Whether you’re watching sea lions from a waterfront webcam, recording western gray squirrels on a university campus, documenting river otter sign along a shoreline, observing Olympic sea otters foraging on the Washington coast, or helping monitor pollinators on a small farm, careful observations made by many people can answer questions that no single researcher could address alone. Community science transforms curiosity into conservation.
PLEASE PARTICIPATE!
Project CA Sea Lion
Help us better understand the California sea lions that call Newport’s Bayfront home.
Imagine walking into your favorite coffee shop only to discover your regular crowd has vanished. That’s Newport’s sea lion docks every summer. For a few weeks, most of the familiar faces are hundreds of miles away at California’s breeding colonies before returning to reclaim the Bayfront docks like they never left. But this project isn’t just about counting sea lions.
By documenting when they come and go, what they’re doing, how healthy they appear, and how they respond to changing environmental conditions, we’re using these charismatic marine mammals as living indicators of ecosystem health. Better yet, you don’t even have to be in Newport to help. The Clearwater Restaurant and Sea Lion Docks Foundation webcam lets anyone become a sea lion spotter, 365 days a year.
Salish Sea North American River Otter Project
Help us track and record river otter density, health, and pathogens.
River otters have a dirty little secret: they’re terrible at keeping secrets. They leave footprints, scat, fish scales, slides, latrines, and scent marks almost everywhere they go. Learning to recognize those clues is often more informative than seeing the otters themselves. Unlike sea otters, which are rarely encountered in the Salish Sea, river otters regularly move between streams, estuaries, and marine shorelines, making them exceptional indicators of watershed health. By documenting sightings and field signs, you’re helping us understand how these adaptable predators use interconnected habitats, what they’re eating, and how changing environmental conditions influence their behavior.
The most valuable contribution you can make is to report your observations as soon as possible using this survey. To avoid disturbing wildlife, please remain at least 50 feet (15 m) from live otters and allow them to continue their natural behaviors. If you encounter a deceased otter, please report it here as well; include photographs of the teeth, any visible injuries, and the underside of the animal.
Boxer Squirrel Spotter Project
Help track Pacific University’s Western Gray Squirrel Population
Every campus has its legends. Pacific University’s just happens to have a tail. In the early 1970s, student Brian Douglass introduced a handful of western gray squirrels to campus. More than half a century later, they remain one of the university’s most recognizable and mysterious residents. No one knows whether they represent a genetically pure population or hybrids, how many there are, or exactly how they navigate life in the middle of a bustling campus.
That’s where today’s students come in. Your observations will help build the first long-term study of these squirrels and answer questions that have gone unasked for more than 50 years.