Mile 288 - Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point - June 19, 2004

Report Details

Human activity, possibly illegal, was noticeable on this late spring trip. Camping, possibly parking overnight, and setting of fires were all in evidence. The question is how much does Tillamook County allow on the Bayocean Spit and does it enforce its rules?

Conditions

Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: W.

Human Activities

Number of people: 4. Walking or running: 4. Other Activities: Camping, bicycling, gathering driftwood. Observed two sets of people camping. This was a first. One couple appeared to be camping on the beach, above the high tide line. they were gathering driftwood, but had made no fires.A different group (didn't observe the people) had a tent in the dunes above the high tide line. They had some kind of fire going because there was smoke rising from the area of the tent. I could not see if the smoke came from a stove or an open fire.Apparently Tillamook County now allows camping on the Bayocean Spit. However, no fires are allowed in the dune area so the smoke I saw came from a seemingly illegal use of fire.

Concerns

Driftwood removal, Fire

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 15.

Stranded Marine Mammals

Total stranded mammals: 1. Harbor seal, seen on the bay side of the spit.

Actions & Comments

I have concern about people camping. As I left the parking area around 9:30 PM, there were still 7 vehicles in the parking lot. People in a couple of the vehicles appeared to be staying overnight, although a sign indicated this is prohibited. Others were probably camping although I only saw two sets of campers. My concern is about how much Tillamook County enforces its rules on the Spit.

YaakovM

CoastWatcher

All Mile 288 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 58 reports

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

November 10, 2024

Mile 288 showed no signs of man-made disturbance, and no one was on-site during my monitoring. I was glad to see a flock of plovers flying in the foredune again!

KMS

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

March 14, 2024

It was an incredibly busy day for Mile 288 the day before the snowy plover nesting season began! I was glad to see DOGAMI and OPRD on-site, and appreciated OPRD's willingness to haul the debris I collected back to their dumpsters. It was also exciting to see so many plovers in the wet sand.

Karen Schank