Report Details

A beautiful morning on Mile 202.  A beach hazard/sneaker wave warning was in effect, and I anticipated few people on the beach, but I encountered at least 60 people and perhaps half as many dogs, people just walking, running their dogs, a few people jogging close to the surf, a few people fishing on the bay side of the spit, everyone just enjoying themselves and seemingly oblivious to any potential threat from sneaker waves.  No wildlife of note, just a few crows, a dozen or so gulls sitting on the bank near the people fishing, and one concentrated group of a few dozen crab molts.  The beach was pretty clean except for a few pieces of cellophane-like plastic, an old abandoned kite, and a length of plastic-ribbed matting, all of which I removed.  The only evidence of unusual human activity I saw were two areas of sand dumping over the edge of the steep sand bluffs towards the southern edge of the spit, which I had seen occuring on my previous visit on 12/23/2019, when I photographed a front end loader dumping sand over the edge of the bluff onto the beach.  After finishing my walk on 12/23/2019, I later drove down Oceania Drive, which parallels the beach, and saw the origin of this sand, a front end loader clearing sand from the driveway of a house on Oceania.  This appears to be an allowable activity, but I will continue to monitor.

Conditions

Temperature: 45 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 4.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 60. Number of dogs: 30. Walking or running: 55. Sitting: 3. Fishing: 3. Other Activities: 2 - starting small campfire. No concerns regarding human activities

Concerns

Apparent violations: None.

Notable Wildlife

Nothing of note, just a few crows, a dozen or so gulls sitting near the people fishing, and one concentrated area of approximately three dozen crab molts (see photo)

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.).

New Development

Bluff development. Sand dumping on on steep sand bluff -- see below

Man-made Modifications

Dune modification/removal, Sand removal. Towards the southern part of mile 202, the low rolling dunes become steep, eroding sand bluffs. On this visit, I noted evidence of sand dumping from the bluff onto the beach, which I had seen on my initial exploratory visit on 12/23/2019, when I observed a front end loader dumping sand over the edge of a steep sand bluff. After finishing my walk on 12/23/2019, I drove down Oceania Drive, which parallels the shore, and saw the source of the sand dumping, a front end loader clearing the driveway of a house on Oceania. Most of the houses on the beach side of this portion of Oceania are surrounded by sand, which apparently blows in during winter storms and requires regular removal from driveways, around houses, and also from the road itself. The road signs for this portion of Oceania for regular vehicular (on-road) travel state "Soft Sand, Proceed at your own risk." From what I've been able to determine, this sand dumping is allowable under OAR (Oregon Administrative Rules) 736-020-0003(9). I'll continue to monitor this on future walks.

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All Mile 202 Reports

Showing 8 of 62 reports

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

July 16, 2024

Today was the first windless day in awhile, shirtsleeve weather with a calm sea and a distinct marine layer offshore.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

May 6, 2024

Bayshore's HOA recently spent $2,500 for permits and bulldozing a path down to the beach behind the Bayshore clubhouse, a designated public access, smoothing out the drop-off resulting from winter erosion and restoring access for beach goers and our State Parks ranger's ATV.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

March 7, 2024

Mile 202 beach accesses and exits are now restricted because of erosion and sheering off of the sand cliffs along its northern portion, so I now need to plan for a receding tide if I want to walk the entire mile safely.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

January 28, 2024

After finding forty beached Cassin's Auklets on Jan.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

October 30, 2023

A beautifully calm, sunny day, maybe the last for awhile, with a fifteen mile view from Seal Rock to Cape Perpetua and hardly anyone on the beach except for two surf fishers and a couple valiantly trying to launch a kite with no wind.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

August 30, 2023

As I began yesterday's mile walk and monthly COASST beached bird survey, a light rain began to fall, the first in months.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

July 23, 2023

As I have done before, I combined today's walk with my monthly COASST survey for dead seabirds.

Jon French

Mile 202

North Spit Alsea River

May 16, 2023

The beach was fairly cool today after 99 degrees two days ago.

Jon French