spring 2010 driftline newsletter oregon shores conservation coalition

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The Oregon Driftline Changes are coming to the Oregon coast, whether we’re ready or not. Some will result from global warming and a changing climate. Some will be caused by the longer-term realities of coastal hazards, from tsunamis to landslides. And some will be due to our own choices, for sprawl and consumption or sustainability and adaptation. “Oregon’s Coast: Changes Coming” will be the theme of this year’s Coast Conference, which will be held May 7-8 in Coos Bay and Charleston. The annual conference, sponsored by Oregon Shores, is visiting the south coast for the first time. The event features an array of intriguing speakers, all addressing aspects of coming changes. It also features two special activities: a cruise of Coos Bay that will cap the conference Saturday afternoon, and the inaugural training session for the newly emerging Coastal Master Naturalist Program, which will be held Friday afternoon at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (see “Calendar of Upcoming Events” on page 11). On Friday evening, May 7, we’ll feature a slide talk by internationally renowned photographer Gary Braasch at 7 p.m. in Eden Hall on the Southwestern Oregon Community College campus. Braasch is author of the book “Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World.” His talk, "A World of Changes -- Nature and Climate under Global Warming," updates the photography and research he did for his book, exploring the world but also bringing the focus down to the Oregon coast. Saturday’s session, at the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on the community college campus, begins at 9:30 a.m. (registration at 9). Our speakers include marine ecologist Bruce Menge (invited), on the biological changes coming to the ocean due to global warming; geologist Curt Peterson on sand movement and erosion; geoscientist Peter Ruggiero on increasing wave heights, changing currents and the most vulnerable areas of Oregon’s coast; Lesley Ewing, senior coastal engineer with the California Coastal Commission, on how our neighbor to the south is planning for sea level rise; mayor Lori Hollingsworth of Lincoln City on how her city is striving for sustainability; and many more. Visit our website at www.oregonshores.org for updated details as the conference approaches. The afternoon cruise aboard the Betty Kay (see article on page 3) is a fund-raiser for Oregon Shores, but all other conference activities are free. Make plans to join us—and please invite along others who love the coast and are concerned about its future. For more information, contact Phillip Johnson, Oregon Shores’ executive director, at (503) 238-4450, [email protected] . COAST CONFERENCE AND ‘CHANGES’ COMING TO COOS BAY OREGON SHORES CONSERVATION COALITION VOLUME 25 NUMBER 1, SPRING 2010

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Page 1: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

The Oregon Driftline Changes are coming to the Oregon coast, whether we’re ready or not. Some will result from global warming and a changing climate. Some will be caused by the longer-term realities of coastal hazards, from tsunamis to landslides. And some will be due to our own choices, for sprawl and consumption or sustainability and adaptation. “Oregon’s Coast: Changes Coming” will be the theme of this year’s Coast Conference, which will be held May 7-8 in Coos Bay and Charleston. The annual conference, sponsored by Oregon Shores, is visiting the south coast for the first time. The event features an array of intriguing speakers, all addressing aspects of coming changes. It also features two special activities: a cruise of Coos Bay that will cap the conference Sa turday a f t e rnoon , and the inaugural training session for the newly emerging Coastal Master Naturalist Program, which will be held Friday afternoon at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (see “Calendar of Upcoming Events” on page 11). On Friday evening, May 7, we’ll feature a slide talk by internationally renowned photographer Gary Braasch at 7 p.m. in Eden Hall on the Southwestern Oregon Community College campus. Braasch is author of the book “Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World.” His talk, "A World of Changes -- Nature and Climate under Global

Warming," updates the photography and research he did for his book, exploring the world but also bringing the focus down to the Oregon coast. Saturday’s session, at the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on the community college campus, begins at 9:30 a.m. (registration at 9). Our speakers include marine ecologist Bruce Menge (invited), on the biological changes coming to the ocean due to global warming; geologist Curt Peterson on sand movement and erosion; geoscientist Peter Ruggiero on increasing wave heights, changing currents and the most

vulnerable areas of Oregon’s coast; Lesley Ewing, senior coastal engineer with the C a l i f o r n i a C o a s t a l Commission, on how our neighbor to the south is planning for sea level rise; mayor Lori Hollingsworth of Lincoln City on how her city is striving for sustainability; and many more. Visit our website at www.oregonshores.org for

updated details as the conference approaches. The afternoon cruise aboard the Betty Kay (see article on page 3) is a fund-raiser for Oregon Shores, but all other conference activities are free. Make plans to join us—and please invite along others who love the coast and are concerned about its future. For more information, contact Phillip Johnson, Oregon Shores’ executive director, at (503) 238-4450, [email protected].

