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

The Siletz River, which Cat Tufts loved to fish.\Photo by Dennis White.
April 21, 2018

In Memoriam: Cathern Tufts

The Siletz River, which Cat Tufts loved to fish.\Photo by Dennis White. We’re saddened to report the death of long-time Oregon Shores board member Cathern Tufts, who passed away recently due to complications from the flu. Cat was a valued board member, and served as Oregon Shores’ board secretary for several years. She also brought very relevant professional...Read more
Nestucca River scene.\Photo by Dennis White.
March 29, 2018

Fish and Wildlife Priorities Will Be Subject of Town Halls

nestucca_river_dennis_white.jpg The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is offering a series of “town halls” around the state, to give members of the public an opportunity to weigh in on the agency’s priorities as it develops its proposed 2019-2021 budget. A particular concern is the lack of funding in the department’s initial plans for...Read more
2018 Oregon Shores Board Members
March 28, 2018

Meet Oregon Shores’ New Board Members

Newly elected or re-elected Oregon Shores board members, clockwise from left: Ed Joyce, Wayne Rifer, Patrick Willis, Ron Steffens, Allison Asbjornsen, Eric Watkins, and Leslie Morehead. In the recent online election (Oregon Shores’ first such electoral foray into the digital realm), members voted near-unanimously for a slate of new and returning board members...Read more
Spinner kite.\Photo by Kirt Edblom.
March 20, 2018

Conserve While You Shop

kite_spinner_kirt_edblom.jpg There are many ways to support Oregon Shores’ work to preserve our public shoreline and coastal resources. Join or renew membership, donate, gift stock to us, leave a bequest. But there is also another way, one you will never notice once you set it up. There are two opportunities to funnel support to Oregon Shores as you...Read more
March 20, 2018

Sightings: By-the Wind Sailors Make Beach Landings Early this Year

velella_velella_and_cape_lookout_by_dale_harmer.jpg Reports have been flooding in since mid-March that the by-the wind sailors, known to science as Velella velella , have arrived early this year. Large masses have been reported on some beaches, in some cases already decomposing. What’s more, we’re seeing large wash-ups of young, so...Read more
March 16, 2018

Global Warming Commission Has New Website

The Oregon Global Warming Commission has a new, improved website and climate-focused blog at...Read more
Snowy Plover chicks.\Photo by Adam Kotaich.
March 16, 2018

Snowy Plover Protection Season Begins

Snowy Plover chicks.\Photo by Adam Kotaich. All beachgoers are can assist the ongoing effort to restore healthy populations of the threatened Western Snowy Plover to Oregon’s beaches by respecting nesting areas and beach restrictions during nesting season, March 15 through Sept. 15. Signs and ropes that identify sensitive western snowy plover nesting areas have...Read more
Fawn Custer teaching tidepool clinic.\Photo by Alex Derr.
February 24, 2018

Tidepool Tours Offered in Lincoln City

Fawn Custer teaching tidepool clinic.\Photo by Alex Derr. Tidepools and rocky shore habitats will be the focus of a series of short field trips CoastWatch is offering this spring. The events are free and open to everyone. They also double as training sessions for CoastWatchers—or prospective CoastWatchers—with rocky stretches on their adopted miles. For the...Read more
Fishing Rock.\Photo by Dennis White.
February 23, 2018

Public Invited to Comment on Rocky Shore Protection

Fishing Rock.\Photo by Dennis White. For the first time in more than 20 years, Oregon is revisiting the state’s policies that protect our rocky shores. The current Rocky Shores Management Strategy, dating back to the 1990s, was never fully implemented, and existing regulations haven’t been revised in the face of growing population, increasing pressure on...Read more
Marine debris collected on Bayocean Spit.\Photo by Paul Lask.
February 21, 2018

Sightings: An Encounter with Marine Debris

Marine debris collected on Bayocean Spit.\Photo by Paul Lask. I kick a hairball of grass and twigs and stems, sometimes called a whale burp, and more often than not see mesh, a bottle cap, a soap dispenser plunger. Down the way is a skinned baseball, a strange planet crash-landed among the gaper and cockle shells. There's half a lighter beside busted sand...Read more