On June 17-18, 2008, the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team (POORT) with support from Surfrider, PMCC and other partners officially launched the Port Orford Community Stewardship Area! The event was attended by over a hundred participants including the Governors Office, fishermen, marine scientists, community leaders, agency staff, and environmental groups. Jared Tarr, Surfriders Blue Water Task Force Coordinator in Port Orford, presented on local marine water quality testing conducted in partnership with Pacific High School. The goal of the proposed Stewardship Area is to protect the rich marine ecology of the region while also promoting sustainable fishing opportunities for the local fleet. The Areas boundaries encompass the communitys historic fishing grounds and adjacent watersheds, promoting an ecosystem-based approach to management. The Stewardship Area concept grew out of POORTs mission to engage local fishers and other community members in creating a natural resource management framework that makes sense for the Port Orford. POORT believes that in order to sustain local fisheries, we must be proactive, ensuring that people who live and work on the ocean play a role in their stewardship. For more info on the project please see www.oceanresourceteam.org/Huge thanks to Leesa, Alicia, Jared, Rachel, Aaron, Markus, and many, many others