COAST CONFERENCE AND ‘CHANGES’ COMING TO COOS BAY

OREGON SHORES CONSERVATION COALITION VOLUME 25 NUMBER 1, SPRING 2010

Page 2: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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Oregon Shores has been as active as ever on the frontlines of coastal conservation in recent months. At the same time, much of our activity has taken place behind the scenes, as the board and I have been preparing for bold new steps. As the reader will note elsewhere in this issue, our Ocean Program continues to play an active role in the process that will (we hope!) lead to an expansion of Oregon’s fledgling set of marine reserves. The Land Use Program is engaged in a wide range of

significant issues, from destination resorts and gravel mining in Curry County to chromite mining and riprap issues. CoastWatch recently sponsored a full-day training conference in Florence—see the calendar or follow the website for upcoming events. We’ve also been hard at work organizing this year’s Coast Conference (see front page). The agenda is replete with important speakers on fundamental elements of the coast’s dynamic future. Please show your support for Oregon Shores by making a special effort to join us May 7-8 in Coos Bay. Meanwhile, we’ve been developing a strategic plan to chart Oregon Shores’ course through our 40th anniversary celebration next year and for many years thereafter. The outline of this work-in-progress is posted on our website, www.oregonshores.org Take some time to give this a look. I would greatly appreciated your thoughts and comments—contact me at [email protected]. We have also launched our new business member program (see article on page see article on Page 7), and we have our first few business supporters in the fold. If you are part of a business that cares about the coast’s preservation, please consider supporting us. You’ll be hearing more soon about our evolving plans and sharpening strategies. None of it means anything without the active engagement of our membership, however. We’ll be counting on your active support in the challenging months and years to come.

Phillip Johnson

A WORD FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Executive Director Phillip Johnson at work with Next Generation team member Andrew Peterson

Page 3: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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CRUISE COOS BAY AND SUPPORT OREGON SHORES

The Coast Conference will culminate with a special opportunity to see Coos Bay from the water side, on a chartered cruise aboard the Betty Kay. We’ll leave the dock at Charleston at 4:30 for a three-hour cruise, with a naturalist and some of our speakers aboard to guide us around the estuary and extend the day’s discussion about the future of such coastal ecosystems. We’ll have delectable food and drink aboard as well. The cruise is a fund-raiser for Oregon Shores. Tickets are $65 for Oregon Shores members, $90 for non-members (which includes membership). To reserve your spot, go to the Oregon Shores website (www.oregonshores.org), and click on the “Donate, Membership” button in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

For information or to make a reservation in person, contact Pat Wolter, (503) 647-2012, [email protected].

We have a great line-up of speakers for the Coast Conference on May 8, beginning at 9:30. But first, we have a bit of formal business to take care off. If you’re an Oregon Shores member, we request your help. Please plan to come a bit early that day. At 9:15, we will conduct a brief, official annual meeting (a necessity for a non-profit). There are only two items of business—acceptance of the financial report, and election of board members. We have two new candidates for the board, both already serving temporarily through board appointment. (More may come forward by the time of the meeting.) They are Andreas von Foerster, of both Neskowin and Salem, an architect with extensive experience in land use advocacy, and Jill Josselyn, a Portland-area resident with both marine biology and business in her background.

Also up for re-election are current board members Allison Asbjornsen, Bill Kabeiseman and Cathern Tufts. Set the alarm clock a bit early, and help us conduct this official business. The annual meeting is in the same spot as the conference, the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on the Southwestern Oregon Community College campus.

