Please join us for our annual Ways of Whales hybrid workshop, taking place in person in Coupeville, WA and virtually on StreamYard.
Register at: https://givebutter.com/jW1pNG
Cost - $40/$30 seniors and students. Some full and partial scholarships are available. Clock hours in Washington and Oregon are available through The Heritage Institute. Please contact Cindy Hansen at cindy@orcanetwork.org for more information or with any questions.
Agenda:
9:00 - 10:00 Registration/Check in - Learning Lobby - Silent Auction
10:00 - 10:15 Welcome/Housekeeping - Stephanie Raymond, Orca Network
10:15 - 11:15 Session 1: Updates, Stories and Inspiration
Howard Garrett & Susan Berta, Orca Network
Rosie Cayou James, Coast Salish Elder
Nateli Sanderson, Student
11:15 BREAK
11:30 - 1:00 Session 2: Salmon Conservation. Short presentations followed by Q&A and panel discussion
Salmon Behavior – Thomas Quinn, UW (joining virtually)
Right to Passage: A Salmon Story – Holly Henderson, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group
The Last Best Place, Salmon and Steelhead Recovery in the Snake River Basin – Eric Crawford, Trout Unlimited (joining virtually)
Chehalis Watershed in Peril: a tale of floods, droughts, forest practices, and climate change – Lee First, Twin Harbors Waterkeeper
Undamming the Klamath– Shane Anderson, Swiftwater Films (joining virtually)
1:00 - 2:15 LUNCH. There will be a showing of the “Resident Orca” trailer and “Tribute to the Orca” at 2:00 for any who are interested.
2:15 - 3:30 Session 3: Center for Whale Research Science Update - Michael Weiss
CWR Research Director Michael Weiss will give an update on recent southern resident killer whale science. This will include the latest information on SRKW demographics, brand new behavioral observations from aerial observation studies, and recent published science from the Center.
3:30 - 3:45 BREAK - Last chance to bid on silent auction items
3:45 - 4:45 Blue Whales and the “52 Hertz Whale” - John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective
Speaker Bios:
Susan Berta is co-founder and Executive Director of Orca Network. She has worked with environmental volunteer programs focusing on the Salish Sea for 35 years, including Island County Beach Watchers (Sound Water Stewards), and the Penn Cove Water Festival, which she co-founded and remains involved in, both as a lead for the canoe races, and in event partnerships with Orca Network.
Howard Garrett received his degree in Sociology from The Colorado College in 1980 and began his lifelong study of orca natural history with the Center for Whale Research in 1981. In 1995 he founded The Tokitae Foundation, dedicated to returning the orca Lolita to her native waters in the Pacific Northwest. He co-founded Orca Network in November 2001 with his wife Susan Berta and is currently the Board President.
Rosie Cayou James is of many heritages – Samish, Swinomish, Lummi, Tulalip, Tswout, French and Hawaiian. Her passion is to share her knowledge of the teachings of her ancestors and to one day be an inspiration to new inspirators. One of her goals is to have more on hands on classes in indigenous foods and knowledge. Her mission will be to share her knowledge with all tied to San Juan islands, the surrounding tribes, and interested public of San Juan islands.
Nateli Sanderson is the founder of Washington's first Roots & Shoots group. She strives to inspire others her age and to create action through projects. With her Middle School's Environmental Club, she had the opportunity to make the campus a greener place and to network and make connections in the community. With her current R&S group, they have helped provide clothing to their low-income school district, and are currently planning a fundraiser for orca recovery. They are passionate about youth engagement in orca recovery and restoration of salmon habitat. Through her work, Nateli received the Rising Tides Award last November. Moving forward she is seeing what she can contribute to the United States Roots & Shoots Youth Council as well as exploring more ways to get her peers involved and create action! She is extremely grateful for all of the people who have offered her their endless support and encouragement, whether that's her parents and family, her friends or her community members!
Thomas Quinn is a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. He has conducted research on all aspects of salmon and trout behavior, ecology, evolution and conservation. including projects on homing and migration, recolonization after dam removal, and more. He teaches classes in fish ecology, salmon behavior, and scientific writing.
Holly Henderson grew up in Snohomish, Washington, and has always loved spending time outdoors. She began her college career at Oregon State University, and in 2022 graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation Management and Leadership, focusing primarily on ecotourism and equitable outdoor recreation. Prior to joining the Skagit Fisheries team she worked with a number of Washington wineries assisting with wine tastings and culinary courses. In her free time she enjoys paddle boarding on Lake Whatcom, exploring local beaches, and cooking. On cold winter days she can be found constantly checking the weather forecast for snow, and during the summer she’s out on the water whenever she can be.
