these whales along the outer coast and offshore waters of Oregon and California will be presented.Josh McInnes is from the windy seaside city of Victoria BC, Canada. Josh’s research focuses on the ecology and behavior of marine mammals in British Columbia and Monterey Bay, California, with studies focusing on the foraging behavior, diet, and ecology of transient (Bigg’s) killer whales and Risso’s Dolphins.
Sea otters have been absent from Oregon’s coast since the early 1980’s. The reintroduction of these marine mammals to northern California and Oregon is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This talk will cover the history of sea otters throughout their range and the ecological benefits they provide, with an emphasis on next steps as we consider a potential reintroduction. Michelle St. Martin is the Marine Conservation Coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Newport office. She has over a decade of experience working with marine mammals, including polar bears and sea otters, primarily in Alaska. She is excited to be working in Oregon and about the opportunities it brings for continued learning and collaboration.
In 2012, Oregon kicked off its marine reserve program with the establishment of the Otter Rock and Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve sites. The other three, including the Cape Falcon site on the north coast, came into effect in 2014 and 2016. Then years later, the State is looking back at what we have learned and how to adapt the program going forward. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff will present highlights, focusing on ecological research.
Sylvia Yamada, a faculty member of the Oregon State University Department of Integrative Biology, has been monitoring the recruitment of European green crabs in Oregon estuaries for over 20 years. Sylvia Yamada is a marine ecologist and a faculty member in the Department of Biology at Oregon State University. She received her Bachelors and Master from the University of British Columbia and her PhD from the University of Oregon. Her research includes salmon stock identification, predator-prey interactions, invertebrate fisheries and the role of introduced fisheries and the role of introduced species in the marine environment. She has been monitoring European green crabs in Oregon estuaries for over 20 years.
This talk will describe how shoreline marine debris monitoring can be used to address this pollution problem, and how to get involved in NOAA's Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project through CoastWatch. The MDMAP is a nationwide network of volunteers, NGOs, and agency and academic personnel who contribute and use the data. Data collection follows a rigorous, well-tested protocol designed to document quantity and composition of shoreline marine debris greater than 2.5cm. Outcomes range from improved understanding of where and when marine debris accumulates, to assessment of legislation like bag bans and container deposits, to development of behavior change campaigns targeting source reduction of items like shotgun wads. The more data, the greater the impact. CoastWatch is actively seeking to set up more monitoring sites in Oregon.
Josh McInnes is a marine mammal scientist and graduate student at the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Marine Mammal Research Unit. He will share a presentation titled: Ecological Aspects of Transient Killer Whales off the California and Oregon Coast. Transient killer whales are important apex predators in marine ecosystems along the Pacific coast. Insights into the latest findings regarding ecology, abundance, distribution, and community structure of these whales along the outer coast and offshore waters of Oregon and California will be presented.
Taylor Chapple Assistant Professor Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, “The Science of Sharks: Meeting the Predator Next Door” Have you ever wondered what species of sharks are swimming in the waters off Oregon or how much a White shark has to eat to fill its belly? Did you know that Salmon sharks, a cousin to White sharks, swim down from Alaska to exploit our salmon runs? And, Broadnose Sevengill sharks can hunt cooperatively to capture seals? In the Big Fish Lab at Oregon State University, we study the movements, behaviors, and energetics of large marine fish - notably sharks, mantas and tunas. Using a mix of electronic tags and hands-on field experiments, we work to gain insights into where they go, when they go, and why they go. We specialize in biologging tags, which allow us to hitch a ride with these animals and get a sneak-peak into their lives through a suite of sensors and cameras. By understanding these big fish and their role in our marine systems, we can better protect and manage our coastal ecosystems and resources.
Oregon recently positioned itself as a national and international leader on blue carbon when the Oregon Global Warming Commission adopted the first ever Natural and Working Lands Proposal that specifically recommended incorporating blue carbon into the state’s climate goals and strategies. Many people and groups in Oregon had asked the Commission to go big on blue carbon and the Pew Charitable Trusts played a key role in bringing scientists and data analysts together to inform the blue carbon elements of the proposal. But what is blue carbon anyway? What did the Oregon Global Warming Commission just recommend? What does it mean? And what’s next? In this talk Pew will start to address these questions, foster discussion about how to get involved, and tease out some emerging research to broaden the blue carbon conversation.
Marc Ward is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the environmental non-profit Sea Turtles Forever (STF). He has spent the last 20 years running operations for STF in Costa Rica and Oregon. Sea Turtles Forever has hatched 175,000 endangered sea turtles during the last two decades that would have been illegally harvested and sold on the back market in Costa Rica. This work is reestablishing an important population of Chelonia Mydas Agassizii that was reduced to approx. 10% of historic numbers when the project was initiated, due to illegal harvest for decades and the effects of commercial fishing around Punta Pargos. STF has also led the way in removing marine micro plastic from the environment using a patented system invented and developed by Marc Ward and now being used all over the world as an efficient strategy for removing marine micro plastic from the beach environment. STF also runs a beach filtration team (STF Blue Wave) every year during the off- nesting season for marine turtles and removes tons of marine micro plastic from Northern Oregon Beaches.
Join us to learn from USFWS researcher, Shawn Stephensen, about Tufted Puffin Research Studies of the Oregon Coast.
Amy and Amanda from The Salish Sea School joined us to talk all about Tufted Puffins and the work they do with their students to learn more about them and collect valuable data to help protect them!
Puffin counter, Tim Halloran, joined us to talk about how he counts the puffins and how that data is used.
Katie Voelke from the North Coast Land Conservancy is joined us to talk about conservation and climate action!
Kiirsten Flynn will presenting: Insights into large whale entanglements in the Pacific Northwest from research of populations, responses and reports. Kiirsten is currently one of Cascadia's boat drivers in the field, a NOAA certified Level 3 Entangled Large Whale Responder.
Elaine Trucke from the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum joined us on January 13 to talk about some of the historic stories the museum has uncovered about Haystack Rock!
Meg Reed of the Oregon Coastal Management Program speaks on the project and how to participate to the Friends of Haystack Rock, in an online presentation free and open to all. This talk was posted on Facebook Live on Dec. 10.
Janet Essley, M.A.. is a painter, muralist, and teaching artist with over 20 years’ experience creating collaborative murals with youth and adults. She has led collaborative murals for schools, colleges, community service groups, churches, at-risk youth programs, and environmental education projects. She believes that collaborative murals are a fundamental integration of art and communication with the practice of democracy. Her personal work is often focused on environmental issues. The Cultural Cartography of Red Knots is her most recent project. Friends of Haystack Rock is a nonprofit organization focused on keeping Haystack Rock healthy and thriving. Our mission is to promote the preservation and protection of the intertidal life and birds that inhabit the Marine Garden and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge at Haystack Rock. We do this in cooperation with Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP) and other partnerships.
The Friends of Haystack Rock were ecstatic to have Katie Volke of the North Coast Land Conservancy join us for our May 2020 Library Lecture via Zoom and Facebook Live.
