Join us for our annual Ways of Whales workshop in Coupeville! This will be a hybrid in-person/virtual event. Registration is now open.
EARLY BIRD PRICING AVAILABLE
Register by January 4th - $40 or $30 for students and seniors
After January 4th - $50 or $40 for students and seniors
AGENDA
9:00 – 10:00 Sign-In/Registration | Learning Lobby | Silent Auction
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome/Housekeeping – Stephanie Raymond, Orca Network
10:15 – 11:15 Session 1: Orca Network Updates
Toki’s Legacy - Howard Garrett & Susan Berta, Orca Network
Whale Sighting Network Updates – Rachel Haight, Serena Tierra and Nikol Damato, Orca Network
11:15 – 12:15 Session 2: The Secret Lives of Harbor Porpoises
Cindy Elliser, Pacific Mammal Research
12:15 – 1:30 Lunch | Networking | Learning Lobby | Silent Auction
1:30 – 3:00 Session 3: Hope for Southern Residents through Salmon Habitat Success Stories
Ecosystem response to the removal of the Elwha River dams – George Pess, NOAA Fisheries
Former Wayne Golf Course – Whitney Neugebauer, Whale Scout
Duwamish River Estuary – Stephanie Raymond, Orca Network
3:00 - 3:30 Break | Learning Lobby | Last chance for silent auction bids
3:30 – 5:15 Session 4: Humpback Tales
Bellwethers of Change – Ted Cheeseman, Happy Whale
Salish Sea Humpbacks: Science and Sightings Updates - Erin Gless, Pacific Whale Watch Association
5:15 Closing Comments
Speaker Bios:
Cindy Elliser
Dr. Cindy R. Elliser is a marine mammalogist with over 25 years research experience. She received her B.S, M.S. and PhD in Biological Sciences and Integrative Biology from Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Before moving to the Pacific Northwest she spent 10 years working with Dr. Herzing and the Wild Dolphin Project studying dolphins in the Bahamas. In 2014 Dr. Elliser founded Pacific Mammal Research to study harbor porpoises and harbor seals in the Salish Sea. Her research focuses on using photo-identification and behavioral observations to understand the behavioral ecology, social structure and foraging ecology of indviduals and populations. PacMam is a leader in harbor porpoise research and was the first to show the viability of doing long-term photo-identification work on this species. In addition to her research, Dr. Elliser is the Associate Director of the Salish Sea Institute, part of Western Washington University. There she helps to share knowledge and make connections across borders and disciplines to protect the Salish Sea.
George Pess
With over 26 years at NOAA, George Pess has contributed to salmonid recovery by developing and implementing projects quantifying ecosystem responses to restoration. George’s work spans stream and watershed restoration, emphasizing habitat restoration's impact on salmonid populations. George has collaborated extensively with federal, state, local agencies, first nations, NGOs, and academia to advance salmon and steelhead conservation goals. George has authored multiple peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals. George has a BA from Bowdoin College (Economics and Environmental Science, minor in Geology), an MS from Yale University (Forest Hydrology), and a PhD from the University of Washington (Aquatic and Fishery Sciences). George is an affiliate professor at the University of Washington.
Worldwide stream and watershed restoration efforts cost billions annually. These projects are typically local-scale activities that do not have a measurable effect on ecosystem function or services. One ecosystem restoration technique that can have a large-scale effect is dam removal. This single action allows for the re-connection of ecosystem processes such as upstream and downstream organism movement, the rapid transformation from lentic to lotic conditions in former reservoirs, rapid shifts in community structure and food webs, and accelerated habitat creation through sediment deposition. We present results from the Elwha River, where the largest dam removal ever undertaken resulted in measureable ecosystem changes. The release and subsequent downstream transport of tens of millions of metric tonnes of sediment from former reservoirs has resulted in the transformation and rebuilding of estuarine and riverine habitats. The resumption of free passage for aquatic organisms has re-established anadromous fishes to areas that have been void of such species for 100 years, prompting rapid increase in salmonid life history diversity. Short-term changes due to large changes in sediment supply resulted reductions in Chinook salmon productivity but has recently rebounded. Following dam removal, marine derived nutrients increased, entered foods webs and altered the migration patterns and fecundity of an aquatic song bird. Our results demonstrate the critical importance of maintaining longitudinal connectivity for maintaining watershed processes and ecosystem services, and linking management such as habitat restoration, hatchery operations, and harvest into an integrated set of actions.
Whitney Neugebauer
Whitney Neugebauer completed degrees in Geology and Anthropology from Eckerd College prior to receiving her master’s degree in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington. She went on to found Whale Scout in 2013. She lives in Bothell, Washington where she enjoys camping with her family and exploring all that the PNW has to offer.
Stephanie Raymond
Stephanie Raymond is a lifelong resident of the Salish Sea region and passionate about sharing its wonders with others. Her environmental education career has included non-profit work, formal and informal outdoor education, classroom teaching, curriculum development and advocacy work. She has studied forest, riparian, estuarine, nearshore and marine ecology, as well as local ethnobotany. She holds a degree from the University of Washington in Social Issues and the Environment, joining her curiosity about the natural world with her fascination for how humans interact with it. When not actively searching for whales, Stephanie enjoys camping, hiking, gardening, and spending time on the water. Stephanie is currently Program Director for Orca Network, a non-profit dedicated to connecting people with whales of the Pacific Northwest.
Ted Cheeseman
Ted is the co-founder and director of Happywhale, a research collaboration and citizen science web platform that is transforming data science for tracking individual whales. Ted recently completed a PhD studying North Pacific humpback whale populations, a broad collaborative study that leveraged AI technology to identify and track almost every living whale in the North Pacific. The study revealed a previously under-appreciated major mortality event where 1/3 or Hawaii’s humpback population was lost to the impacts of a three-year marine heatwave. Ted is particularly inspired to develop technology that fosters research collaboration, access to previously inaccessible learning, and building community around ocean ecosystems. When not studying whales, Ted is happiest anywhere wild, especially in surf, snow and high mountains.
Erin Gless
Erin Gless is the executive director for the Pacific Whale Watch Association, a community of ecotourism professionals dedicated to education, conservation, and responsible wildlife viewing in Washington and British Columbia. She holds a BS in Biology with Marine Emphasis from Western Washington University, as well as a BS in Public Relations and BA in Spanish from the University of Miami. Erin has been a member of the professional whale watching community since 2008, and has worked as a naturalist in both southern California and the Salish Sea. In her spare time, Erin volunteers for Cascadia Research Collective cataloging Hawaiian pantropical spotted dolphins, and enjoys traveling the world in search of as much wildlife as possible!