What: Orca Recovery Conference
When: May 31 through June 2, 2002
Where: Kane Hall, University of Washington, Seattle.
Visit www.washington.edu/home/maps/northcentral.html for a map of Kane Hall.
Orca Recovery Conference
The purpose of the conference will be to draw together scientists, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to discuss a recovery plan for the Southern Resident orca population. We believe the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will have made a preliminary announcement about whether they intend to list Southern Resident orcas under the Endangered Species Act by the time this conference begins. Whether or not the announcement is made by then, and whether or not NMFS proposes to list Southern Residents, action will be needed to ensure the survival of this population.
To view the ORCA RECOVERY CONFERENCE AGENDA, Click Here.
NOTE: If you are experiencing viewing difficulties, try upgrading your browser or contact Will Anderson at saveorcawhales@attbi.com for fax or email versions of the Conference Agenda.
Conference Format
The structure of the conference will be as follows: Following introductory remarks, there will be four blocks of time set aside over the three days to deal with specific issues.
These issues are:- Toxins
- Prey Availability
- Whale Watching, and
- Other Factors
(Entanglement, noise, oil spills, disease, etc.).To view the scientific papers relevant to the Orca Recovery Conference, go to http://faculty.washington.edu/dbain/orc.html
Conference Format Clarification: Over the three days of the conference, we will be creating a proposed recovery plan for the southern resident orca whales. There will be four sessions, one after the other (see agenda) during the three days. The session subject areas are food availability, toxics, whale watching and other (oil spills, disease, noise, etc.)
For each session there will be:
- One hour of scientific PRESENTATIONS to everyone in one hall.
- Two hours of DISCUSSION GROUPS, one each of (a) scientists and (b) interest groups - NGO's, government agencies and other. There will be a moderator and note-taker for each discussion group.
- Everyone will reconvene into one hall to hear a report of the highlights of each discussion group. Then a PANEL will take written questions from the audience.
- A conference proceedings report will follow and be distributed on the website and via email.
Each block will begin with presentations by a couple of scientists summarizing the current state of the issue. Everyone, scientists, governmental agencies and the public will attend this "update." Then the conference will divide into two discussion groups.
One discussion group will be composed of scientists who will discuss the likely importance of the issue in the overall situation, the confidence we have in the data currently available, additional data needs, and the financial resources required to obtain the needed data. The NGO/agency group will be composed of non-scientists for the most part and will discuss actions that could be taken based on currently available information. After the working groups complete their discussions, the two groups will reconvene together and rapporteurs will summarize the two discussions.
This will be followed by a panel discussion of written questions submitted by the audience. While the working groups will need to be small enough to ensure that they are productive, the discussions will be open for observation by the public.
Finally, a conference room will be available throughout the meeting for small groups who wish to hold private discussions. NGO's may have the opportunity to show films. Contact Will Anderson at saveorcawhales@attbi.com if you have a film to present.
The formal part of the conference begins at 3 p.m.,s May 31, and ends at 2 p.m., June 2.
In the interest of time, we will have a limited number of invited spoken presentations. There will be no registration fee for the conference.
Following the three days of meetings, we will prepare a conference summary similar to that produced by NMFS following the 2000 workshop. We hope the summary will be of use to policy makers, funding agencies, and conference participants in guiding recovery efforts for Southern Resident orcas.
For Further Details:
If your organization wishes to be represented on one or more discussion groups, please respond to:
Will Anderson at saveorcawhales@attbi.com (the sooner the better as space is limited - one person per panel per organization).
PLEASE NOTE: If you are a member of the public, you do NOT need to contact anyone. Again, just refer to this website for updates.
This conference is being sponsored by Earth Island Institute/Orca Recovery Campaign; the Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Zoology, University of Washington; the Orca Conservancy; and the Canadian Consulate General, Seattle.
Conference Lodging
We have secured a conference rate at the University Tower Hotel. A single room with two queen beds or one king bed is $104.00 per night, plus taxes, single or double occupancy.
Availability of rooms cannot be guaranteed after May 3, but chances are still good. The rate will apply as long as rooms are available. The hotel is within five to six blocks of the conference. Several restaurants are within two blocks.
- Phone: Call 1- 800-899-0251 for reservations. For the conference rate, you need to state that you are attending the Earth Island Institute Orca Recovery Conference.
- For driving instructions, map, hotel photo and more information, go to www.bestwestern.com/universitytowerhotel.
Conference Booths
There are draped display tables available in the lobby of the conference for organizations, businesses and government agencies.Though we believe there will be ample press, UW students and stakeholders present each day of the conference, we do not expect an exceptionally large public turnout. The conference halls we will be using do seat several hundred people.
Panel Participation
There are four subject areas:
- prey availability
- toxics
- whale watching, and
- "other" topics
Contact Info
- For the scientific community, please contact Dr. David Bain,
dbain@u.washington.edu
- Environmental organizations, government agencies and business interests, please contact Will Anderson (for discussion group participation) at saveorcawhalesa@attbi.com. Please limit one person per discussion group to represent your organization, business or agency.
Parking Information
To be posted shortly
