July 4 brings unforgettable memories to our beaches and many things left behind.
Summer is in full swing on the Oregon coast and with our Surfrider Chapter network! From a massive number of cleanups and stewardship events following one of the dirtiest beach days of the year to stoked out youth from our Otter Rock n' Roll and summer kids surf events, our network of volunteers and leaders have been extremely busy! Beach advocacy issues are also heating up this summer with a range of local issues from dune grading to beach access challenges, to a refreshing Supreme court victory - our coastal activism has been building momentum with some powerful outcomes. Read more below on all these issues and learn more about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved!
- Charlie Plybon, Oregon Senior Policy Manager
16th Annual Otter Rock n Roll: Stoke, Stewardship & A Frothing Good Time
This summer, the Newport Chapter celebrated International Surfing Day with the 16th Annual Otter Rock and Roll - Oregon’s only purely youth surf competition! Nearly 70 kids competed, from the more experienced 16-18 year old rippers to the Best Beginner division which outfits kids with a surfboard, wetsuit, and a surf lesson from one of our volunteer instructors. Our most family friendly event of the year making strong memories and stewardship connections, we see dozens of returning families and volunteers over the years.
This year’s magic was captured by local videographer and friend of the ocean, Danny Fulgencio - check out the video and learn more about Danny's work here.
Local Groups Unite Against Dune Ballot Measure in Cannon Beach
A somewhat confusing petition circulating the Cannon Beach community to amend the city's charter and mandate increased "management" of the dunes along the ocean shore has made the November ballot. The ballot measure, backed by the glamour and glitter of well-produced media, money and even a rock n roll legend front man, seeks to reshape and more actively manage the foredunes along the ocean shore in Cannon Beach. Local groups, including Surfrider Foundation are now all lining up in opposition of the measure's costly special interests.
Following the "dirtiest beach day of the year", on July 5th Surfrider Chapters around the state hosted 8 "afterglow" cleanups, removing over 2,000 pounds of trash and engaging 157 volunteers. July 4th celebrations at the beach bring memories but often leave behind all kinds of debris. Surfrider works with partners to both raise awareness before these celebrations to help with prevention, but each year we still face a mountain of cleanup. Massive kudos to the dedicated volunteers and chapter leaders that make these cleanups fun and help keep our beaches free from debris each Independence Day.
Following a lengthy process spanning several years and advisory groups, the State's Land Conservation and Development Commission unanimously adopted updated rules guiding beach access along Oregon's coast. While public beach access has long been a core Oregon value, these new rules establish clearer expectations for local governments by defining key terms, requiring public access planning, improving coordination with state agencies and Tribes, and creating more consistent tracking of public access sites. Surfrider Foundation celebrates the rulemaking as a major milestone victory in our Oregon Beaches Forever Campaign.
Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Key Coastal Development Decision
The Surfrider Foundation and our Oregon partners are celebrating a recent victory in the Oregon Supreme Court that better ensures local jurisdictions have the ability to enforce their coastal protection standards for coastal development. Following the denial of a development permit in Cannon Beach that would have encroached across a public beach access and conflict with hazard standards, the developers appealed the decision all the way up to Oregon's Supreme Court. This month, the court ruled in favor of the local jurisdiction to deny the permit, ruling that hazards standards apply and upholding the Cannon Beach decision. The ruling is a victory in upholding coastal public trust resources over private development interests along the shore.
During this annual event, running July 1 through August 31, chapters across the country compete with each other to see who can sign up the most members. Can you help your local Oregon chapter win the prize? To snag your membership, just visit your chapter’s website (find a list of the Oregon chapters here) and click the red “donate” button in the top right corner. Your membership will be good for a year!
Memberships make great gifts for friends and family, too.
JUST DROPPED: Surfrider's 2025 Beach Cleanup Report
Spotlighting the power of beach cleanups with 2025 regional stories, case studies and data collected from across the nation.
Taylor Tice launches on a smaller inside wave at this year's Otter Rock n Roll event. Taylor, who won the boys 16-18 division has been surfing in the youth contest every year since he was old enough to walk.
Besides just surfers, the Otter Rock n Roll is always a blast for the whole family, making friends and memories year after year.
For nearly 30 years now the Newport Chapter of Surfrider and the Hang Glider's Association have kept 101 clean through their Adopt-a-Hwy efforts along Beverly and Moolack Beaches north of Newport. This months haul was massive, preventing hundreds of pounds of debris from eventually making it's way down to the beaches and ocean.
The Portland chapter had sunny skies for their annual July 5th Ross Island Paddle Cleanup. Each year, volunteer head out across the Willamette River on their watercraft of choice to collect debris left behind on the island after the holiday.
This year the Coos Bay chapter was able to rent a dumpster for the Fourth of July madness at Bastendorff, thanks to a generous donation. It was quickly filled with tons of firework debris, broken gear, nails, party supplies, and more trash left behind by revelers. At roughly 1,500 lbs, this represents a 500% increase from 2023 in trash collected during the July 5th cleanup. However on the bright side, this year we also saw a 600% increase in volunteers that turned out to help!
