Sadly, we are announcing that the Sharing the Coast Conference that was coming up this weekend (March 13-15) has been cancelled.
One event that has not been cancelled is tomorrow’s (March 12th) marine debris survey and training session, 10 a.m. at Fort Stevens State Park on the far north coast. Volunteers are needed at this site and at other marine debris survey sites.
Over the last week, CoastWatch and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME), our partners in sponsoring the annual conference, have been monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 virus and weighing the value of the conference against the potential health risks. It is a shame to lose the chance to hold the 11th annual conference, but the last thing we would want to do is increase the threat of illness to dozens of the coast’s most dedicated conservationists. One key speaker had already pulled out, unable to travel due to the virus, and we were beginning to hear from some of those who had pre-registered that they were no longer comfortable with attending.
Due to these growing concerns, and to ensure we are taking the necessary measures to protect the health and well being of prospective conference attendees and presenters, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel Sharing the Coast 2020. While no government directives in Oregon have materialized yet to guide this decision, conference organizers thought cancellation was the best move to reduce exposure risk.
Says Jesse Jones, CoastWatch volunteer coordinator, “CoastWatch is grateful to our presenters for helping to make what would have been an excellent conference. We will be working to schedule these speakers in various talks in the coming weeks and months, so please look out for these new learning opportunities.”
Registered participants will receive a full refund.
For more information, contact Jesse at (503) 989-7244, jesse@oregonshores.org.
One event that has not been cancelled is tomorrow’s (March 12th) marine debris survey and training session, 10 a.m. at Fort Stevens State Park on the far north coast. Volunteers are needed at this site and at other marine debris survey sites. For more information, see the website: https://oregonshores.org/coastwatchhttps://oregonshores.org/coastwatchhttps://oregonshores.org/coastwatch.
