In January, North Coast Land Conservancy welcomed Mark McLaughlin as the new Conservation Director. The addition enables Jon Wickersham, who previously oversaw the organization’s Conservation Department, to focus fulltime on the responsibilities of Assistant Director.
Mark joins NCLC after spending seven years teaching science and other subjects at Neah-Kah-Nie High School in Rockaway Beach. He also brings a background in environmental law and policy.
“I’m really excited and thrilled this opportunity came about,” Mark says. “I’ve always had a passion for protecting and preserving lands, watersheds, and the ocean, so now having a career to be able to do so is galvanizing and is something I’ll be happy to do for as long as I can.”
A big draw is working to conserve this particular area, one to which Mark’s uniquely connected. The Oregon North Coast always has been a home for him, although he also has a penchant for travel and living abroad. He was born in Astoria and grew up in Cannon Beach and Wheeler, attending Fire Mountain School—which his parents helped establish—in his youth and, later, the Neah-Kah-Nie School District.
After graduation, he went to Oregon State University, where he developed a zeal for environmental science and policymaking that triggered his interest in pursuing law at the University of Oregon. In 2009, he obtained a law degree with a focus on environmental and natural resources law and ocean and coastal law, adding an international law certificate as well. However, litigation was never his intent.
“I am interested in science-based policy and governance as a mechanism for environmental protection and conservation,” he says. “That was always the angle I was intrigued by.”
After law school, with the help of a grant, he moved to Chile and worked several months for an environmental group in a position that revolved around energy and environmental policy and coastal protection.
Afterward, he returned to the Oregon Coast and started working for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as a salmon biologist and habitat surveyor—similar to contract work he’d done regionally in the years between undergrad and law school.
Along with his love for the Pacific Northwest, Mark also possesses an affinity for traveling and getting to know other countries and cultures. Study abroad programs were part of his college experience and, in law school, he spent time focusing on environmental and marine protection initiatives in Brazil and the Bahamas. This flourished into an intention to visit a new country every year, a goal that he accomplished up until the COVID-19 pandemic.
This wanderlust took him to New Zealand and then Australia, spending roughly a year in both locations. He even considered making Australia his permanent residence, until a neck injury he sustained while surfing brought him back to Oregon. He dabbled in commercial fishing in Alaska and seasonal work, intending to return to New Zealand after the injury healed.
Instead, he met his fiancée, Kate, and it changed the trajectory of his life. They decided to remain in the area, and Mark looked toward a new career path. Inspired by the undergraduate biology teaching he’d done while at the University of Oregon, he obtained his teaching license and started working at Neah-Kah-Nie High School.
A Commitment Toward Conservation
Among the vast array of jobs that Mark has done over the years—from ranger assistant at Oswald West State Park to arborist and educator—there’s typically been “a conservation part to it,” he says. Even when commercial fishing in Alaska, he intentionally worked for sustainable fisheries.
“I’ve always tried to choose a career that had a way to be directly or indirectly involved in conservation, whether that be with ODFW or even teaching science and educating students on concepts of ecology, our impact on the environment, and the importance of conservation, protection, and restoration,” he says.
At the high school, he taught dual credit marine biology, oceanography, and geology classes; developed a watershed science class; partnered with the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition to introduce students to their Adopt a Mile Program and with NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project; and coached the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, an after-school club that trains for an academic competition based around ocean trivia and introduces students to the myriad of careers related to ocean science.
His goal was to get kids out of the classroom as much as possible and “to learn that our world is a living laboratory—to not only appreciate that but have a greater connection to the spaces around them.”
That was his experience growing up, and one he credits for his strong conservation and stewardship values. It started at Fire Mountain, which borders Oswald West State Park, and roaming the hills as a child.
“Almost my whole life, I’ve had this notion of trying to help conserve this place, or wherever I am,” Mark says. “I didn’t know if I would live here full time when I was traveling so much, but I have such deep roots here I knew it would always feel like home to me. I use the analogy that I’m like a salmon and I’m coming home to my natal soil.”
I’ve always had a passion for protecting and preserving lands, watersheds, and the ocean, so now having a career to be able to do so is galvanizing and is something I’ll be happy to do for as long as I can.
Mark McLaughlin, NCLC Conservation Director
Preserving Lands for Future Generations
Prior to joining NCLC’s team, Mark was already familiar with the organization, having spent the spring of 2016 planting hundreds of native trees and shrubs at Circle Creek Habitat Reserve. He also serves as Board Chair of the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council.
When the Conservation Director position opened up, he saw it as an opportunity to get more directly and fully immersed in conservation work.
“The Oregon North Coast is part of my being, so I want it to be there for future generations,” he says. “Having spent so much of my time outside in nature, I want my daughters to have that opportunity, and I want each new generation to have a connection with the natural world. If I can play a role in that, I can feel a sense of accomplishment.”
For him, conservation relies on collaborative partnerships and implementing various layers of protection around ecologically significant places, whether that be creating state and national parks, developing marine protected areas, or implementing “some sort of conservation measure that allows lands and waterways to be protected in a natural state..”
“One of the core principles of NCLC is creating continuous corridors of undeveloped and protected lands,” he says. “It’s going to be vital. So many organisms require vast areas or particular ecosystems that aren’t disturbed or fragmented. Having an organization like NCLC that focuses on that is terrific, not to mention how much acreage we’ve already been able to conserve in just the few decades we’ve been around.”
Outside of work, Mark enjoys traveling, surfing, going to the beach, and introducing his two young daughters to “the magic of that natural world around us.” He and his partner also help run a nonprofit organization, Coast Kids, that provides children who live in North Tillamook County with resources and opportunities to support their physical, social, emotional and academic wellbeing. They also operate a childcare facility, Little Coasties School, which is State-licensed toddler program focused on social emotional learning and nature exploration.
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By Joanne Cornelius
By Joanne Cornelius @
What a wonderful background to have for remaining in our community. Welcome back and congratulations on your position on NCLC. I have lived in Falcon Cove for 54 years and spent those years trying my best to help protect our community also.
Comments
What a wonderful background to have for remaining in our community. Welcome back and congratulations on your position on NCLC. I have lived in Falcon Cove for 54 years and spent those years trying my best to help protect our community also.