lighthouse_beach_access_1-26-22.jpeg Oregon Shores has worked to preserve access to our public beaches throughout our 50-year history. Access was frequently threatened decades ago, and recent events demonstrate that it isn’t guaranteed now without a battle. Our Beach Bill assures public access along the shoreline, but access to the shoreline...Read more
Comparison of beachgrass species including new hybrid. The search continues for the new hybrid beachgrass that may be spreading on the Oregon coast. CoastWatch volunteers are helping researchers at Oregon State University map the range of the new hybrid, the offspring of two invasive beachgrass species. To sharpen the observational skills of volunteers, two in-...Read more
Sign marks snowy plover protected area.\Photo courtesy of OPRD. Nesting season has begun for the threatened Western Snowy Plover, the only resident shorebird that nests on the Oregon coast. Signs are going up, warning beachgoers about the presence of plovers. CoastWatchers can help by carefully observing restrictions on beach use to protect the nesting birds,...Read more
Rebecca Mostow in the field. Much of the terrain of the Oregon's sandy shoreline we see today has been shaped by two dominant, invasive beachgrass species. They build the tall, stable dunes that parallel sandy beaches, providing some protection for infrastructure but causing the decline of native animal and plant species. A team from Oregon State University...Read more
Destruction of the shoreline at Pine Beach due to shoreline armoring project.\Photo by Randy Stevenson. Oregon Shores is battling what we consider to be a grossly inappropriate shoreline armoring project in Tillamook County. Joined by Surfrider, we are appealing a decision by the county commissioners to allow an “exception” to statewide planning Goal 18, which...Read more
pine_beach_from_shore_chris_berrie.jpeg Oregon Shores has appealed a decision by Tillamook County that would allow a major shoreline armoring project to take place through an “exception” to statewide land use law. Surfrider Foundation has joined us in the appeal. On Friday, Nov. 5, we filed a “Notice of Intent to Appeal” a decision by the...Read more
jones_jesse_meeing_sea_steve_garrett.jpg CoastWatch Volunteer Coordinator Jesse Jones is about to tour the coast, with the goal meeting with CoastWatchers (and those interested in CoastWatch) at various locations. She will lead beachwalks on numerous CoastWatch miles. These events provide an opportunity to get questions answered about...Read more
neptune_beach_rena_martin.jpg While we’ve been celebrating our 50 th anniversary all year, the actual anniversary date—the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition was officially founded on July 29, 1971—is now approaching fast. Over the course of the day on Thursday, July 29, 2021, we will offer place-based and online events and lectures, honor...Read more
short_sand_beach_odfw.jpg The Oregon Health Authority’s Beach Monitoring Program is the public’s means of learning whether the waters washing our beaches is polluted. All too often, the water quality testing provided by this program demonstrates that it is. As the program gears up for the summer, the public is invited to comment on the list of beaches...Read more
snowy_plover_exclosure_courtesy_usfws_re-sized.jpg Oregon’s conservationists and resource agencies have been engaged in a decades-long effort to restore the state’s population of the Western Snowy Plover, an endangered shorebird that nests on Oregon beaches (the only shorebird that breeds here). We are now in the nesting season,...Read more
