Oregon Ratings Indicator Type Info Status Beach Access 10  8  Water Quality 6  6  Beach Erosion 6  -  Erosion Response -  6   Beach Fill 5  -  Shoreline Structures 6  5  Beach Ecology 8   -  Surfing Areas 4   8  Website 7   -  Explain this chart

Oregon 

Summary

Oregon began to implement a statewide beach water quality monitoring program in 2003. An on-line Costal Atlas is now available that provides a wealth of information on coastal resources. Beach access information and status is exceptional due to Oregon's longstanding "Beach Bill", with greater than one access site per mile of shoreline.

Indicators

(+) The Oregon Senate approved a bill in June 2009 that authorizes the state's first two fishing-free marine reserves and requires study of four other areas. The bill implements November 2008 recommendations from Gov. Kulongoski's Ocean Policy Advisory Council. It establishes two fishermen-endorsed pilot reserves -- Otter Rock off Depoe Bay and Redfish Rocks off Port Orford -- that would take up less than 1 percent of Oregon's territorial sea, a 3-mile-wide strip along the 360-mile coast.
(+) A new film Politics of Sand documents the incredible history of Oregon’s Beach Bill.
(+) The Oregon Coastal Management Program partnered with Oregon Sea Grant to create Living on the Edge, Building and Buying Property on the Oregon Coast. The 25-minute DVD is intended to influence the behavior of prospective coastal property buyers and builders by giving them a "reality check" on the unique risks that come with developing along the ocean shore, and explaining the steps that should be taken to avoid problems.
(+) The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is conducting a coast-wide data collection and analysis that focuses on a variety of topical areas, including ecology. This work will be used in their Ocean Shore Management Plan currently being formalized.
(+) 90% of the 362 miles of ocean coastline is open to the public. There is one public beach access site for about every half mile of coastline.
(+) Oregon has created a Coastal Atlas web site, which is an interactive, searchable, downloadable archive of geo-spatial data. It includes mapping and decision support tools.

(0) Thanks to Surfrider volunteers, the US Army Corps of Engineers is now required to maintain the beach in front of the new 300-foot rip-rap revetment along the beach at the north Tillamook Jetty. Hopefully, this action will save the wave at Barview.
(0) The Great Oregon Spring Beach Cleanup in March 2006 brought out 5,245 volunteers to take away the debris left by winter storms. Volunteers removed some 46.5 tons of garbage and unwanted objects from the Oregon coast.
(0) Oregon started implementing at statewide water quality monitoring program in spring 2003.
(0) Storms experienced along the Oregon coast during the El Niño winter of 1997-98 and the La Niña winter of 1998-99 were truly exceptional. On five occasions waves reached or exceeded the projected 100-year wave height.

(-) The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality proposed a revision to the water clarity (turbidity) standard which would eliminate all protections for water clarity within a 300-foot "mixing zone" near an industrial discharge. It has been estimated that the revised rules would let the average Oregon river become more than 30% murkier at times and smaller streams could become more than twice as murky.
(-) In the past 10 years, there have been 74 permanent permits issued for riprap protection of coastal development. The worst year for beach erosion was 1999, when 27 permanent permits were issued. Nearing the end of 2006 there were six emergency permits, three for Neskowin due to storms during the 2005-2006 winter. Three property owners at Gleneden Beach had applied for emergency permits.

