Mary Bushman

Profile: I came to Oregon State with the hope that the Botany PSM program would provide me with training and experience to work as a professional in natural resource management.  That hope has become a reality. The PSM program provided me with an exciting internship opportunity with the US Forest Service in the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area. Our assignment was to develop a community supported plan for environmental restoration projects and to make recommendations for policy and management changes. My work as part of the team of natural resource specialists included the planning of design elements for new restoration projects in the Salmon River estuary on the central Oregon coast.  As the botanist on the project I accomplished the following: i) conducted field research surveys towards assessing and prioritizing the implementation of restoration projects; ii) gathered ecological data to determine plant populations and communities. Data collected included hydrologic, geologic, historic and current conditions specific to the restoration sites; iii) mapped historic and future plant communities and plant populations using GIS and GPS technology; and iv) provided technical guidance in planning the restoration and management of the diverse range of plant communities in the marine/aquatic/terrestrial interface of the estuary.  Our success was measured by an overwhelmingly positive response from a large portion of the general public, the local agencies and the project sponsors.  Many of the 23 million dollars in projects that were developed through the project are in various phases of additional planning and implementation.