YACHATS — Both the history and the future of the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve are getting top billing at this year’s 10th anniversary celebration of the protected area’s establishment.
The formally titled “Land-Sea Symposium” takes place Thursday, Nov. 17 in the Yachats Commons. The event is 5-8:30 p.m.
The 130 available in-person slots have already sold out, but a virtual presentation of the symposium’s keynote addresses and panel discussion means anyone can still attend via computer, said Katy Nalven, the Cape Perpetua Collaborative’s program manager.
“This is our biggest event of the year,” she said. “And we’re really excited to celebrate both 10 years of the symposium and 10 years since the establishment of the reserve.”
The Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve is the largest of the state’s five ocean reserves. It is located off the central Oregon coast and stretches between Yachats and Florence. It also includes two Marine Protected Areas and a Seabird Protection Area.
Keynote addresses will be delivered by Cristen Don, who formerly headed the state’s marine reserves program, and Will White, an associated professor in Oregon State University’s Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences.
Charlie Plybon, Oregon policy manager at Surfrider Foundation, will also lead a panel discussion focusing on the past decade and the future of Oregon’s marine reserves.
Registration to attend the symposium online is available here.
