Mile 143 Report
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
January 26, 2020
The biggest thing I found was the water heater tank.
Report Details
The biggest thing I found was the water heater tank. There were only 3 seagulls and a small flock of sandpipers Quite windy, lovely to have the beach to myself (I walk farther than my mile).
Conditions
Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 7.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 7. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 3. Playing in sand: 1. Sitting: 4. It was a rainy day, so few humans ventured onto the beach.
Concerns
Litter
Apparent violations: a large tank (hot water heater size( is on this beach, about 1/4 to 1/2 mi south of umpqua dunes parking lot.Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
3 seagulls, one small flock of sandpipers
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). enough plastic/styrofoam/pellets/assorted broken pieces of plastic crap and glass bottles/containers to fill my extra large black plastic trash bag (I wasn't able to pickup every piece, once my bag was full--I'll bring 2 bags, next time).
Natural Changes
Erosion of vegetated foredune.
Actions & Comments
I am going to try contacting Ranger RJ Rapplejay, who drove up from Sunset Bay last summer, to remove a refrigerator I found on Umpqua dunes beach; to see if he can get the hot water heater-sized tank off the beach.
All Mile 143 Reports
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
The only time we saw other people was at the entrance to the beach, by the tsunami number sign.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
The day was uneventful, the garbage not as plentiful as other times.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
10 people on beach, including 5 birdwatchers, 2 dogs (one of which was off leash), people walking with off leash dog allowed dog to chase gulls and were pushing a flock of sandlerings down the beach in front of them.
mruggiero
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
We arrived at Wincheser Bay smack dab in the middle of Dune Fest.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
There was much more plastic trash this time, than when we went in October.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
The beach was mostly deserted and there were few birds.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
The biggest thing I found was the water heater tank.
kmwifish
Mile 143
South Umpqua Lighthouse SP
We saw 5 other humans (2 when we started walking south and 3 when we returned) and one dog, besides we two and our dog.
kmwifish