Mile 237 Report
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
March 12, 2024
The most important factor for me personally with the changes I've observed in this section of my mile is how impactful the shoreline armoring has been on the beach to the south.
Report Details
The most important factor for me personally with the changes I've observed in this section of my mile is how impactful the shoreline armoring has been on the beach to the south. Having spent time reviewing academic articles and research done on the repercussions of altering the natural shoreline, I'm convinced that what we're seeing here is a direct result of man-made efforts to try and change nature. Those efforts and alterations have impacted neighboring bluffs, shoreline and the littoral cells just offshore as these photos show.
Conditions
Temperature: 48 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: -0.1 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 4. Number of dogs: 2. Sitting: 4.
Notable Wildlife
Few birds; but two magnificent bald eagles flying above us on the beach!
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt). Lots of Velella Velella on the beach today...(small blue jellyfish with sails).
Man-made Modifications
Dune modification/removal, New riprap or shoreline protection structures. This is the most critical change on my mile. Over the last two months there has been a dramatic shift in the erosion along a 400+ foot stretch of foredune and the 'wrap-around' portion of recent revetment installed last year. I am (as I mentioned in my last post,) saddened that I can no longer walk my mile south to north due to the changing landscape of the actual beach-- even at low tide like today. There have been many minus tides that I've attempted to head north and report on this mile, but have been forced to turn around because the waves are crashing on the installed shoreline armor rocks. The pictures you see here show the dramatic creation of an embayment south of the recent installation; hopefully the sand budget will see a way to return much of what was lost. One of the other factors this particular spot presents is the destruction of a 'roadway' or 'ramp' that had been used over the last couple of years to access revetment repair and installations approved by OPRD. The community (Salishan) has obtained at least one emergency permit recently to build a temporary breakwater in an attempt to soften the wave action eroding the end of a small lane that accesses some homes.
Natural Changes
Landslides/major boulder falls, Major cracks appearing in bluffs, Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Erosion of vegetated foredune, Visible retreat of solid bluff, Evidence of wave overtopping.
Report Images
All Mile 237 Reports
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
Beautiful 'low-tide' walk of my mile today.
237watcher
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
The most important factor for me personally with the changes I've observed in this section of my mile is how impactful the shoreline armoring has been on the beach to the south.
Barry Howarth
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
The most heartbreaking part of my mile report today is that I couldn't even walk my entire mile due to shifting sand and the subsequent tide (even though I did this at low tide,) preventing a safe northward walk. I have been walking on this stretch of beach since the early seventies and never-- even five or ten years ago, would you not had adequate distance to walk the beach from the surf to the foredune. I provided on pic looking north on my mile from the top of a revetment that was installed a few years ago, that's the only way I could get a glimpse of it safely.
Barry Howarth
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
A beautiful day here at the Central Oregon Coast!
Barry Howarth
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
Beautiful day for the mile report walk.
237 Watcher
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
I learned that two shore structures (stairs built on top of rip-rap) were heavily damaged during a recent storm/tide condition earlier this month.
237 Watcher
Mile 237
Gleneden Beach north, golf course
A beautiful day at mile 237 again!
237 Watcher