Mile 217 - Newport, Nye Beach north, Agate Beach south - March 16, 2015

Report Details

A beautiful afternoon with a lot of people out walking/enjoying the weather. A moderate breeze from the NW. As usual, there were a lot of large and small plastic pieces in the driftline. I filled a garbage bag but did not even make a dent. There was a dead and partially decomposed Steller sea lion on the beach between Jump off Joe and Agate Beach. There were also several pieces of rock near Jump off Joe, either coming from the cliff or from the larger rock closer to the water.

Conditions

Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.7 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 28. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 16. Playing in surf: 5. Playing in sand: 2. Photography: 1.

Other Activities: 1 flying kite; 1 riding bike. Most people were just walking the beach. One family was flying a kite, 2 people were up on Jump off Joe, apparently looking for agates as they were digging in the dirt..

Concerns

Climbing bluffs/seastacks, Litter

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 10.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1. Common Murre

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. Steller sea lion - has been dead for awhile, missing a lot of fur, some bones and part of skull exposed; between Jump off Joe and Agate Beach.

Wrackline Content

Animal casings or molts, Marine debris, Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.), Small rocks, Styrofoam. A lot of small and large pieces of plastic

Natural Changes

Several pieces of rock on the sand near Jump off Joe

Actions & Comments