Victories

• Oregon Marine Reserves The Oregon State Legislature voted to support HB 3013 (unanimously in the House, 3 nays in the Senate), which puts into practice the recommendations of the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC). These recommendations were to implement two marine reserve projects this year, one at Redfish Rocks in Port Orford and one at Otter Rock near Depoe Bay, as well as the further evaluation and collection of baseline biological, social, and economic information over the next 18 months for sites proposed off Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, Cape Perpetua and to support a proposal from the Coos County area. The bill also directs communities adjacent to the proposal areas to form teams composed of diverse and balanced stakeholders for the on-going collaborative efforts surrounding rule making, research, monitoring, and marine reserve implementation. Funding for this bill over the next two years is provided in part through funds left over from the salvage of the New Carissa, as well as the ability to secure outside funding through either grants or private donations. More info.
• Oregon Nutrient Reduction Oregon State Legislature passed SB 631, which reduces the amount of phosphorus contained in automatic dish soap to no more than 0.5% by volume. This effort was led by Siuslaw Chapter Blue Water Task Force Coordinator Mark Chandler. Mark worked in his community of Dunes City to pass the first phosphorus reduction ordinance in the State after seeing large algal blooms in Siltcoos and Woahink Lakes that led to impacts on drinking water, recreational use, and aquatic health. This effort was helped by many written letters to Representatives and Senators by the chapter and local citizenry. More info.
• Clean Water at Nye Creek The Oregon Central Coast Chapter has worked since 2004 to clean up Nye Creek through a campaign of water testing, political pressure and media savvy. They first pointed out the fact that the ocean in front of the creek was polluted and making people sick. Through a water quality monitoring program that went up the watershed, the chapter was able to bring to light a number of problems with the city’s stormwater and sewage management systems. Through collaborative work and public pressure the City of Newport has now updated several important regulations and committed to infrastructure improvements, as well as restoration of the creek and educational kiosks. This will all lead to clean and healthy water in Nye Creek and the nearby surf. More info.
• Prevented Beach Parking Fees in Florence. Fisherman and surfers alike have historically used a parking area, known locally as “Chicken Point”, free of charge. In the summer of 2007, Lane County Parks took over the property (renaming it Harbor Vista Park) and put in place a user fee with no general improvement or services for the parking area. Day-use fees set a dangerous precedent for public rights to free and open access to our beaches and coastline scenic views. Area residents and Surfrider activists responded swiftly by gathering over 250 signatures on a petition to eliminate the fee, as well as providing crucial public testimony to the Lane County Board of Commissioners. West Lane Commissioner Bill Fleenor championed the cause and quickly motioned the Commission and instructed park staff to remove the user fee sign from the area.
  More info.
• Water Quality Improvements at Big Creek - Newport, OR Over the course of 2 years of water quality testing through the Central Coast chapter, the Blue Water Task Force determined that bacteria concentrations at the Agate Beach Wayside were often elevated well above the public health advisory level. The chapter's campaign focus was to source and mitigate the bacterial pollution as well as provide the public with better information about the contamination on the beach and incorporate the site into the state's Beach Monitoring Program. Through persistent work with the state's Beach Monitoring Program, the chapter was able to add this beach site to the state's monitoring program as well as add signage informing the public of the advisories when issued. Inspection of the upper watershed by the chapter led to the discovery of manholes located along Big Creek (which outfalls at Agate wayside) that were occasionally overflowing with raw sewage. In 2006 the chapter began lobbying the city for an investigation to the cause of the overflows and an effort to solve the problem. In the fall of 2007 the city finally was able to hire a contractor for infiltration and visual inspections of the sewage lines along Big Creek. The inspections led to the discovery of two infiltration breaches that were allowing significant amounts of stormwater to enter the sewer line; thus, causing overloading on the Big Creek pump station and spilling sewage out of the manholes and into Big Creek. The breaches were repaired through a "resin-cure" or "pipe patch" method without digging up any of the riparian area around the creek. More info
• Reduce Toxic Pollution in Oregon On June 26, 2007, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed into law Senate Bill 737, which provides Oregon with a roadmap for reducing toxic discharges into rivers, lakes, and the Pacific Ocean. The Act will require the Department of Environmental Quality to prepare a priority list of the most dangerous toxics that are accumulating in sediment, fish and human tissue, and produce a report for the legislature identifying the sources of this pollution, the levels entering the environment, and steps that can be taken to prevent, reduce or eliminate these toxics. Volunteers from Surfrider's Newport and Portland Chapters actively participated in this campaign through the Action Alert, letter writing, and presenting public comments in Salem. Thanks also to our coalition partners Sierra Club and the Riverkeepers. more info
• Derelict Crab Pots Cleaned from Southern Oregon Coast Activists on the South Coast of Oregon worked to get 283 derelict commercial crab pots removed from the beach and nearshore in Brookings. The pots, spilled in December 2006, posed threats to surfing access and safety.
• Shoreline Preservation in Cannon Beach, OR The City of Cannon Beach decided not to waive land use regulations that protect Oregon's ocean beaches from development. On July 31, 2006 a beach front property owner in Cannon Beach filed a Measure 37 claim to construct a motel on top of beach sand dunes long protected by the Oregon Beach Bill of 1967. While parts of the claim were accepted, the city ruled against authorizing development west of the vegetation line. Several Cannon Beach volunteers submitted written comments on this issue and Surfrider also received pro bono research support from two attorneys in the area.
• Newport, OR water system plan updated The City Council of Newport voted unanimously to update the city's water system master plan.
• Thanks to Surfrider volunteers, the US Army Corps of Engineers is now required to maintain the beach in front of the new 300-foot rip-rap revetment at the north Tillamook Jetty. Hopefully, this action will save the wave at Barview.
• Several Surfrider Foundation volunteers served on the DEQ/DHS Beach Monitoring Program Advisory Council. This Council formulated a health advisory sign and public notification procedure to be implemented during high bacteria level events. This procedure was designed to maintain coastal tourism, adequately advise water recreation users, and educate beachgoers about how bacteria enters our oceans. More recently, Surfrider volunteers have worked cooperatively with the city of Newport regarding beach posting and other public notification of water quality conditions.
• Surfrider Foundation – Oregon Chapter has been using the marine water testing program to educate coastal students, inland residents, and alpine recreationalists about how to reduce pollution in their respective watersheds. The SnowRider Program has been key to implementing this educational program.
• Surfrider Foundation volunteers helped keep the Winchester Bay parking lot free and open to public beach use by assuring it wasn't purchased by the County, and remains in Corps ownership.