Mile 313 - Tolovana Park north, Haystack Rock - January 8, 2012

Report Details

while the dogs all seemed to have a grand time, only about a dozen were actually on a leash, and many not even under voice control. This seemed to cause some conflicts among dog owners. also, I barely avoided stepping into a big pile of doo right in my path on the way to Gower access, and from there on kept my eyes glued to the ground, instead of scanning the area and enjoying the scenery. It did keep me from stepping into a second mess. it was also very disturbing to observe the many people climbing on large LIVE rocks, kids collecting in the Marine Garden, and in the 10 minutes we stood and watched 7 people walked up to the closure sign in the saddle area and then proceeded to climb up and over. The sign on the southside is gone, and people were also climbing into the Refuge there. We moved on, because it was about to spoil our otherwise very nice day.

Conditions

Temperature: 52 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 3.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 209. Number of dogs: 48. Walking or running: 144. Sitting: 23. Tidepooling: 41. people were enjoying the beautiful day. Most of them walking leisurly, shedding their coats and donning sunglasses

Concerns

Apparent violations: trespassing into Refuge.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 54.

Notable Wildlife

oystercatchers vocal and active

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Wood pieces.

Natural Changes

Erosion of vegetated foredune.

Actions & Comments

we will attempt to be notified of new construction and alteration permits by Oregon State parks. We were dropped from that list some time ago, and asked to be reinstated. It didn't seem to happen. Will remind them again