ACS currently has eight chapters – Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco (CA), Puget Sound (WA), Newport (OR) and a national Student Coalition based out of Indiana University Bloomington. In 2012, we’ll be adding chapters in New England, Central Florida, Channel Islands (CA), Galveston (TX), and possibly more! Each chapter holds regular (usually monthly) meetings featuring presentations by regional/national leaders in cetacean research, conservation, education, visual arts, and policy. Meetings are free and open to the public, encouraging the exchange of ideas, information, and thought-provoking discussion between members of the scientific, policy, art, and lay communities. Outside of professional conferences, forums that bring together field professionals and members of the lay community are rare. Furthermore, such conferences are often cost-prohibitive for the ‘average citizen’ and tend to be attended exclusively by professionals in the discipline. Through local chapter meetings, issues affecting cetacean conservation and policy are brought directly to members of the lay community – citizens who care about the safety and welfare of cetaceans – citizens who vote their values – citizens whose tax revenues support publicly-funded research – citizens who make consumer choices that reflect their social morays – citizens empowered to make change.
Chapters feature activities that are specific to local interests, such as whale and dolphin census studies, whale watch naturalist programs, endangered species conservation, advocacy campaigns, and more! Many chapters offer small grants-in-aid of cetacean-related research.
If you live in an area without an ACS chapter nearby and would like to consider starting a new chapter, it could be easier than you think – learn more here and then contact us!
Los Angeles Chapter
Participate in the longest-running gray whale census and behavior project in the world and in the ‘Whalewatch’ naturalist and lecturer training program, now in its 39th year, co-sponsored by ACS/LA and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.
Monterey Bay Chapter
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society promotes research and explores topics relating to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world’s most biological and geologically diverse and complex seafloors and continental margins. Witness the annual gray whale migration from one of the best locations on California’s Central Coast.
Orange County Chapter
The Orange County Chapter of the American Cetacean Society has monthly meetings for members and friends – everyone is welcome! We have an active naturalist program on boats out of Newport Beach and Dana Point, and we conduct a quarterly census of bottlenose dolphins along the Orange County coast.
Puget Sound Chapter
The Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society maintains a focus on cetaceans and related issues in the Pacific Northwest, with a larger ecosystem approach in mind. This is reflected in our monthly meetings, educational outreach, and our student research and travel grants. We are also a sponsor of the Vashon Hydrophone Project, the first calibrated hydrophone system in the Puget Sound that monitors the movements of our Southern Resident killer whale community.
San Diego Chapter
The San Diego Chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Sumner Auditorium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Our speaker series features presentations by the best marine biologists in California and beyond. We also partner with local whale watch operators to offer exciting trips – locally, to the stunning Coronado Islands, and even to Baja California, Mexico to the calving lagoons of eastern Pacific gray whales. We hope to see you at a meeting or a trip soon!
San Francisco Chapter
The ACS San Francisco Chapter offers a monthly speaker series with local marine mammal scientists and sponsors whale watching trips. It has recently been reinvigorated and is seeking new board members. We would like to provide outreach to schools and other educational venues. Please contact us if you are interested in joining the Board.
Student Coalition Chapter
Every student should consider joining a professional society—a society that represents its members and works for the good of their chosen profession. One of the benefits of joining the ACS National Student Coalition is the ability to network and collaborate with your peers and professionals in different disciplines, backgrounds, and institutions to address the challenges that whales, dolphins, and porpoises face in today’s complex world.