Mile 154 - Oregon Dunes NRA, west of Butterfly Lake - May 3, 2018

Report Details

Ten Eugene Hikers walked Mile 154, starting from Tahkenitch Dunes Trail. The beach was very calm with a lack of animal life (birds, sea mammals), and one other person walking. There were crab shells and velalla velalla jelly fish, netting and rope near driftline. At the north end, there was a lot of trapped litter in roots of fallen trees at the cliff edge. We collected two large yard bags of litter - mostly plastics and left them at the south end of Mile 154, near Three Mile Lake/#155A signs.

Conditions

Temperature: 53 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW.

Human Activities

Number of people: 11. Walking or running: 11. Sitting: 10. Photography: 5. Other Activities: Ten of the 11 were Eugene Hikers and we walked, sat, and 5 took photos. We also took data for this report and collected litter. We saw only one other person walking on beach..

Concerns

Litter

Apparent violations: At the beginning of north section of Mile 154, there was a lot of litter trapped in roots of fallen trees at cliff edge.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 4.

Notable Wildlife

Sparse. Dried seaweeds.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Crabs and Velalla Velalla ("Purple Sailors") jelly fish.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Styrofoam, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). There were also jelly fish, netting and rope.

Man-made Modifications

At north end, there was trail improvement - blockage to edges of cliff

Natural Changes

Newly exposed roots/trees falling.

Actions & Comments

Collected two large bags of litter - mostly various plastics, and left them at south end of Mile 154.