Mile 144 - West of central Umpqua Lighthouse SP - 04/05/2025

Report Details

I was accompanied by 2 friends over the course of 2 visits back-to-back (as we could not finish in one trip). We spend 4 hours mostly collecting litter that was tangled up in the large amount of driftwood brought in by a storm in mid-March. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny, and we greatly enjoyed the peaceful time on the beach, though all of the trash made us sad.

Conditions

Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 2.0 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 4. Number of dogs: 3. Sitting: 4.

Other Activities: n/a. I ranger patrolling..

Concerns

Litter

Apparent violations: Lots of trash caught up in the long band of driftwood that is not usually present this far south of Mile 145: Plastics, styrofoam, shoes, one propane tank, one car tire, one orange pontoon..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks on beach, allowed: 1.

Notable Wildlife

No live animals observed on this day, but did take photos of tracks.

Beached Birds

n/a

Stranded Marine Mammals

n/a

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Unusual concentration. Velella velella - see photos. Annual die-off after strong winds blow them onto shore.

Wrackline Content

Piles of dead Velella velella