Mile 339 Report

January 16, 2007
by RKAdams

Location:
Clatsop
Clatsop Spit, Fort Stevens SP
Conditions:
Tuesday 2:00 PM
Sunny
Wind:
Calm/Light
Humans / Pets:
People:
4
Activities:
Walking / Running:
3
Sitting:
1
Concerns:
Disturbances:
Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Vehicles:
Cars/Trucks on beach, allowed:
1
Activity Comments:
20 whimbrels and a few black bellied plovers disturbed by the one car on the beach.
Notable Wildlife:
Dead Birds:
Stranded:
Fish & Invertebrates:
Driftline:
Land-based debris (picnics, etc.)·Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.)·Plastic pellets·Styrofoam
New Development:
Modifications:
Natural Changes:
Erosion of vegetated foredune
Comments:
Picked up 2 bagfuls of plastics.
Summary:
Nice sunny day on beach; little car traffic, but lots of birds foraging. Plastic litter retrieved and removed.
Other Mile 339 Reports (53)

2022

May 18, 2022 - edjoyce
All looks about the same except for dunes being less steep.  We could help quantify changes in beach/dune steepness via beach profiling techniques.
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  • Dunes appear less steep than in previous months.
  • Exposed cobbles. Most probably due to erosion of sand that was previously covering the cobbles. Cobbles were placed by Army Corps to decrease erosion on this part of the beach.
April 20, 2022 - edjoyce
Beach still has a very wintery appearance with steep dunes and a relatively narrow beach.The flock of eagles was startling - I've never seen 10-12 eagles eating together before.
read more
  • Looking North toward So. Columbia River jetty. Note erosion and steep dunes.
  • Exposed cobbles due to landward dune migration (I think).
March 9, 2022 - edjoyce
Everything looked normal - typical winter day on the beach except for the 3 eagles (see photo).
read more
  • Eagle family
  • Looking across survey area. Notice steep winter dune profile.
  • Erosion has removed sand revealing underlying cobble substrate. I think the cobbles were put there by the state of Oregon to decrease erosion in this highly eroded area.
February 9, 2022 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual except for the eagle. (Note from CoastWatch volunteer - Before Ed walked his CW Mile, Myself and another CoastWatch volunteer joined him for the NOAA marine debris survey on the north...
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  • Eagle near S. Columbia Rive Jetty
  • Looking north toward S. Columbia River Jetty
  • Looking north toward S. Columbia River Jetty - observe dune erosion.
  • Beach replenishing with rocks at So. Columbia River Jetty.
January 12, 2022 - edjoyce
Lots of winter storm erosion - see photos.
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  • Steep cliffs and narrow beach due to winter storms.
  • Winter erosion
  • Exposed rocks due to erosion.

2021

December 15, 2021 - edjoyce
As the photos show, the tide was very high - not a good time to walk the mile.  I was able to walk about 80% of the mile while viewing the remainder from a distance.  On coming waves kept me from...
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  • Narrow beach due to high tide and steep eroded dunes due to winter storms.
  • Winter erosion and exposed rocks.
  • Exposed coarse grained sediment.
November 17, 2021 - edjoyce
Typcial beach for this time of year.  Dune erosion + more marine debris.
read more
  • Note dune undercutting and erosion
  • Note dune undercutting and erosion
  • Dune undercutting and erosion causing exposure of previously buried log.
October 13, 2021 - edjoyce
Nothing noteworthy.
read more
  • Dune profile becoming steeper with Fall storms.
  • Work on the So. Columbia River Jetty continues.
September 22, 2021 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual except for the 6 dead Common Murres.  Dead murres have been reported all along the coast.
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  • Dead Common Murre
  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty
August 18, 2021 - edjoyce
All looked normal for a summer day.
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  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River jetty
  • Looking south.
July 14, 2021 - edjoyce
All looked normal.
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  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking south.
June 16, 2021 - edjoyce
Everything looked normal.  The only thing unusual was the lack of marine debris.  Typically, there's lots of plastic.Heavy-duty work continued on the So. Columbia River Jetty (see photo). 
read more
  • Look north to the So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Exposed cobbles.
  • Work continues on the Jetty.
June 16, 2021 - edjoyce
Everything looked normal.  The only thing unusual was the lack of marine debris.  Typically, there's lots of plastic.Heavy-duty work continued on the So. Columbia River Jetty (see photo). 
read more
  • Look north to the So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Exposed cobbles.
  • Work continues on the Jetty.
May 12, 2021 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual except for the lack of marine debris especially noticeable was the lack of plastics.
read more
  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking south from the So. Columbia River Jetty
April 15, 2021 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual.
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  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty
March 17, 2021 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual.  
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February 17, 2021 - edjoyce
Dune face angles are steep reflecting winter conditions.  Nothing unusual to report.
read more
  • Looking north from approx 1/2 mile south of S. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking south from S. Columbia River Jetty.

