When Marissa Bills began her master’s degree in biology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, she had never heard of the Pismo clam. But her advisor was looking for a student to take over a research project focused on the species. And Bills quickly realized that, while this may be a niche species, it was a rare invertebrate that had a hardcore following. “In little pockets in California, they are cultural icons,” she says. 

California Sea Grant is excited to welcome Mina Orlic to the Communications team as the new Science Communications Associate. She will be using her digital media skills to promote California Sea Grant’s research, outreach and education efforts to broader audiences. 

Humboldt Bay in Northern California is experiencing the fastest rate of relative sea-level rise on the entire West Coast of the United States. Already, the streets and yards in King Salmon, a former fishing village 100 miles south of the Oregon border, regularly flood during particularly high tides. It has made preparing for and adapting to sea-level rise (SLR) a matter of local urgency. And there’s no shortage of agencies and institutions working on it.