Whale Museum Lecture | Salish Sea: What’s in the Name?

Tuesday, August 23, 6:30 p.m., The Whale Museum

— from Jill Berger —

The Whale Museum is pleased to welcome Bert Webber as part of the 2016 Summer Lecture Series on Tuesday, August 23rd at 6:30 p.m. Bert will present “The Salish Sea: What’s in the Name?” Bert came to WWU in 1970 as part of the founding faculty of WWU with a particular interest in looking at estuaries as ecosystems. The process of naming the Salish Sea started in the late 1980’s and was completed in 2010. He is currently assisting in the program development of WWU’s new Salish Sea Studies Institute.

The story of naming the Salish Sea starts with the discovery of crude oil on Alaska’s arctic shores and the plans to bring, in the mid 1970’s, much of this oil into Washington State’s inland marine waters for refining. The oil industry was getting ready for this North Slope oil to come to Washington State. A new refinery was being built at Cherry Point for the ARCO Company and tankers were being constructed (including the Exxon Valdez) for the trip from Valdez Alaska to various locations in Washington State’s inland marine waters- mostly around Anacortes and Cherry Point. The potential for oil spills awakened the State and Federal government’s interest in studying the risk to marine resources. The scientific knowledge that evolved from studies related to the concern of the threat of spilled oil, led Bert to understand that people living by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia all live by a unified inland Sea, then unnamed.

The August 23rd lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call (360) 378-4710 ext. 30. The Whale Museum is located in Friday Harbor at 62 First St. N. Founded in 1976, The Whale Museum’s mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research. In addition to providing exhibits, the Museum also provides programs including the Marine Naturalist Training, Orca Adoption Program, Soundwatch Boater Education, San Juan Islands Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the Whale Hotline. The Whale Museum can be found on-line at www.whalemuseum.org.