Report Details

Overall general continued erosion of sandstone bluff, new cracks in bluff seen.  Continued sluffing of dune edge just below condominiums north of the parking lot.  White paint line on riprap.

Conditions

Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 7.5 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 210. Number of dogs: 15. Walking or running: 180. Playing in surf: 1. Playing in sand: 12. Sitting: 9. Surfing: 6. Fishing: 1. Other Activities: Parasailing on dune 1. Many people hiking up the dune and along the trails. Tide was high with very large surf coming in. Spectacular waves breaking on the cape.

Concerns

Climbing bluffs/seastacks, People/dogs/vehicles in closure areas

Apparent violations: Group of 5 young women climbed over the westernmost fence and climbed down the cliffs toward the huge breaking surf..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 100.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 2. Gull chick, gray, fluffy with some primaries. See photo showing beak.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam. Mostly old debris from previous storms. Some picnic garbage, cans wrappers etc, but pretty minimal considering g the popularity of this mile. More kelp and seaweed than previous visits. Old debris contains much small plastics and it’s of styrofoam mixed with small wood/grass pieces.

New Development

Bluff development. White spray paint marking on the exposed rip rap below the condos. The concrete boat ramp extension have been removed.

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls, Major cracks appearing in bluffs, Newly exposed roots/trees falling. Western edge of cape shows significant erosion and we cracks on face. The entire cape surface shows erosion from water run off, exacerbated by human trails and pathways.

Actions & Comments

I will look into what the white paint represents and report back to this page.

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All Mile 261 Reports

Showing 8 of 49 reports

Mile 261

March 9, 2024

Wow what a change from last month! State Parking lot is closed for a couple of months while construction on the new parking lot and restroom continues. The tree ( object I show as a measure of sand deposition ) is really getting uncovered! Survey also for COASST, no beached birds or mammals found. The beach access point at the north end of Bob Straub State Park is still unusable for vehicles, due to a massive erosion event and 5 foot sharp edges to the beach.

Eric Matthews

Mile 261

February 7, 2024

A lot of winter damage to the foredunes noted. Construction workers working on the new boat ramp and replacing and relocating some drainage pipes. Photos showing bulldozer shift sand by residence. 1 dory and 3 fishermen getting picked up

Eric Matthews

Mile 261

November 3, 2023

Nice 58 degree mild winds.

MatthewsE

Mile 261

October 3, 2023

Weather: Cloudy and Wintery, High tide today 3.

MatthewsE

Mile 261

September 4, 2023

Really a great day!

MatthewsE

Mile 261

August 2, 2023

Drift- Wrack and Surf Zones seem to differ along the beach.

MatthewsE

Mile 261

July 11, 2023

Nice smooth beach Foredunes are nice and smooth, no sharp edges.

MatthewsE

Mile 261

June 1, 2023

Beach is very smooth, no berms built up.

MatthewsE