Mile 178 - Cape Cove, Sea Lion Point, Sea Lion Caves - February 12, 2010

Report Details

It is early 2010, and I can now access my beach, because the sea lion invasion is over. The sea lions left lots of evidence about their presence, and it was not pretty. There were six dead sea lions on the rocks, in one spot, there was one carcass on top of the other. There were a couple of live sea lions remaining, but they were in distress/dying. One sea lion I thought was dead, was actually still alive, but dying because of a huge flesh wound on it's back, perhaps from a boat propeller. Another sea lion was in distress because it was fouled in fishing tackle. see photos.

Conditions

Temperature: 46 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 1.6 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 1. Photography: 1. Other Activities: Myself, conducting a Coastwatch survey.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 8. Six dead sea lion carcasses. One live sea lion entangled in fishing gear. One live, but dying sea lion with massive flesh wound on rear.

Driftline Content

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

Natural Changes

Major cracks appearing in bluffs, Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Visible retreat of solid bluff, Landslides/major boulder falls. Lots of erosion, I will share that in next mile report.

Actions & Comments

I have plenty of photos to document the erosion over the years. I will present them to ODOT soon.