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In Oregon, the beaches belong to the people. As part of Oregon's tradition of environmental stewardship, the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition serves as the guardian of the public interest for our coastal region. Oregon Shores is dedicated to preserving the natural communities, ecosystems and landscapes of the Oregon coast while conserving the public's access.  Oregon Shores pursues these ends through education, advocacy, and engaging citizens to keep watch over and defend the Oregon coast.   TOP STORIES  Jan 23  NEW  Join Us for a Discussion of Climate Change and Water Supplies Water supply and demand is already a crucial question in some coastal communities. Among the predicted effects of climate change are increased flooding during winter periods and prolonged droughts in summer and fall, and if these predictions play out, water availability could prove a major challenge to coastal communities. Oregon Shores is hosting a panel discussion that will explore this topic on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. in the Yachats Commons (located on Highway 101 in the center of town). Yachats is one of those coastal communities that is already concerned about sufficient water supply. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of our Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Project. Three Oregon State University professors will help coastal citizens understand the potential impact of climate change on water availability--both what we can predict now and what kinds of information will be needed in the future. Ken Williamson, head of OSU’s School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, will lead off the panel and discuss the possible impacts of climate change on the coast’s infrastructure, and particularly on water supply facilities. Dr. Williamson, a part-time Yachats resident who is also a member of Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission, specializes in environmental impact assessment, as well as in the treatment of biological, chemical and other hazardous waste. Anne Nolin Also speaking will be hydroclimatologist Anne Nolin, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Nolin will speak on “Perspectives on Climate Change, Mountain Hydrology and Water Resources.” She heads the Mountain Hydroclimatology Research Group, and specializes in the use of remote sensing to study snow, glaciers and water availability, and is co-investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project to study water scarcity in the Willamette River basin. She will discuss how declining precipitation, or a shift from snow to rain in the mountains, can affect groundwater hydrology and streamflow. Her research is focused on the Cascades, but has a bearing on coastal water supplies as well. Chris Surfleet Finally, hydrologist Chris Surfleet will discuss his studies of the potential effects of climate change on rainfall runoff and river flow in the Santiam River watershed, and how such studies can be applied more broadly. Dr. Surfleet, whose doctorate is in forest engineering, has also studied the effects of forest management on water quality and quantity in several coastal watersheds. Support our climate program not only by attending, but by helping us reach out to others. Please invite anyone who might be concerned about their community’s water quality and quantity, not to mention the larger questions raised by climate change. Those interested in climate change questions are welcome to volunteer to participate as the project moves into its second year in Lincoln County. Oregon Shores plans eventually to extend the project to the entire coastal region. Contact: Paris Edwards, Climate Action Volunteer Coordinator, EMAIL     EVENTS  Wed Jan 11  Climate Project Reschedules Wetlands Talk for January 26 Mary Kentula For its first meeting of the year, the Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Project will hold a joint gathering of the “core teams” at 5:30 p.m., January 26, in the Newport Visual Arts Center. This is the same meeting that was originally scheduled for January 17, but cancelled due to weather. Anyone interested in the project is welcome to attend, even if not active up till now on one of the teams. More active participants are needed as the project heads into its second year. The meeting will feature speaker Mary Kentula, a wetland ecologist from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Western Ecology Division. She has studied and worked in Corvallis for over 30 years, earning both an MS in biology and a PhD in botany and aquatic ecology from Oregon State. Her research focus with the EPA includes monitoring and assessing wetlands at the regional and watershed scales, and restoration ecology of wetlands. Kentula’s talk, entitled “Wetlands in the Landscape: Profiles as a Template for Decision Making," will address the ecological functions of wetlands and how decision- making can affect the services provided. She will also discuss how information, like the types collected for the Yaquina Estuary Conservation Plan Atlas, could be used in different ways to learn about the local landscape and provide insights that can guide decision-making. A representative of the Wetlands Conservancy, authors of the atlas, will speak at our February meeting. View the atlas here. Contact: Paris Edwards, Climate Action Volunteer Coordinator, EMAIL   MORE EVENTS...  Wed Feb 1  NEW  First Training Session This Year Will Focus on Driftline Ecologist Cynthia Trowbridge, a highly knowledgeable expert on all things littoral who has helped to educate hundreds of CoastWatchers, will be the featured presenter at our first CoastWatch training session of 2012. Her presentation, on the natural materials found in the driftline, will take place at 3 p.m. on Feb. 1 at the United Methodist Church, 333 Kingwood at 2nd St. in Florence. The ... MORE    NEWS  Dec 28 2011  First Marine Reserves Become a Reality with New Year Researchers working with an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). Photo courtesy of NOAA. Creation of a network of ecologically sound marine reserves has been an Oregon Shores priority for more than a decade. The Ocean Program has devoted much of its effort to the campaign to create such reserves. So we rang in the new year with a special sense of satisfaction. As 2012 began, fishing prohibitions went into effect on Oregon’s first two marine reserves, meaning that they became a reality and not just lines on a map. The first two reserves are at Redfish Rocks, near Port Orford in Curry County, and Otter Rock, near Depoe Bay in Lincoln County. Much work has been done at these two sites since they were established by law in 2009 and designated through rulemaking in 2010, all leading up to these prohibitions. Researchers with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and other scientists have conducted two years of baseline data collection, including mapping the seafloor and surveying for fish, invertebrates, algae and more using various techniques and equipment including SCUBA, an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) and video sled. Canary rockfish photographed from an ROV off Cape Arago, an area being considered for a future marine reserve. Photo courtesy of Oceana. A baseline report will be released in the spring to cover monitoring of the ecological and physical components, as well as such human aspects of reserves as commercial and recreational fishing, ecosystem services and results of a coastal business survey. With the help of the Redfish Rocks and Otter Rock marine reserve community teams, management plans have also been drafted and are expected to be released in January. Two small reserves are a start, but don’t come close to fulfilling the goal of a network of reserves reflecting ecological knowledge and protecting the complete range of offshore habitats. The campaign to create such a network continues. Opportunities to get involved and make a difference will begin right away, with a marine reserve bill expected to be considered during the four-week-long 2012 legislative session, which begins Feb. 1. The bill that is being prepared by Oregon’s Coastal Caucus, it is anticipated, will designate the next three reserves at Cape Falcon, Cascade Head and Cape Perpetua. These sites were recommended by Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council in December, 2010 and were based on a year’s worth of deliberation by three balanced marine reserve community teams. Redfish Rocks, site of one of Oregon's two new marine reserves. Photo courtesy of Redfish Rocks Community Team. Those who want to get involved in 2012 are urged to contact Ocean Program Director Robin Hartmann to learn about opportunities to help establish Oregon’s system of marine reserves. Stay tuned to the Ocean Program web page for additional details on the marine reserve process and upcoming opportunities to advocate for long-term conservation of our nearshore resources. Contact: Robin Hartmann, Ocean Program Director, (541) 817-2275, or EMAIL   MORE NEWS...  Jan 23  NEW  Catch Oregon Shores’ Act on Video We have just completed our 40th anniversary year. Oregon Shores has a long history, and in all those decades we have deployed the full range of traditional techniques in seeking to preserve the landscapes and resources of the Oregon coast, from land use advocacy and court cases, to lobbying for public policies, to organizing volunteers through CoastWatch to actually walk the shoreline and report ... MORE  ©2012 Oregon Shores •  CONTACT US