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--> --> Volunteers ready for whale watching EUGENE (AP) - Beginning today, more than 200 volunteers will spend a week along the Oregon coastline, helping visitors spot Pacific gray whales as they make their annual southward migration. The volunteer will answer whale-related questions each day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 30 sites located from Ilwaco, Wash., south to Crescent City, Calif. The program is sponsored by a variety of agencies twice each year during the northward and southward gray whale migrations. Last winter, a record 19,314 watchers spotted 1,556 whales. The whales are migrating from Alaskan waters to Mexican lagoons, where they mate and give birth to calves in the warm waters off the Baja Peninsula. The largest number ever sighted during winter whale watch week was 3,152 in 1994-95. "We're always hoping to have balmy weather like we did last year and see plenty of whales passing by," said Mike Rivers, of the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing