Intent on restoring and enhancing the health of wildlife populations and their environments along the Pacific Coast of North America, the School of Veterinary Medicine's Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis, has established a new Marine Ecosystem Health Program. The program, made possible by a gift from the Dickinson Foundation, will place special emphasis on the San Juan Archipelago and the Northwest Straits region of Washington state. It will tap the expertise of leading scientists and conservationists from diverse academic, governmental and nongovernmental agencies and organizations. The University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories will play a key role in implementing the program in the San Juan region, assisted by The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Wash., and the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory in California. An April workshop on Orcas Island, Wash., will identify the new program's research and conservation priorities and guide development of a competitive grants program that will distribute funding to researchers and managers. Annual symposia will evaluate results and highlight accomplishments of funded projects and establish new program directions. The Wildlife Health Center at UC Davis conducts teaching, research and service activities to restore and maintain wildlife, human and ecosystem health. It coordinates scientists, managers and policy-makers in addressing complex wildlife health and conservation issues. Among other programs, the center administers California's Oiled Wildlife Care Network, a coalition of 23 facilities and organizations that rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals and birds affected by oil spills along California's coast.