Mile 186 - Tenmile Cr, Searose Beach N of Stonefield Beach Wayside - December 7, 2017

Report Details

This was our first trip to this area. Parking areas were clean, beach has a lot of rocks (tennis ball to bowling ball size) just north of Tenmile Creek. Beautiful sunny, warm and virtually windless day on the Oregon coast. Approximately three dozen seagulls plus one unidentified bird on beach at the mouth of Tenmile creek. Did not see any dead, trapped or injured birds, fish or animals.We saw a total of eight people and four dogs on the beach. There were two men that parked in lot 86 that were going to go fishing on the beach until they saw the no fishing sign. A combined total of six vehicles were seen in parking lots 85 and 86. Observed a very large amount of debris concentrated in the driftline for approximately 300’ (see pic). This debris consisted primarily of small pieces of plastic less than ½”. The debris was concentrated in this area although small pieces were found scattered throughout the mile. Did not see any identifying marks on any of the debris.There were steps in multiple areas that were in place coming down from the bluffs to the beach. Multiple small waterfalls were observed coming out of the bluffs. At the north end of the beach where we found the largest waterfall we found a rubber vehicle tire sitting over the top of a rock (see pic).Beach access by Sign #85 on the north side of Tenmile creek is through a "Hobbit" hole in vegetation (see pic). Very hard to get through this access as the opening is too small to walk thru standing up or walking straight.

Conditions

Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: E. Tide Level: 4.6 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 8. Number of dogs: 4. Walking or running: 8. Other Activities: 2 of these people were going fishing until they found out that it was a marine preserve..

Concerns

Litter

Apparent violations: Vehicle tire on beach near a small waterfall at the north end of beach (see picture)..

Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 6.

Notable Wildlife

None seen

Beached Birds

None seen

Stranded Marine Mammals

None seen

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

None seen

Driftline Content

Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). In center of Mile 186-large amount of small plastic (

New Development

Steps down bluff. Multiple steps down bluff. Unsure if these were new or not, at this was our first time here.

Man-made Modifications

None seen

Natural Changes

None observed

Actions & Comments

As this was our first visit to this area a comparison or observation of changes could not be adequately made. It was a beautiful sunny, warm and virtually windless day on the beach. We started our survey around 11:15am. High tide was approximately at 2:50pm and low tide at approximately 9:15am.We started from Parking lot 85 and went to the beach via the trail. Tenmile Creek’s path was all the way up against the bank, so the only access was very limited by going thru a “hobbit” hole in the vegetation (see pic). We are not sure if this path is on public or private land.Looking at some of the past pictures that have been posted we surmised that people used to be able to get down to the beach without having to squat down and push their way thru the brush. Beach access by Sign #86 on the south side of Tenmile creek goes to the beach but accessing the north side may be non-existent depending on the amount of water going into the ocean and tide level.As we got to the beach it was all small rock leading to areas with larger rounded rock and areas of solid rock leading into the ocean to the west of the SeaQuest Inn Bed & Breakfast (see pic). Observed two seagulls and one other unidentified bird in this area. Scattered pieces of small plastic/trash were found amongst the rocks.As we progressed north the beach turned in a combination of rocks and sand (near the level of the fourth or fifth house north of Tenmile Creek). There were steps in multiple areas that were in place coming down from the bluffs to the beach. As this was our first trip we cannot tell if they were new, but we will count them on the next visit.Multiple small waterfalls were observed coming out of the bluffs. At the north end of the beach where we found the largest waterfall we found a vehicle tire over the top of a rock (see pic).After we surveyed the north side of Tenmile Creek we went to parking lot #56 to get to the beach on the south side of Tenmile Creek. Approximately three dozen seagulls were observed on the side south of the mouth of Tenmile creek. Very little debris observed on this part of the beach.We saw a total of eight people and four dogs on the beach. A total of six vehicles were seen in parking lots 85 and 86. There were two men that parked in lot 86 that were going to go fishing on the beach until they saw the no fishing sign. (According to ODFW website part of the beach to the south of Tenmile Creek is in the Marine Reserve and the whole beach to the north of the creek is in the reserve).