By Chris Petersen
Title: Oregon Sea Grant Communications Videotapes and DVDs, 1977-2011
Predominant Dates: 1985-2005
ID: FV 185 - SG 1
Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Sea Grant College Program.
Extent: 6.3 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged into four series according to format: 1. VHS, 1980-2002; 2. U-Matic, 1977-1995; 3. DVD, 2002-2011; 4. Other Formats, 1981-2006.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1991
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Oregon Sea Grant Communications Videotapes and DVDs consist of raw footage and finalized productions documenting scientific inquiry in the Pacific Ocean and Oregon's rivers; social, economic and community dynamics on the Oregon Coast and elsewhere; and a variety of topics related to forestry, ecology and land management. The bulk of the collection consists of VHS (80), Umatic (31) or Betacam (11) videotapes, as well as 11 DVDs. Nine videotape reels (both one-inch and two-inch), one D-2 composite digital tape, and a single Hi-8 cassette round out the holdings. All of the DVDs and several of the videotapes have been migrated off of physical media and made available online.
Many of the items held in the collection were created by Oregon Sea Grant or otherwise benefited from the program's expertise. Major productions held in the collection - and generally represented across multiple material formats - include Mammals of the Sea (1980); Gray Whale: A Radio Tagging Experiment (1980); Estuary: Columbia's Link with the Sea (1981); Farmers of the Sea (1985); Sagebrush Country (1987); Oregon's Ocean (1991); and The Return of the Salmon: Restoring the Fish to Rivers and Watersheds (1995). Oregon Sea Grant Communications employees Jim Larison and Joe Cone played significant roles in the creation of many of the collection's films.
In addition to finished products, the collection also features raw footage of ocean floor explorations, including numerous dives in the DSV Alvin submersible research vessel and oftentimes focusing on methane vents in the deep sea. A film of fishing activities at Celilo Falls prior to its damming in 1957 stands out as an additional highlight. The collection likewise includes recordings of numerous class lectures, conference proceedings, and presentations delivered by visiting scholars, including multiple talks sponsored by the John Byrne Lecture Series and the full extent of the 1993 Portland "timber summit" presided over by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Press conferences, visual representations of Oregon Sea Grant annual reports, and a lone paper folder containing promotional materials round out the collection.
The Oregon Sea Grant program was established on February 20, 1968 as a result of the National Sea Grant Program and College Act of 1966. 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." In the years since, the program has focused on five areas: marine extension, education and training, seafood research, coastal environments, and public policy analysis.
Cooperatively funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the State of Oregon and local communities, and by private industry, the program provides competitive research grants and supports Extension activities related to ocean science and coastal life. In pursuing its mission, Oregon Sea Grant works closely with the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and the Hatfield Marine Science Center, both based in Newport, Oregon. Initially administered by Oregon State University Oceanography Professor Herbert F. Frolander, the Sea Grant program has been directed in subsequent years by William Wick (1973-1988), Robert Malouf (1989-2008), Steven Brandt (2008-2013) and Shelby Walker (2014-).
Jim Larison and Joe Cone were both heavily involved with the writing, editing and production of multiple Oregon Sea Grant films and print publications. 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, and continued in that role until about 1994. Joe Cone joined the Oregon Sea Grant staff in 1983 and eventually succeeded Larison as Director of Communications; he retired in 2015.
More Extent Information: 80 VHS, 31 Umatic and 11 Betacam tapes, 11 DVDs, 9 videotape reels, 1 D-2 Composite digital tape and 1 Hi-8 cassette; 7 boxes
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: Materials were transferred in several accessions from 1991 through 2014, primarily by Oregon Sea Grant Communications.
Related Materials:
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center also holds a large volume of motion picture films produced or collected by Oregon Sea Grant Communications. Pre-print and print film elements, including final productions, of the Farmers of the Sea documentary film are described as the Farmers of the Sea Motion Picture Film Production (FV 185 – SG 2). Other motion picture films produced by Oregon Sea Grant Communications, including pre-print elements and final productions are available in the Oregon Sea Grant Communications Moving Images (FV 185 – SG 3).
SCARC is likewise home to the Oregon Sea Grant Program Records (RG 201) and the Sea Grant College Program Photographs (P 185), as well as the Joe Cone Papers (MSS Cone) and the William Q. Wick Papers (MSS Wick). A 2013 oral history interview with Joe Cone is available in the Voices of Oregon State University Oral History Collection (OH 009); so too is a 2017 session with former Sea Grant director Bob Malouf, as held in the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 026).
Other SCARC film and video collections that place a strong emphasis on ocean research and coastal life include the Hatfield Marine Science Center Videotapes (FV 254), the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 203), the "Oceanography: The Making of a Science" Videotapes (FV 236), and the Charles Osterberg Motion Picture Films (FV 284).
Preferred Citation: Oregon Sea Grant Communications Videotapes and DVDs (FV 185 - SG 1), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.
Processing Information: The contents of this collection were originally described as a component of a larger Oregon Sea Grant Moving Images Collection that included a significant volume of film reels, including raw footage and finalized productions of many of the videos described in this guide. The film components of that collection were separated out in 2019 for eventual description as FV 185 SG 2.
Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid replaces a preliminary guide to these materials described as part of the Oregon Sea Grant Communications Moving Images (FV 185).
Oregon State University. Sea Grant College Program.
Cone, Joseph
Larison, Jim (James R.)
Columbia River
Fisheries--Research--Oregon.
Fishery processing--Oregon.
Forestry law and legislation.
Hatfield Marine Science Center
Marine mammals.
Marine resources--Research--Oregon.
Marine resources conservation--Research--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oceanography--Research--Oregon.
Pacific Coast (Or.)
Pacific salmon--Ecology--Pacific Coast (U.S.)
University History
DVDs.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)