Week 10- Final Week

            Sadly, last week was my final week as a CMOP intern. The final presentations for the project went well; this internship has definitely improved my presentation skills because I now feel more comfortable getting up in front of people to discuss my research and work. Having the two other interns, Cynthia Boshell and Althea Walker, to stand up there with me and present as a group was also a big help. At times, coordinating with so many people was difficult, but I think having to collaborate the two projects with mine as well as with CRITFC made the project stronger in the end.

            Overall, interning at CMOP has been a great experience; I learned a lot not only about my individual project in modeling habitat opportunity for salmon and lamprey, but also about native culture as well as what it might be like to go to graduate school. All of the different fields and connections that CMOP brings together certainly made me think about the various opportunities in the oceans field and what I want to pursue in the future. Most importantly though, this internship taught me to use my resources, the importance of collaborate, and to push the boundaries of what is both possible and useful. In doing so, I was able to establish a baseline process as well as components to improve and expand upon in modeling the effects of climate change and the Columbia River Treaty on habitat opportunity in the Columbia River Estuary. Hopefully in the future, the same process will be used to help decision-makers in their efforts to satisfy all stakeholders (including the unrepresented environment) when creating policies.