||| FROM TRACIE MERRILL FOR THE WHALE MUSEUM |||

The Whale Museum (TWM) is holding an exciting virtual Gear Down Workshop for Marine Naturalists this fall on Saturday, November 14. This workshop will be held from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Pacific Time and registrants will join sessions through the videoconferencing platform, Zoom. The “Gear Down” Workshop will focus on current issues affecting the Southern Resident orcas with an emphasis on salmon, as salmon is a critical food source for this endangered population of whales.

Invited presenters include:

  • Laurie Peterson, WDFW, on the state of the salmon in Washington;
  • Derek Dapp, WDFW, on allotment of salmon for fisheries and SRKWs;
  • Patrick Crain, NPS, on restoring the Elwha River;
  • Jessica Stocking, WDFW, on pinniped research and management in the Salish Sea; and
  • Julie Watson, WDFW, on orca policy in 2020: where are we now?

Additionally, the workshop will conclude with a group discussion of creating a centralized “bulletin board” of Salish Sea salmon habitat restoration projects involving public/citizen volunteers.

The registration fee is $35 for non-members; $25 for TWM/SSAMN members. For more information and/or to register, please visit https://whalemuseum.org/products/geardown2020Zoom link and workshop agenda will be sent to registrants at email provided at registration closer to start of workshop. Questions can be directed to Tracie Merrill at tracie@whalemuseum.org.