Scientific and Technical advice is brought to OPAC via the legislatively-mandated Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC). The authorizing legislation includes Oregon's Ocean Resources Management Law (ORS 196) and pdf House Bill 3013 (22 KB) .  This committee is chaired by the representative from Oregon Sea Grant, Shelby Walker. The committee itself acts as a broker:  when OPAC needs scientific or technical advice on an issue, the STAC identifies appropriate experts and engages their assistance. Sea Grant’s vision of the process, which was adopted by OPAC (07.19.2010), is presented in a guidance document on the formation and functions of the STAC.  

STAC Membership: 

The governor-appointed Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) works with the public to make recommendations on issues of ocean policy ranging from ocean-based energy generation plans to developing marine reserves in the territorial sea. By statute, the Oregon Sea Grant director serves as permanent chair of the council's Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and under OPAC rules serves as a member of the Council's Executive Board. Current STAC committee members are: 

• Shelby Walker - Oregon Sea Grant, Chair
• Jack Barth - Oregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
• Veronica Dujon - Portland State University, Department of Sociology
• Elise Granek - Portland State University, Environmental Science and Resources
• Selina Heppell - Oregon State University, Fisheries and Wildlife
• Jan Hodder - University of Oregon, Center for Ocean Science Education/Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
• William Jaeger - Oregon State University, Department of Applied Economics
• Gil Sylvia - Oregon State University, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station/Department of Applied Economics
• Craig Young - University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

STAC Meetings and Reports

STAC meetings are open to the public, though space in the meeting room is limited. There will not be a public comment period at the meetings. Meeting agendas and summaries are posted below (if available). 

STAC Review of Oregon Marine Map Data and Information, June 20, 2012

The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) was asked by the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) to undertake an independent scientific peer review of the data sets and information used for Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan. STAC members and invited external experts reviewed two basic data sets – (1) the Nearshore Ecological Data Atlas (NEDA) led by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and (2) the Oregon Fishing Community Mapping Project (OFCMP) led by Ecotrust. The ultimate goal of these mapping projects is to develop an integrated map in Oregon MarineMap (oregonmarinemap.org (2020 update: this site is no longer available)) as a spatial tool for supporting planning and use of Oregon’s Territorial Sea. Per OPAC’s request, STAC focused its scientific review on key issues of these two programs; 1) assumptions, 2) data validity, 3) sampling design and methodology, 4) data gaps, 5) spatial representation, and 6) strengths and limitations. STAC limited its analyses to scientific questions and did not deal with policy issues. STAC’s review is considered a preliminary evaluation because of the limited amount of time available to conduct the review and because MarineMap continues to be updated.

pdf STAC Review Final Report (768 KB)
  

Technical Workshop on Economic Data and Analysis of Marine Reserves,  October 21-22, 2008

pdf Workshop Agenda (15 KB)
pdf Invited Workshop Participants (17 KB)
pdf Final Report (430 KB)  

Marine Reserve Size and Spacing Workshop, April 9-10, 2008