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

Jordan Cove LNG terminal, artist's conception.

Decision Awaited on Jordan Cove LNG Land Use Approvals

Jordan Cove LNG terminal, artist's conception. A Coos County hearings officer received testimony on an application for land use approvals from the Jordan Cove Energy Project on Friday, December 18. Oregon Shores had already filed its pre-hearing testimony, opposing the application. For the hearing itself, we filed additional comments. Now we wait for the...Read more
Photo of rocky shore near Cannon Beach by Mark Stalcup.

Oregon Will Revisit State’s Rocky Shores in 2016

rocky_shores_near_cannon_beach_mark_stalcup.jpg Responding to a proposal put forward by Oregon Shores at its December 3 meeting, the state's Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) created a new working group tasked with revisiting Oregon's policies regarding rocky shore protection. Robin Hartmann, Oregon Shores' Ocean Policy Advocate,...Read more
Photo of Robin Hartmann.

OPAC Settles on New Ocean Policy Priorities

hartmanrobinonstump2.jpg Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) met in Tillamook on December 3 and reached consensus on selecting three “new” ocean policy areas to focus on over the next two years: marine debris, ocean acidification, and coastal resilience. In addition, OPAC members will continue their ongoing work to implement Oregon’s...Read more
Photo of King Tide flooding at Netarts Bay, by Tracey Schmidt.

King Tide Project Surges Again

king_tide_netarts_bay_shoreline_tracey_schmidt_edit2.jpg The second round of this year's King Tide project took place last week with the high tide sequence from November 24-27. The first round took place in October, and photos have been posted. But there is still plenty of opportunity to participate. Get out your cameras and...Read more
Photo of students examining scientific speciments, courtesy of Ocean Inquiry.

Plan Now for ‘Sharing the Coast’ in 2016

ocean_inquiry_voyage.jpg CoastWatch collaborates each year with the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) in sponsoring the annual Sharing the Coast Conference, which offers a wealth of information to those monitoring the coast (CoastWatchers) and those teaching about it and interpreting it for visitors (NAME members, who may well be...Read more
Photo of coastal property south of Lost Creek, by Sara Schreiber.

State Parks Approves Riprap Application Despite Objections

Stretch of shoreline south of Lost Creek to be riprapped. Photo by Sara Schreiber. It is no surprise to learn that the riprap application for a lot south of Newport, which had aroused the concern of some CoastWatchers, was approved by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD). Those interested in seeing the approval and the conditions imposed can find...Read more
Photo of entrance to the Jordan Cove proposed LNG export facility.

Temporary Victory on Jordan Cove Land Use Appeal

Entrance to site of proposed Jordan Cove LNG export facility. Photo by Lisa Readel. For the time being, at least, Oregon Shores has succeeded in thwarting the would-be developers of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility at Jordan Cove on Coos Bay’s north spit. The Jordan Cove Energy Project (a branch of Canadian corporation Veresen) had sought to “...Read more
Photo of King Tide flooding at Netarts Bay, by Tracey Schmidt.

King Tide Project Looks Toward Next Round in November

Netarts Bay shoreline during recent King Tide series. Photo by Tracey Schmidt. The first round of this year's King Tide project has now been completed, but there is still plenty of opportunity to participate. Get out your cameras and visit the coast during the final two sets of extreme high tide events this year, November 24-27 and December 23-25. For the sixth...Read more
Photo of Mike Martin standing atop Coalbank Slough debris slide.

Battle to Assure Cleanup of Coalbank Slough Continues

coalbanksloughmikemartin.jpg The long-running saga of Coalbank Slough isn’t over yet. A year ago, we announced that we had successfully settled our Clean Water act lawsuit over a 2012 debris slide that had severely polluted the slough, a tributary of Coos Bay. It had been a long struggle to that point, over a year and a half, but we thought we had...Read more
Photo of purple water.

Cause Identified for Purple Tides Noted by CoastWatchers

purplewater.jpg Mysterious purple patches are being observed along the coast. The answer to the summer's trick CoastWatch question, "What is causing the purple water?" turned out to be "salps." Numerous reports came in over a period of weeks concerning “purple water” or “a gelatinous purple mass” in the water. It took a while to determine the cause, and...Read more