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

March 29, 2020

Coast Bike Route Up for Discussion

Biking the Oregon coast.\Photo courtesy of ODOT. The Oregon Coast Bike Route (OCBR) exists in concept. It runs 370 miles the length of the state and is traveled by an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 riders annually. It was designated in the 1980s. But it is essentially Highway 101. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) began a planning effort for the OCBR in...Read more
Snowy Plover.\Photo by Mick Thompson
March 27, 2020

Snowy Plover Patrol Training Moves Online

Snowy Plover.\Photo by Mick Thompson The nesting season for the endangered Western Snowy Plover is due to begin in Oregon, and in an ordinary year the Snowy Plover Patrol would be about to start monitoring sites on the north coast again. In this unique year, though, with coronavirus precautions in place, the in-person training sessions (which had been scheduled...Read more
Staying afloat in turbulent times.\Photo by Alex Derr.
March 20, 2020

Coastal Conservation in the Time of Coronavirus

Staying afloat in turbulent times.\Photo by Alex Derr. Oregon Shores’ board and staff members are watching the COVID-19 pandemic carefully. We take very seriously the well-being of our staff and our hundreds of deeply valued volunteers and supporters. No public events are being scheduled for the time being. We urge our members—and everyone—to take all possible...Read more
Jordan Cove (foreground) and North Spit.\Photo by Rena Olson.
March 19, 2020

Jordan Cove Gets FERC’s Rubber-Stamp

Jordan Cove (foreground) and North Spit.\Photo by Rena Olson. As expected, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted its conditional approval to the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal proposed for Coos Bay’s North Spit on Thursday, March 19. The approval also includes the associated Pacific Connector pipeline, which would carry the gas across the...Read more
March 15, 2020

Black Oystercatcher Survey to Start Up

Birds, Citizen Science, Marine Conservation, Marine Reserves, Rocky Intertidal Zone. Note: The organizers of the following project are of course re-assessing in light of the coronavirus situation. The dates for the training sessions and for the monitoring itself are far enough in the future that they have not been cancelled. We will report any changes to the...Read more
March 10, 2020

Conference Falls Victim to Virus

Beachwalkers.\Photo by Kirt Edblom. With great regret, we are announcing that the Sharing the Coast Conference that was coming up this weekend (March 13-15) has been cancelled. Over the last week, CoastWatch and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME), our partners in sponsoring the annual conference, have been closely watching the situation around...Read more
March 5, 2020

'Sharing the Coast' Time Soon to Arrive

Horsfall Beach near Coos Bay; European beachgrass (foreground) will be a topic at the conference.\Photo by Dina Pavlis. The 11th annual Sharing the Coast Conference is coming up March 13-15. This time around the conference, a collaboration between CoastWatch and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME), will be held in Coos Bay, at Southwestern Oregon...Read more
February 25, 2020

State Denies Jordan Cove’s ‘Consistency’

Jordan Cove (to the left of photo) and Coos Bay\photo by Rena Olson The long battle over the proposed Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility entered a new phase recently, with the state’s denial of the project as being inconsistent with Oregon’s coastal management policies. A scheduled decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC...Read more
February 21, 2020

Oregon Shores Appeals Riprap Decision

The Tai Dang house in Rockaway Beach, showing the eroded dune where he is placing the riprap.\Photo by Phillip Johnson. We are fighting the final, last-ditch battle in a years-long struggle to prevent the riprapping of a structure in Rockaway Beach that never should have been built. The owner was allowed last year to install temporary riprap; his application to...Read more
February 11, 2020

King Tides Project Wraps Up for the Winter

Alsea River and Drift Creek during the most recent king tide.|Photo by Alex Derr, with support from Lighthawk. We have now completed the annual King Tides Project for winter, 2019-2020. The three sets of extreme high tides we documented took place Nov. 25-27, Jan. 10-12, and Feb. 8-10. There was also a "bonus Christmas round" Dec. 24-26. The King Tides Project...Read more