Historical Note
The OSU Sea Grant program was established on February 20, 1968 as a
result of the National Sea Grant Program and College Act of 1966. It was
the first and largest of three programs set up at that time. Its mission
was to develop "an understanding and appreciation of how to live with the
ocean and how to manage the coastal zone." The program has focused on five
areas: marine extension, education and training, seafood research, coastal
environments, and public policy analysis. It is cooperatively funded by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, by the State of
Oregon and local communities, and by private industry.
Sea Grant Communications produces books, reports, brochures, and
newsletters as well as videos and DVDs that interpret, reflect, and
promote the work of Sea Grant-funded research.
Jim Larison began his work at Oregon State University in 1978 as
Assistant to the Director for Communications of Oregon Sea Grant. He
became the Director of Sea Grant Communications in 1983, a position he
held until about 1994.
Content Description
The Oregon Sea Grant Communications Moving images consist of final
productions as well as extensive raw footage and film elements. The final
productions include 16 mm color films, VHS videotapes, and DVDs pertaining
to marine resources, oceanographic research, and the Sea Grant College
Program at Oregon State University. The motion picture films were produced
from the mid-1970s through early 1980s and include
Oregon Trawler, Columbia River Gillnetters, Estuary: Columbia's Link with the Sea,
Sea Grant: Marine Resources, and
Mammals of the Sea.
The videotapes include an introduction to the Hatfield Marine Science
Center visitor center (2000) as well as several productions pertaining to
fisheries, specifically groundfish and salmon; the restoration of salmon
habitat; and aquatic invasive species. Videotape copies of three films,
Farmers of the Sea (circa 1985),
Gray Whale: A Radio Tagging Experiment, and
Oregon's Ocean (1991) are also included. Of
special note is a 1998 video reproduction of Hydro:
The Story of Columbia River Power, a 1939 production by the
Bonneville Power Administration promoting the benefits of damming the
Columbia River for hydropower.
The DVDs include highlights of the research, outreach, and education
activities of the Oregon Sea Grant Program for 2004, 2005, and 2007 and
productions on wave power on the Oregon coast, the Oregon offshore
environment, beach safety, and beach recovery studies at the Hinsdale Wave
Laboratory. The DVDs also include recordings of lectures given in
2002-2006 as part of the John Byrne Lecture Series by Bruce Mate,
Tracking Whales (2002); Eddie Bernard,
The December 26, 2004 Tsunami: Lessons
Learned (2005); Paul Komar, Living on the
Oregon Coast in a Century of Climate Change (2006); and Kerry
Emanuel, Hurricanes and Climate Change
(2006)
This collection also includes extensive raw footage and film elements
maintained as two accessions: 2000:100 and 2003:083. Accession 2000:100
consists of raw footage and film elements for several Sea Grant
Communications films produced in the 1980s, including
Oregon's Ocean, Estuary: Columbia's Link with the Sea,
Farmers of the Sea, Mammals of the Sea, Gray
Whales, Hart Mountain,
The Living Earth, and
The Whole Earth. Final productions of some
of the films are included as well as video reproductions on 3/4"
(U-matic), VHS, and Betamax formats. Footage of the submarine Alvin's sea
floor exploration off the Oregon coast is also included.
Accession 2003:083 consists of 16 mm film footage and film elements
created by Jim Larison, Sea Grant Communications Director, for several
films produced by Oregon Sea Grant. The bulk of the footage was used for
five productions:
Farmers of the Sea, Oregon's Ocean, Gray Whale:
A Radio Tagging Experiment; Sagebrush
Country; and Identifying Canada
Geese. Footage labeled as "aquaculture" and "Soviet fishery" was
used in Farmers of the Sea. Footage
identified as Riches from the Sea was used
for a production with the National Geographic Society Educational Films
Division. The accession includes footage for the film,
Lawless Sea, which was not completed.
A detailed film
log (text/html) of the contents of individuals reels, prepared by Jim
Larison, describes footage for
Sagebrush County (Hart Mountain film),
Riches from the Sea, Farmers of the Sea (aquaculture film), and
Oregon's Ocean. The Hart Mountain footage
includes imagery of antelope, mule deer, bighorn sheep, sage grouse,
cattle ranching, and stream restoration. The footage for
Oregon's Ocean includes the Oregon coast,
whale watching, Boiler Bay and Depoe Bay, shore birds, intertidal zone,
salmon trolling, and Alvin dives off the
Oregon coast.