Mile 297 Report
Nehalem Beach, Nehalem Bay SP
March 1, 2019
This was a lovely sunny day with a strong wind from the northeast making it quite cold.
Report Details
This was a lovely sunny day with a strong wind from the northeast making it quite cold. The water was far out leaving a clean bright beach. Previous tides had cut away the sand leaving steep cliffs over 8 feet high at the north end, with the large wood deposited last year holding the rest of the sand behind. One fat tire track had been made at the high water line, and there was a wrack of sticks up there. No wrack had been deposited after that. There was a couple of small flocks of shore birds, no debris and no bird carcasses. 9 people and 6 dogs were walking with only 3 cars in the parking lot. What was noteworthy was a herd of elk grazing in the dunes by the parking lot. And just south of this mile, the dunes have been completely bulldozed to eliminate the non-native beach grass and provide a gentle slope down to the beach proper, in the hope that the snowy plover would find this more suitable for nesting. Right now it looks like a moonscape with nothing but bulldozer tracks back to the trees. One last observation was over on the shore of the bay where there was a wreck of jellyfish left on the high tide line.
Conditions
Temperature: 42 F. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: NE.
Human Activities
Number of people: 9. Number of dogs: 6. Walking or running: 9. One fat tire track along high tide line.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 3.
Notable Wildlife
Only a couple small flocks of shore birds
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
Unusual concentration. This was in Nehalem Bay not on the ocean beach - a wreck of jellyfish, with many large ones left along the high tide line.
Driftline Content
The high tide line had continuous small sticks. There was nothing in the current surfline. The beach was very clean
Man-made Modifications
Dune modification/removal. The project to remove the beach grass and slope the dune better has begun with a huge area south of this mile to the jetty having been bulldozed. This is to improve the habitat for the snowy plover. It looks like a vast moonscape however.
Natural Changes
Erosion of vegetated foredune, Visible retreat of solid bluff. The high tides have cut into the accumulated sand creating cliffs as high as 8-10 feet. The large wood behind this is holding the sand now and may contribute to a new dune.
Actions & Comments
A herd of elk was grazing on the grass in the dunes by the parking lot.
NehalemBay
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