2020

December 16, 2020 - edjoyce
Very little beach due to storm and high tide.
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  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking south from approx. 200 yards south of the South Columbia River Jetty.
November 18, 2020 - edjoyce
Lots of erosion from last week's storm (see photos).
read more
  • Looking south from approx 3/4 mile south of South Columbia River Jetty.
  • Note erosion from storm.
  • Note widespread erosion.
October 14, 2020 - edjoyce
All was normal for this time of year.
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  • Looking north toward the South Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking south from approx 1/4 South of the South Columbia River Jetty.
September 16, 2020 - edjoyce
Nothing much different than last month.  Typical summer beach.
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  • Looking south from the So. Columbia River Jetty.
August 13, 2020 - edjoyce
All is well!
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  • Taken from appox 3/4 mile south of Columbia River So. Jetty. Looking North.
  • Looking south. Taken from approx 1/2 mile south of Columbia River So. Jetty.
July 15, 2020 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual.
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  • Looking north from approx 1/2 south of the South Columbia River jetty.
  • Looking south from approx 100 yards south of the South Columbia River Jetty
June 10, 2020 - edjoyce
Everything looked stable and little change since last month.
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May 20, 2020 - edjoyce
More plastics than usual.
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  • Looking north toward Columbia River South Jetty.
  • Looking south from approx. 1/2 mile south of the South Columbia River Jetty.
  • Asian writing on bottle. Attached orgranisms suggest the bottle was in the water a considerable time.
March 11, 2020 - edjoyce
Everything looked very similar to the last survey.
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  • Looking North from Approx. 3/4 mile south of South Columbia River Jetty.
  • Looking South from the South Columbia River Jetty.
January 15, 2020 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual.  Typical winter erosion of dunes.
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  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty. Taken from approx 1/2 mile south of jetty.
  • Looking south from the So. Columbia River Jetty.

2019

December 18, 2019 - edjoyce
Except for dune erosion, everything looked normal.
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  • Looking north from approx. 3/4 mile south of South Columbia River jetty.
  • Dune erosion.
  • Dune Erosion
  • Looking south from the South Columbia River Jetty.
November 20, 2019 - edjoyce
Everything looked normal for this time of year.
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  • Looking North toward jetty from approx 3/4 mile south of South Columbia River Jetty
  • Looking at So. Columbia River Jetty from approx 200 yards south of jetty.
  • Looking south from approx. 200 yards south of the South Columbia River Jetty.
October 23, 2019 - edjoyce
All looked about the same as last month.
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  • Looking north from approx. 1/2 mile south of the South Columbia River Jetty.
October 2, 2019 - huisee
More tire tracks than we have ever seen.
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September 25, 2019 - edjoyce
All looked normal - very summery.
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August 28, 2019 - edjoyce
All looked normal.  Northing unusual.
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  • Taken approx. 1/2 south of South Columbia River Jetty looking north.
  • Taken from So. Columbia River Jetty looking south.
July 31, 2019 - edjoyce
Everything was normal - typical summer day - nothing unusual.
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  • Looking north from approx. 1/2 mile south of South Colum. River Jetty
  • Looking north from approx. 1/4 mile south of South Colum. River Jetty
  • Looking north from South Columbia River Jetty
July 3, 2019 - edjoyce
Everything was about the same as last report.
read more
  • Looking south from South Columbia River jetty.
  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
May 8, 2019 - edjoyce
Nothing significant to report.
read more
  • dune erosion
  • Looking south from Columbia River south jetty
February 19, 2019 - edjoyce
Watch carried out at maximum King Tide.  Nothing unusual to report.  The beach has assumed a typical winter profile and dune erosion was evident (see attached photos).  It was an unimpressive King...
read more
  • King Tide - looking south from the Columbia River South Jetty
  • Vehicle Erosion
  • Typical Winter Beach Profile - steep with erosion.
January 21, 2019 - edjoyce
read more
  • Photo is looking north from about 1/2 mile south of the Columbia River South Jetty.
  • Looking north very close to Columbia River South Jetty

2018

December 21, 2018 - edjoyce
Photos taken at King Tide Max.
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  • Looking south from So. Columbia River Jetty
  • Looking north toward So. Columbia River Jetty.
November 10, 2018 - edjoyce
read more
  • Looking south from the South Jetty
  • Looking north toward South Jetty
  • Stranded Sea Lion - Seaside Aquarium was notified.
October 6, 2018 - edjoyce
All was calm and relatively undisturbed.
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  • Looking south from South Jetty.
  • Looking north toward South Jetty
September 3, 2018 - edjoyce
Notice in photo that beach grasses are populating the foredune area.  This is a summer phenomenon and does not occur in winter due to higher tides and storms.
read more
  • Looking south from So. Jetty
  • Looking north toward So. Jetty.
  • Looking north toward So. Jetty
August 30, 2018 - Merce and Michael
5 dead Common Murres found on the beach below the high tide line. No evidence of oiling or bites. They all appeared to be adults based on size, but plumage doesn't vary much with age.
read more
August 1, 2018 - edjoyce
All was quiet - nothing to report.
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  • Looking south from south jetty.
June 22, 2018 - edjoyce
Everything was calm and a-ok.
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  • So. Jetty
  • From the So. Jetty
May 11, 2018 - edjoyce
All was fine, however the dune shows signs of recent dune erosion.
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  • Foredune erosion.
April 23, 2018 - edjoyce
Everything is just fine.
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  • Calm day on beach.
March 28, 2018 - edjoyce
Not much going on. Very large plastic drum found on beach, contacted Ranger.
read more

2017

December 26, 2017 - edjoyce
Nothing unusual.
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November 9, 2017 - edjoyce
Very usual.  See photos.
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September 20, 2017 - edjoyce
All looks stable.  See attached picture.
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  • Mile 339 looking north toward So. Jetty

2016

February 26, 2016 - srhoads
Surveyed some foreign debris on the South jetty (parking lot C) at Fort Stevens State Park. Found a brown bottle with the name Paolyta Co. The article (link below) mentions, "Four people in Taichung...
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  • Brown energy bottle for Asia.
  • Brown bottle with the works Paolyta Co. on it. Said to be energy drink from Asia.
  • Square plastic indentification label.
  • White Plastic identification label from Asia.

2014

April 26, 2014 - McB's 339
Collected a lot of tsunami debris... especially floats and water bottles with Asian character writing. Clams growing on floats. Not much wildlife due to windy rainy weather. Elk tracks in abundance...
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