Devil's Churn.Photo by Curtis Perry.

Devil’s Churn.Photo by Curtis Perry.

Oregon Shores has long advocated for increased protection of the state’s tidepools and other rocky shore areas.  In 2018, we hope to see movement in that direction.

Oregon’s management of our state’s rocky shore areas falls under Goal 19 of our land use planning system, the goal that governs our Territorial Sea.  Plans for protecting these ecologically valuable and much-loved (sometimes over-loved) segments of our coast have not been revisited for many years.  For background on the development of our Rocky Shores Strategy, go here.

At Oregon Shores’ instigation, Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council created a working group to assess and update our policies regarding tidepools and other rocky stretches of the shore.  The Ocean Policy Advisory Council Rocky Shores Working Group is now actively seeking public input into its assessment of state management and protection of these areas.  And who better to weigh in with observations and comments about we can best conserve our rocky shore resources than members of Oregon Shores?  This a real opportunity to help improve the long-term management of these special places along the Oregon coast.  

You can participate in two surveys:  “Rocky Shores Needs” and “Rocky Shores Issues.”  You can also file comments online.  To locate the surveys, make comments, and learn about upcoming meetings, visit this website, which was created to provide information about planning efforts for Oregon’s Territorial Sea.

Members might comment on their own reasons for visiting rocky shores and make observations about what they see in terms of use or visitation at such sites, along with any observations about visitor behavior that may be damaging to tidepools and other areas.  What do you think of current regulations that prohibit taking of shellfish and invertebrates in some popular places (e.g. Haystack Rock, Yaquina Head, Cape Arago) while allowing shellfish and invertebrates to be taken at other sites?  What would you think about unlimited harvest of turban snails, limpets, piddocks and other invertebrates?   How should school groups be handled to protect rocky shores while allowing education for the students?  Are interpretive or warning signs sufficient to protect these shores?  What do you think of the need for on-site rangers needed, especially in crowded summer season?  Is more public access to the shores needed?