History of Feiro
The Feiro Marine Life Center (FMLC) is an educational and scientific organization promoting marine education and conservation and is located on the City Pier in Port Angeles. The FMLC has been in operation since 1981 but has recently been established as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation.
The FMLC is fondly known in the community as “the jewel of the waterfront”. It hosts public exhibits representative of the marine life inhabiting the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It provides classroom space for marine science related programs, and it has a small laboratory for studies. Many world-renowned experts have visited the FMLC to share their stories with the community. Guest speakers have included octopus expert Jim Cosgrove and David Behrens, the author of numerous scientific and popular articles on the nudibranch. Jean-Michael Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society and son of ocean pioneer Jacques Cousteau, has visited on a number of occasions. Additional educational programs for the community are scheduled on a regular basis. The FMLC is open on weekends during the winter months and open six days per week during the busy summer season. Over ten thousand tourists visit the FMLC annually. In addition, over 1600 school children will participate in marine science education programs through the FMLC this school year.
The FMLC facility was built by the late Arthur D. Feiro in 1981. Art was a high school science teacher who recognized the value of a place on the Port Angeles waterfront which would introduce the children and residents of the Port Angeles community to the marine environment he so loved. He also recognized the educational value of this small aquarium to visitors who pass through the city in the thousands each summer. Art, using a cadre of volunteers, numerous community fundraisers, and building lasting partnerships in the community, built the FMLC to teach all those who pass through its doors the wonders of the ocean. Art envisioned the FMLC as
…. (a) multifaceted, dynamic, living, breathing facility …. (providing a) public display of marine organisms and ecosystems, a teaching laboratory, a public center for marine studies and a point of interest for tourists.”
Since it first opened, twenty-seven years ago, the FMLC has been visited by thousands of tourists, local residents and school groups and it has served many, if not all of these objectives.
Statement
The mission of the Feiro Marine Life Center is to foster the understanding of, and a commitment to, the health of the marine environment and related watersheds of the Olympic Peninsula, and their importance to its communities.
This will be done by:
- Providing students from pre-school through college with meaningful learning experiences related to their place in a healthy marine environment.
- Providing community members with the information we need to live sustainably with our marine resources.
- Providing opportunities for visitors to increase their appreciation and care for Olympic Peninsula’s marine resources.
Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan, developed in 2008 by the Board of Directors, guides the center through the first years as a nonprofit. Go to: Strategic Plan
Staff
Bob Campbell
Facility Coordinator, Feiro Marine Life Center
P.O. Box 625
Port Angeles, WA 98362
360-417-6254 (wk)
BobC@feiromarinelifecenter.org
Deborah Moriarty
Director, Feiro Marine Life Center
P.O. Box 625
Port Angeles, WA 98362
360-417-6254 (wk)
DeborahM@feiromarinelifecenter.org
Board of Directors
President
David Morris
Retired Superintendent
Olympic National Park
aaakwacha33@yahoo.com
Vice President
Betsy Wharton
bewharton@olypen.com
Secretary
Orville Campbell
Retired Director
James River Corporation
orv.cus@tfon.com
Mary Sue Brancato
NOAA
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
Mary.Sue.Brancato@noaa.gov
Treasurer
Tom Sanford, Executive Director
Olympic Park Institute
tsanford@yni.org
Barbara Maynes
Public Affairs Specialist
Olympic National Park
barb_maynes@nps.gov
Ian Miller
Marine Hazards Specialist, Washington Sea Grant
Olympic Peninsula
immiller@uwashington.edu
Brad Collins
City of Port Angeles Council Member
bcollins@cityofpa.us
bandj@olypen.com
Morgan Fox
Morgan_smith01@yahoo.com
Jack Ganzhorn
Biology Professor
Peninsula College
JGanzhorn@pencol.edu
