Coastal Conservation News Archive

A complete archive of our past news articles, beginning in Fall 2016; older articles from our previous website are available in the historical archive

Photo of Drone over the Oregon coast courtesy of Oregon Coast Aquarium
March 5, 2022

State Parks Considers Drone Regulations

Drone over the Oregon coast.\Photo courtesy of Oregon Coast Aquarium. Drones have research and commercial uses, but recreational drone use, often by unskilled or reckless operators, is on the increase. This can have serious impacts to wildlife, as well as other human activities, privacy, and solitude. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is...Read more
Beached bird training. Photo courtesy of COASST.
March 5, 2022

Citizen Science Projects Need Volunteers

Beached bird training. Photo courtesy of COASST. CoastWatch has long helped volunteers connect with citizen science projects, such as the beached bird survey in which many mile adopters participate. We continue to expand the range of these projects as the field grows, working with scientists and other conservation groups who lead many interesting citizen...Read more
February 28, 2022

CoastWatch Joins Hunt for Hybrid Beachgrass

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
February 1, 2022

Board Election Returns Members for New Terms

board_member_collage.png Our annual, online board election took place in December. The results did not come as a surprise, since all candidates were running unopposed. Four Oregon Shores board members were elected to new terms, beginning Jan. 1. Kristin Bayans was elected to her first full term, having been given an interim appointment to the board...Read more
January 10, 2022

Shoreline Destruction Takes Place While Appeal Pending

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
January 4, 2022

King Tides Project Rose Again

King tide assaults the Hwy 101 seawall at Waldport.\Photo by Roy Lowe. The King Tides Project has now completed its 12th year. This citizen science effort, organized by CoastWatch and the Oregon Coastal Management Program, engaged exactly 100 volunteer photographers during the 2021-2022 season, who contributed 247 photos. That is the largest number of...Read more
Mile 147.\Photo by Lyndell Wilken.
January 2, 2022

Mile-by-Mile Competition Concludes

Mile 147.\Photo by Lyndell Wilken. By way of honoring our 50 th anniversary and laying the groundwork for the next 50 years, we launched a special fund-raising campaign, pegged to our signature CoastWatch program. We have a special place on our website devoted to this campaign: ...Read more
December 31, 2021

Rocky Habitat Proposals Under Review

The view from Blacklock Point.\Photo by Alex Derr. The state of Oregon is developing a new Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, the first revision of Oregon’s policy for protecting rocky intertidal and nearshore subtidal ecosystems since 1994. Oregon Shores has been actively engaged in this slow-moving process for more than three years. The basic framework of the...Read more
Jordan Cove
December 2, 2021

Jordan Cove Victory—At Least for Now

Jordan Cove, at left in the photo, won't be the site of an LNG terminal.\Photo by Rena Olson, with support from Lighthawk. Exciting news for anyone concerned about land use, estuaries, and climate change: The Jordan Cove Energy Project has abandoned its effort to build an LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal on Coos Bay’s North Spit. On Wednesday, Nov...Read more
November 22, 2021

Jordan Cove Denied Key Dredging Permits

Coos Bay estuary, with site of proposed LNG terminal in the cove at center-left.\Photo by Rena Olson, with support from Lighthawk. Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) handed two major victories on May 4 to Oregon Shores and other opponents of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal, which Canadian multinational Pembina is seeking to build on Coos Bay’s...Read more