NEAH BAY — Two Neah Bay residents have been selected as the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary’s 2015 Volunteers of the Year.
Paul and Sally Parker were chosen for their commitment to citizen science and coastal monitoring, Carol Bernthal, sanctuary superintendent, said Monday.
“There are two kinds of people: people who care about things in the abstract, and people who care in a real and detailed kind of way,” Bernthal said.
The Parkers fit the second group, she said, and serve in several ways: collecting scientific data, collecting marine debris and serving on a citizen’s advisory council.
“They are exceptional. They really stood out. They are our people on the beach who can talk to visitors about what is happening in the ocean,” Bernthal said.
Citizen science team
The couple volunteer extensively as a citizen science team, collecting data for the sanctuary’s marine debris monitoring program and for University of Washington’s Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team.
Both Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary programs use citizen scientists to collect information for sanctuary management and talk to other residents and visitors to improve awareness of ocean health and inspire stewardship of marine resources.
The Parkers have volunteered for the sanctuary since 2007 and contributed more than 725 hours toward coastal health monitoring through citizen science surveys and local beach cleanups.
They also collect as much marine debris as they can haul off their surveyed beaches each month and volunteer for the fall and spring coastal cleanup events each year.
The sanctuary is administered by NOAA and was designated in 1994 as the first national marine sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest.
It encompasses about 3,189 square miles off the Washington coast, extending from Cape Flattery to the Copalis River.
Significant natural and cultural resources include 29 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises; large populations of nesting seabirds; shipwrecks; and some of the most spectacular wilderness coastline in the lower 48 states.
