The Ocean Policy Advisory Council wants to thank you.

To the 755 people who attended the public outreach meetings on marine reserves, to the people who turned in 1,689 comment cards and to the folks who turned in 25 electronic comments, council members appreciate your efforts.

Outreach coordinator Ginny Goblirsch and the other folks involved in the outreach process — Sea Grant agent Jeff Feldner, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program Manager Patty Burke and Oregon State University Associate Professor Selina Heppel — organized the compilation of all the comments, all the materials presented at the meetings, and other related documents.

The result was a 476-page book chock-full of information, comments and suggestions. Some were pro marine reserves, some were not.

Organizers were true to their promise to deliver the comments to both OPAC and the governor. Goblirsch and Feldner presented their findings to the council on Friday when it met in Newport.

Goblirsch said the first meeting, held in North Bend, “took a lot of guts,” but that the process became easier during the subsequent seven meetings. At each, attendees were urged to turn in comment cards related to five questions. The process was different from standard meetings in that participants didn’t get the chance to speak at a microphone. So many people were expected to show up that organizers hoped the specific questions and comment cards would create valuable discussion and take away the intimidation some attendees may have felt had they been urged to speak.

The process worked.

“I think everybody did feel heard,” Goblirsch said in the presentation to OPAC.

Goblirsch also reiterated that council members should take the time to read all the comments.

“... general comments should be read because people took the time to share them,” one of the introductory pages said in the compilation. “Each of the eight locations had both positive and negative comments; both about the content of marine reserves and the marine reserves process. It is critical for OPAC, the Governor’s office, and others to read the entire database along with the summaries. Comment cards included rich, and at times, detailed information that was captured in the database and should be considered.”

OPAC members also felt the process worked well and spent nearly an hour discussing the issuance of a press release thanking folks who took part in the process. They also wanted to let the public know those comments will be taken into account as OPAC moves forward on marine reserves.

“This is a big document. (Everyone should) have an open mind and look through this,” council member Robin Hartmann said.

On the Net:

http://www.oregonmarinereserves.net/

— Susan Chambers, staff writer