ODFW release - NEWPORT, Ore. – What do western Oregonians think about the five iconic protected areas, known as marine reserves, that dot the state’s coastline? A new study shows the answer depends on when and where the question was asked. Researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have been collecting data on local residents’ attitudes toward the state’s marine reserves for more than a decade. Their work showed these Oregonians viewed the marine reserves in an increasingly positive light over time. Residents who live near the reserves and residents of densely populated metropolitan areas had the most favorable views overall. Their new research paper presents a fresh analysis of these attitudes and how they have changed over time. The researchers, including Kristen McAlpine, Mark Needham, Lori Cramer, and Thomas Swearingen, surveyed different representative samples of thousands of western Oregon residents at different points in time. The novel feature of this research is that they also surveyed the same set of Oregonians over time. Across different samples, researchers found similar patterns of general attitudes that were favorable overall and becoming even more favorable over time. These residents also said they were more likely to vote in support of the marine reserves when asked in 2021 as compared to 2016 or 2013. Dr. Mark Needham, Professor at OSU and lead principal investigator for this study, said “We found that every year we sampled residents, they felt positively about Oregon’s marine reserves, and these positive attitudes increased every year we replicated this study. What makes these results unique is most studies like this are only conducted once and never repeated, whereas we have data across almost 10 years.” For marine resource managers at ODFW, broad and increasing public support is crucial to the ongoing success of these areas. This study highlights the importance of continued trust-building and information sharing with Oregonians. Dr. Sarah Klain, a social scientist in ODFW’s marine reserves team, who was not part of this study, said, “a one-time snapshot of public attitudes toward a habitat management initiative is a good start, but this kind of longer term research on how attitudes change over time is even more valuable for policy makers, researchers, and managers.”