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

December 23, 2020

Major Land Use Victory Blocks Jordan Cove

Protest against Jordan Cove in North Bend.\Photo by Jody McCaffree. The Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has awarded Oregon Shores and allies a significant, multi-part victory in our efforts to block the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal. In a decision handed down on Dec. 22, LUBA overturned Coos County’s permits for the Jordan Cove Energy Project’s...Read more
Siuslaw watershed during the most recent king tide.\Photo by Rena Olson, with aerial support from Lighthawk.
December 12, 2020

King Tides Project Rising this Winter

Siuslaw watershed during the most recent king tide.\Photo by Rena Olson, with aerial support from Lighthawk. The King Tides Project is now in the midst of its 11th year. To borrow a line from a certain TV show, winter is coming! And with it comes the highest of high tides, which the project seeks to document. This citizen science effort is organized by...Read more
December 3, 2020

Campaign to Preserve Rocky Shore Habitats in Home Stretch

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 process for the past three years. We are now in the crucial final phase—...Read more
November 29, 2020

Registration Open for Environmental Steward Certificate Program

Ed Joyce (right) and Jesse Jones (center) at a training session for the marine debris survey, a project which would help participants qualify for the Environmental Steward Certificate.\Photo by Patricia Jensen. Oregon Shores and CoastWatch partners with Clatsop Community College (CCC) in sponsoring the Environmental Steward Certificate program, an innovative...Read more
September 6, 2020

Oregon Shores Joins Defense of Endangered Species Act

Western Snowy Plovers at South Beach.\Photo by Molly Sultany. Oregon Shores joined 45 other ocean conservation groups recently in protesting an attempt by the Trump administration to cripple the Endangered Species Act, with new definitions of “habitat” which would severely limited the law’s effectiveness. To see our joint comment,...Read more
July 31, 2020

In Memoriam: Jack Broome

Jack Broome and Althea Pratt-Broome. We regret the passing, but celebrate the life, of one of Oregon Shores’ original activists and leaders. Jack Broome passed away in June at the age of 97. Jack was a prominent Oregon architect for decades. He is the “B” in Boora Architects, originally Broome, Oringdulph, O'Toole, Rudolf, and Associates, a major firm that...Read more
July 19, 2020

Jordan Cove Appeals Continue

Jordan Cove (top of photo) and the North Spit.\Photo by Alex Derr. Oregon's land use program can be the Achilles' heel of destructive projects. Vast multinational schemes backed by abusive national administrations can be blocked through application of local land use plans. So it may be with the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export facility, which Canadian...Read more
July 12, 2020

BioBlitzes in a New Format Coming up in July

Fawn Custer (kneeling), CoastWatch's citizen science trainer, leads a BioBlitz at Cascade Head. A BioBlitz is an intensive survey of a defined area with the goal of identifying all the species to be found in that area at one time, generally involving members of the public assisted by experts. It is a snapshot of biodiversity. In past years, coastal...Read more
July 12, 2020

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
CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson.
July 10, 2020

CoastWatch Webinars Now Available on YouTube

CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson. With the onset of pandemic restrictions on travel and meetings, CoastWatch pivoted rapidly toward working online to maintain volunteer training and public education and to keep the mile adopter community connected. It required some hasty re-orientation for a program that has always relied on...Read more