Eric Crawford has dedicated his life to conserving fish and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. Currently serving as the Snake River Campaign Director for Trout Unlimited, Eric leads efforts to restore one of the region's most iconic ecosystems and ensure a sustainable future for salmon and steelhead. Eric’s commitment to conservation began early, blossoming during his 22 years with Idaho Fish and Game. There, he honed his expertise in natural resource management and community outreach. His tenure was marked by innovative programs that balanced conservation law enforcement with the needs of local communities, making him a trusted voice in conservation. Now at Trout Unlimited, Eric directs his energy toward the pivotal campaign to breach the four lower Snake River dams—a critical step in recovering endangered salmon and steelhead populations. With an emphasis on grassroots engagement and collaboration, Eric excels at bringing diverse stakeholders together.
Lee First helped found Twin Harbors Waterkeeper in 2019, and has been working in the Waterkeeper movement since 2007. One of over 300 Waterkeeper organizations in 47 countries, Twin Harbors Waterkeeper works to protect and improve water quality and marine and freshwater habitats on the Washington Coast including the Chehalis River estuary, Willapa Bay, and the Quillayute, Queets, Quinault, and Hoh River watersheds. Lee has spent over 100 days paddling on the Chehalis River and its tributaries.
Shane Anderson is a filmmaker and cinematographer working in creative non-fiction. His work has been supported by the Redford Center, the Rogovy Foundation, Patagonia and many foundations in the environmental sector. His work has been featured on BBC, PBS, Netflix and news outlets worldwide. An avid fisherman and conservationist with a background in fisheries biology and a passion for adventure, Shane carved out his filmmaking niche focusing on salmon recovery, river protection, and socio-environmental justice. Over the past decade, Shane has produced and directed 7 award-winning feature-length documentaries and over 70 shorts viewed by millions worldwide through PBS broadcasts, streaming platforms, robust festival runs, high school and college classrooms, and environmental conferences. Shane has been honored with Trout Unlimited’s Communicator of the Year Award (2014), the City of Olympia Heritage Award for films(2021), Shane’s documentary GUARDIANS OF THE RIVER (2021) received the EarthX Impact Award,his most recent short, BRING THE SALMON HOME (2022), was a Jackson Media Award finalist. A RIVERS LAST CHANCE, CHEHALIS: A WATERSHED MOMENT, and THE LOST SALMON have been broadcast throughout the nation on PBS and have been showcased in dozens of impact campaigns and grass roots efforts across the country.
Michael Weiss completed his Ph.D. in Animal Behaviour at the U.K.’s University of Exeter in 2020, focusing on the evolutionary and conservation consequences of killer whale social structure using CWR’s long-term dataset and data collected from unmanned aerial observation. He received his Bachelor’s degree in biology from Reed College in 2016. His undergraduate work centered on the Southern Resident killer whales’ social structure. As the Center for Whale Research’s Research Director, Michael assumes the day-to-day role of coordinating CWR’s scientific research work: ORCA SURVEY (since 1976) and Aerial Observation Study (since 2018).
John Calambokidis is a Senior Research Biologist and one of the founders of Cascadia Research Collective, a non-profit research organization formed in 1979 based in Olympia, Washington. He periodically serves as an Adjunct Faculty at the Evergreen State College teaching a course on marine mammals. His primary interests are the biology of marine mammals and the impacts of humans. He has served as Project Director of over 200 projects. He has authored two books on marine mammals (on blue whales and a guide to marine mammals) as well as more than 135 publications in scientific journals, 150 technical reports, and 175 scientific presentations. He has conducted studies on a variety of marine mammals in the North Pacific from Central America to Alaska. He served as Project manager for major projects such as the SPLASH Pacific-wide study of humpback whales and the Southern California Behavioral Response Study to sonar. He has directed long-term research on the status, movements, and underwater behavior of blue, humpback, and gray whales. Some of his recent research has included attaching tags to whales with suction cups to examine their feeding behavior and vocalizations. His work has been covered on shows by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and others. He has received awards from the American Cetacean Society for Lifetime Achievement in Marine Mammal Science (in 2012), from the Washington Chapter of the Wildlife Society for Lifetime Leadership in Conservation (2019), and the Olympia Rotary Club Environmental Protection Award (2018).