From 2018 through 2019, Dr. D'Antonio was a co-PI on a project focused on helping to protect the Western Snowy Plover on the Oregon Coast. Outdoor recreation use on the Oregon Coast often occurs on beaches where the threatened Western Snowy Plovers nest and raise their young. Visitor use on beaches can cause disturbance to these birds which sometimes leads to lost eggs or even chick mortality. Specifically, we worked at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to monitor visitor compliance with Western Snowy Plover regulations on a number of nesting beaches. The purpose of the work was to help determine how effective the outreach and education campaign implemented by the Siuslaw National Forest was in protecting the Western Snowy Plovers during nesting and fledgling. Additionally, Carli Schoenleber (M.S. student, completed in 2019) conducted a study at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Her study examined if signs that she designed using communication theory would be more effective at increasing visitor compliance with these regulations compared to current signs found at the Oregon Dunes. Findings from this study can be found in Carli's M.S. thesis.
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