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Rocky Habitat Proposals Achieve Final Approval
The state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) approved special protective designations for six key rocky shore habitat sites, a goal long sought by Oregon Shores and many other conservation and community groups. At its April 21 meeting, LCDC accepted the recommendations of the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) and adopted the sites as part of the state’s new Rocky Habitat Management Strategy. Technically, thee are rule amendments to the Territorial Sea Plan. This is the last step in a long journey–although it could be the first of many such journeys. The plan is to hold future rounds in which the public can again propose sites for special designation.
Through a long and arduous process that has taken more than four years, the state of Oregon has developed a new Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, the first revision of Oregon’s policy for protecting rocky intertidal and nearshore subtidal ecosystems since 1994. Oregon Shores has been actively engaged in this slow-moving process; indeed, it began at our instigation. The basic framework of the management strategy was approved more than a year ago. It was then up to the public to propose particular levels of protection for special sites, which is a key element in the strategy to protect these important resource areas. Many community groups and individuals did step forward with proposals for site designation.
The six sites approved by LCDC had been proposed for site designations by community groups, including Oregon Shores: Ecola Point, Chapman Point, Cape Lookout, Fogarty Creek, Cape Foulweather, and Blacklock Point. (Two other sites, at Cape Blanco and Coquille Point, were previously approved.) They were recommended for approval by OPAC in December.
Oregon Shores has been involved throughout this long campaign for improved protection of our rocky intertidal areas and offshore rocks. CoastWatch Program Manager Jesse Jones has assisted citizens involved in a number of proposals, particularly those at Blacklock Point, Chapman Point, and Ecola Point. Board member Larry Basch played a key leadership role in the Blacklock Point proposal.
Some background:
Oregon’s headlands, tidepools, rocky beaches, cliffs, and offshore rocks (collectively about 41% of the state’s 362-mile shoreline) are managed by multiple state and federal agencies using a coordinated framework, known as the Territorial Sea Plan (which comes under Goal 19 of the state’s land use planning program). The Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, which is now Part 3 of this plan, is intended to help sustain and support the use and health of rocky habitat resources.
For the latest updates on this process, see https://www.oregonocean.info/index.php/tsp-home/157-tsprs-amend-4.
In a highly unusual process, it was left to citizens and community groups to seek “site designations,” which required filing detailed proposals, demanding a good deal of information and expertise, and also required evidence of broad-based outreach and community outreach. Despite this challenging process, by the end of 2020, 12 sites had been proposed by citizens or groups. Among these, Oregon Shores worked with other groups and allies on eight. The Rocky Habitat Working Group of OPAC held a series of meetings in 2021 during which the proposals were reviewed. The proposals then passed to the full body, and OPAC at that time favored two sites, at Coquille Point in Coos County and Cape Blanco in Curry County, recommending protective designations.
Six other proposals remained still alive and in “continuing consultation.” These are the ones adopted by LCDC on April 20. These sites include Ecola Point and Chapman Point in Clatsop County, Blacklock Point in Curry, Cape Lookout in Tillamook, and Fogarty Creek and Cape Foulweather in Lincoln. The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and the Oregon Coastal Management Program staff staff hosted public consultation workshops in April, 2022 between the agencies and the proposers. Proposal authors presented their proposals during the workshops to resolve considerations identified in the process. Public comment took place during the workshops.
A coalition in which Oregon Shores is active formed to share responses and address agency concerns. For some of these proposals, local groups met regularly to discuss the considerations in preparation for the workshops. Stakeholder outreach and subsequent conversations continued to be a key aspect of this work. Oregon Shores staff worked closely with three of these sites: Chapman Point, proposed as a Marine Education Area (MEA), Ecola Point, proposed as a Marine Conservation Area (MCA) and Blacklock Point, also proposed as a Marine Conservation Area.
For more detail on the sites, see this article.
In 2021, DLCD took significant steps to increase collaborative engagement with the public to improve the rocky habitat process, thanks to work done by a coalition including Portland Audubon, Audubon Society of Lincoln City, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), and Shoreline Education for Awareness (SEA), along with Oregon Shores. Many of the recommendations regarding the rocky habitat evaluation process were incorporated within the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy document that was adopted in 2022. The current site designation process is a product of that strategy.
Oregon Shores pursued rocky shore habitat protections in two ways. We took a leadership role in building community support and drafting proposals for some key sites. And through CoastWatch, we offered information and support to anyone interested in developing a proposal for a particular site.
The two sites where we were the lead applicant were Blacklock Point and Crook Point, both in Curry County, for which we sought the most protective Marine Conservation status. Blacklock Point has now been designated. Crook Point was turned down; this is one of the most important rocky intertidal and subtidal habitat areas on the Oregon coast, so we will try again for a protective designation in the next round of the proces. We actively supported PISCO (Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans), a research consortium based at Oregon State University, in proposing Marine Research Reserve designation for Cape Blanco, also in Curry County. We also participated in the North Coast Rocky Habitat Coalition, proposing protection for Ecola Point and Chapman Point, just north of Cannon Beach. We supported proposals by other groups elsewhere on the coast.
If you would like to lend a voice for rocky habitat designations in Oregon going forward, or if you would like to learn more about this process, contact Jesse Jones at 503-989-7244 or jesse@oregonshores.org.
Some deeper background: More than five years ago, Oregon Shores successfully urged the state’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) to begin a review of Oregon’s policies protecting rocky intertidal habitat on the coast. As we argued, these policies hadn’t been reviewed since the 1990s, and the plan that had been adopted then had never been completely implemented. OPAC agreed, and a working group was formed. It was a long process, with many steps (in which Oregon Shores participated all the way), but a penultimate draft of a new Rocky Habitat Management Strategy is now on the table. The Rocky Habitat Working Group of OPAC considered comments made by the public (including Oregon Shores) and then approved a final draft. And finally, first OPAC and then LCDC adopted the basic strategy. At that point, the site designation process was launched. Now that the first round of such designations, the strategy is now temporarily complete, although it will open up again for future site designations.
Oregon’s headlands, tidepools, rocky beaches, cliffs, and offshore rocks (collectively about 41% of the state’s 362-mile shoreline) are managed by multiple state and federal agencies using a coordinated framework, known as the Territorial Sea Plan (which comes under Goal 19 of the state’s land use planning program). The Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, now Part 3 of this plan, is intended to help sustain and support the use and health of rocky habitat resources.
To review the draft strategy, go here: http://bit.ly/37IHF25.
To review the Rocky Habitat Mapping Tool, used in the site designation process, go here: http://oregon.seasketch.org
Visit https://OregonOcean.info for more information and updates. You will also find information about public comment sessions or webinars in our calendar.