News

PMEP hosted a Data Tools Cafe at the 9th National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and Management, held in Long Beach in December 2018. The session introduced PMEP to restoration practitioners, researchers, and resource managers as it highlighted the many functions and uses of PMEP data tools.  The session featured hands-on exercises to get participants familiar with the data tools. Participants walked through the Estuary Explorer tools, finding which estuaries on the west coast are at low-risk for habitat degradation, where tidal forested wetlands are located, and where wetland restoration would most benefit federally managed species. These questions showed the value of the data tools to habitat conservation and restoration planning, minimizing impact on Essential Fish Habitat, and assessing the benefits of projects to species and habitats. The session exemplified PMEP’s collaborative structure by including speakers from The Nature Conservancy, NOAA Fisheries, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Estuary Technical Group, and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership has plotted its course for the next five years. Its recently approved 2018-2022 Strategic Plan identifies three overarching priorities for work over the next five years:

1. Protect, restore and enhance fish habitat in California, Oregon, and Washington Estuaries with an emphasis on juvenile rearing areas.
2. Protect, restore, and enhance fish habitat in the nearshore Pacific Ocean.
3. Increase Connectivity between habitats within PMEP’s geographic scope.

We will accomplish this work through the collaborative partnerships we have built over the last decade. The full Strategic Plan 2018-2022 can be found here.

PMEP welcomes Joan Drinkwin of Natural Resource Consultants as the new PMEP Coordinator. Joan specializes in designing and implementing strategic conservation programs and projects. She is an experienced coordinator with over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector as programs director and executive director. She regularly coordinates committees, facilitates meetings, and organizes effective gatherings of stakeholders and scientific experts. She is a recognized leader in the field of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear and is regularly called on for consultation from practitioners worldwide as well as Intergovernmental Organizations (FAO, IWC).

Joan has managed on-the-ground nearshore restoration projects as well as developed and directed strategic restoration programs. She has developed invasive species management plans, organizational strategic plans and communications plans. She has extensive grant acquisition and development experience. Prior to joining NRC, Joan was Programs Director (and Interim Director) for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation, where she managed the Northwest Straits Initiative’s internationally recognized Derelict Fishing Gear Program. Joan has worked extensively throughout the Salish Sea region on marine conservation policy and on-the-ground and in-the-water projects. She brings strong communications and development skills to all her projects and is deft at communicating scientific information to lay audiences both in writing and speaking.

You can reach Joan at info@pacificfishhabitat.org.