Ocean News Archive

All ocean news articles

April 16, 2021

Rocky Habitat Protection Proposals Now Being Considered

The view from Blacklock Point.\Photo by Alex Derr. The state of Oregon is developing 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 process for the past three years. We are now in the crucial final phase—...Read more
April 16, 2021

Public Invited to Help Guide Beach Monitoring Program

short_sand_beach_odfw.jpg The Oregon Health Authority’s Beach Monitoring Program is the public’s means of learning whether the waters washing our beaches is polluted. All too often, the water quality testing provided by this program demonstrates that it is. As the program gears up for the summer, the public is invited to comment on the list of beaches...Read more
February 10, 2021

King Tides Photo Contest Winners Announced

Winning photo is a comparison shot showing the Siuslaw Marina and Store at Cushman on Hwy 126 during a king tide and a regular high tide.\Photo by John Bragg. The past winter’s edition of the King Tides Project, the 11th year of this annual citizen science effort, had a new feature. This time around, we partnered with the Oregon Coast Visitors Association to...Read more
September 6, 2020

Oregon Shores Joins Defense of Endangered Species Act

snowy_plover_south_beach_molly_sultany.jpeg Oregon Shores joined 45 other ocean conservation groups recently in protesting an attempt by the Trump administration to cripple the Endangered Species Act, with new definitions of “habitat” which would severely limited the law’s effectiveness. To see our joint comment,...Read more
July 12, 2020

BioBlitzes in a New Format Coming up in July

bioblitz_roads_end_fawn_custer_demonstrating_doug_cody.jpeg A BioBlitz is an intensive survey of a defined area with the goal of identifying all the species to be found in that area at one time, generally involving members of the public assisted by experts. It is a snapshot of biodiversity. In past years, coastal...Read more
April 27, 2020

Public Comment on Rocky Habitat Plan Due

tidepool_cape_perpetua_briton_ogden_small.jpg The public has one more chance to offer comments on Oregon’s newly emerging Rocky Habitat Management Strategy. After several years of work—in which Oregon Shores has participated actively—an all-but-final draft is being considered. The Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) is expected to...Read more
March 15, 2020

Black Oystercatcher Survey Still Taking Place

oystercatchers_by_alex_derr.jpg The annual citizen science project to survey Black Oystercatcher nests is coming up again, May through August, and volunteers are needed. The survey is a partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Portland Audubon, and local conservation groups. CoastWatch is not one of the...Read more
September 6, 2019

Beach Water Quality Monitoring Continues to Reveal Pollution

people_sandboarding_sonja_peterson.jpg The Oregon Beach Monitoring Program , based at the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division...Read more
May 29, 2019

Orca Awareness Month Declared in Oregon

orca_event_kickoff.png For 13 years, June has been proclaimed Orca Awareness Month by the Governor of Washington — and for the first time in 2016, Orca Awareness Month was celebrated in Oregon and in British Columbia as well! The American Cetacean Society’s Oregon Chapter kicked things off early with an Orca Awareness Day at the Hatfield Marine Science...Read more
Marine debris survey training in progress.|Photo by Dennis White.
March 15, 2019

CoastWatch Has Key Roles in Marine Debris Efforts

Marine debris survey training in progress. | Photo by Dennis White. CoastWatchers have been actively cleaning beaches of marine debris since the program was founded more than 25 years ago, and CoastWatch has had an organized marine debris project for the past eight years. In the wake of the 2011 Japanese tsunami, Oregon Shores (through CoastWatch) joined with...Read more