Oregon Sea Grant will begin its outreach process regarding marine reserves with a meeting in North Bend.

The outreach sessions are being held at the request of the Ocean Policy Advisory Council, which has been working on marine reserves issues for several months.

Sea Grant employees will hold the series of listening and learning forums in eight coastal communities to gather a range of interests and viewpoints to explore the issue of marine reserves.

As defined by OPAC, marine reserves are areas of the ocean closed to fishing and other extractive activities in order to conserve marine habitats and biodiversity to provide reference areas for research and monitoring.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked OPAC to come up with a set of recommendations for establishing “less than 10 marine reservers – large enough for scientific testing but small enough to avoid economic or social impacts such as the loss of significant fishing opportunities,” the governor said in a letter to fishermen after a Nov. 1 meeting.

OPAC members asked Sea Grant to conduct the community outreach process because of the program’s 40-year history of engaging with coastal communities on issues as wide-ranging as fisheries management, coastal hazards and regional research planning.

The forums are intended to engage coastal communities and ocean users, share scientific and local knowledge and show people how they can continue to be involved in the process of nominating potential sites for marine reserves.

Forums will be moderated by Ginny Goblirsch, a long-time Sea Grant Extension Agent with both professional and personal background in the fishing community.

Scientific background on marine reserves will be presented by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Manager Patty Burke and Selina Heppell, faculty researcher with the Oregon State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Participants will hear background about marine reserves, receive copies of material OPAC intends to use to make its recommendations and meet others with whom they may continue working on the issue after the forums, according to a press release.

Targeted participants include: commercial, charter and recreational fishermen; seafood industry and fishing support services; port commissioners and managers; community conservation leaders; coastal recreational interests; local government and staff; and the public at large.

Those planning to attend the two-hour forums are encouraged to prepare in advance by visiting the Web site, http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/outreach/reserves.html, and reading the background documents provided there by OPAC. Print versions of the documents also will be available at local port offices.

To ensure that their knowledge, ideas and perspectives are considered in the decision-making process, participants also are encouraged to bring written comments to turn in at the forums.

All forums will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the following dates and places:

n Monday, Feb. 18: North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway St., North Bend;

n Wednesday, Feb. 20: Garibaldi City Hall, 107 6th St.;

n Thursday, Feb. 21: Newport City Hall, 169 SW Coast Highway;

n Friday, Feb. 22: Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St.;

n Tuesday, Feb. 26: Port of Umpqua, 364 N 4th St., Reedsport;

n Wednesday, Feb. 27: Chetco Grange Community Center, 97895 Shopping Center Ave., Harbor;

n Thursday, Feb. 28; Port Orford City Hall, 555 W 20th; and

n Friday, Feb. 29: Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW 3rd St.

Sea Grant is under a mid-March OPAC deadline to conduct these and other listening and engagement activities and deliver an interim outreach report to the governor, OPAC and state agencies involved in the marine reserves process. One possible outcome could be the formation of local nearshore working groups to further study the issue and, if they choose, nominate areas in their regions as potential marine reserves.

For more information, those interested can call Ginny Goblirsch at (541) 737-8002, or by e-mail to marinereserves@-oregonstate.edu.