About
West Coast Ecology students will fly to Portland, Oregon on May 11, 2018, and then spend 10
days studying the diverse environments of western and central Oregon and northern California.
We will see, smell, explore, experience, hike through, and camp in a wide variety of ecosystems
shaped by a 15-fold difference in annual precipitation from the coastal region to the high desert.
We will visit beaches, rocky intertidal zones, estuaries, dunes, wetlands, the high desert,
redwood forests, and more than a half dozen other forest types. Traveling together in a large
vehicle, we will camp along the way. The objective is to learn, observe, and understand basic
ecological principles related to limiting factors, biodiversity, disturbance regimes, human
impacts on natural ecosystems, nutrient cycling, invasive species, competitive interactions, life
zones, orographic effects, forest structural complexity, stream ecology, wildlife habitat, and
others.
days studying the diverse environments of western and central Oregon and northern California.
We will see, smell, explore, experience, hike through, and camp in a wide variety of ecosystems
shaped by a 15-fold difference in annual precipitation from the coastal region to the high desert.
We will visit beaches, rocky intertidal zones, estuaries, dunes, wetlands, the high desert,
redwood forests, and more than a half dozen other forest types. Traveling together in a large
vehicle, we will camp along the way. The objective is to learn, observe, and understand basic
ecological principles related to limiting factors, biodiversity, disturbance regimes, human
impacts on natural ecosystems, nutrient cycling, invasive species, competitive interactions, life
zones, orographic effects, forest structural complexity, stream ecology, wildlife habitat, and
others.
Meet the Students and Instructors
Students
Instructors
Behind the Scenes
Acknowledgements
We would also like to thank the professionals who met with us on our trip and all of the people who helped make this journey so fulfilling:
Joe Stack, Matt, Katie Dziedzic, Vanessa Constant, and Dave Schmedding - Pizza Party guests
Matt - Bald Hill Farm
Ranger Dave - Smith Rock
Mark - H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Matt - Green Belt Landtrust
Allen - Whiskey Creek Hatchery
Christy, York, and Scott - Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
Maysa and Steven (and Harold) - Northwest Oregon Restoration Partnership
Jane and Marty - Sand dunes
Jaime, Jenni, Ali - South Slough Estuary
Howard, Donni, Kacie - Siuslaw Forest
Tom Calvanese - Port Orford
Leonel - Redwood Forest
Walter - Mill Creek
Joe Stack, Matt, Katie Dziedzic, Vanessa Constant, and Dave Schmedding - Pizza Party guests
Matt - Bald Hill Farm
Ranger Dave - Smith Rock
Mark - H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Matt - Green Belt Landtrust
Allen - Whiskey Creek Hatchery
Christy, York, and Scott - Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
Maysa and Steven (and Harold) - Northwest Oregon Restoration Partnership
Jane and Marty - Sand dunes
Jaime, Jenni, Ali - South Slough Estuary
Howard, Donni, Kacie - Siuslaw Forest
Tom Calvanese - Port Orford
Leonel - Redwood Forest
Walter - Mill Creek