MEMBERS: HELP US MAKE IT ‘OFFICIAL’ ON MAY 8

Hales Center for the Performing arts

Page 4: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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Last year Oregon passed a major milestone, as the Oregon Legislature created the state’s first two marine reserves, at Redfish Rocks near Port Orford and Otter Rock near Depoe Bay. This was a significant moment for Oregon Shores, a noteworthy initial success after a decade of persistent advocacy by our board, staff and volunteers. In recent years Oregon Shores has been an active member of Our Ocean, the coalition that has pushed for the creation of protected areas in our nearshore ocean. Creation of the first two reserves signaled the end of the beginning in the effort to preserve ocean habitats, but the work goes on. The legislation also provided clear direction for initiating a balanced process to “further evaluate” four additional sites to be added to the marine reserve system – at Cape Falcon north of Manzanita (offshore from Oswald West State Park), Cascade Head north of Lincoln City, Cape Perpetua near Yachats (offshore from Neptune State Park and Cummins Creek Wilderness), and Cape Arago/Seven Devils near Coos Bay. The sites were recommended by the state’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council, on which our Ocean Program director, Robin Hartmann, holds a seat. “Community team” meetings, organized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to evaluate the first three of these intended marine reserve sites (with work on the Coos Bay site at an earlier stage), as recommended for these areas of the coast by Oregon's Ocean Policy Advisory Council, are currently underway. Each community team meeting is

structured to comply with the process set out by the legislature in 2009. Co-chairs for each community team have been elected. For Cape Falcon the co-chairs are Ron Kaser and Tim Josi; for Cascade Head, Bob Eder and Alex Sifford; and for Cape Perpetua, Al Pazar and Dr. Mark Hixon. The Ocean Program is working with Oregon Shores volunteers, asking as many supporters as possible to turn out for these important Marine

Reserve Community Team meetings and support the process. The next meeting of the Cascade Head community team is scheduled for May 13 in Newport (venue TBD); the Cape Falcon team meets on April 20 (again, location TBD). The Cape Perpetua team met April 12; information on the next meeting wasn’t available at press time. For more information on the community t e a m m e e t i n g s visit www.oregonocean.info. Each Community Team meeting includes an opportunity for the public to provide input. The process is a great opportunity for Oregon Shores’

volunteers from around the state to become engaged in the issue and provide a strong voice for the creation of a full set of ecologically important marine reserves. If you are interested in attending a meeting or in carpooling, contact Ocean Program Director Robin Hartmann at [email protected]. She will provide further information, answer questions and connect you with others who are traveling to the meetings.

 Community Teams Seek Common Ground on Marine Reserves

Cape Perpetua, one of the sites being considered for a marine reserve

Page 5: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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The Curry County Board of Commissioners is in the middle of considering a destination resorts ordinance and site map which could play a major role in guiding development on our southernmost coast for years to come. The next hearing on the proposed ordinance and map, which has already passed through the county’s planning commission, will take place April 29 in Gold Beach. Oregon Shores’ Land Use Program has actively engaged in the process of considering the new ordinance, offering extensive comments of our own and educating our local members and other Curry County citizens on the issues. We have pushed for stronger protection of forest, wetland and other resources lands; wide buffers between any resort development and parks, refuges or other natural areas; explicit inclusion of the mandates of statewide coastal land use goals; and full consideration of any future housing plans associated with a proposed resort, so that decisions won’t be made piecemeal.

Oregon Shores is reasonably satisfied with the proposed ordinance. It contains many provisions requiring prospective applicants to show that their resort will not harm natural resources — very important in a county as rural and unspoiled as Curry — and requires them to show a solid financial and economic analysis. The new draft will also incorporate the provisions of Senate Bill 1031, passed by the Legislature during its just-concluded special session, and signed by the governor on March 4. This new law, passed in response to concerns about resorts in eastern Oregon, requires economic impact and traffic analyses for resorts sited within 10 miles of an Urban Growth Boundary (for proposals west of the Coast Range). This provision may impact some future Curry County resort applications. The Board of Commissioners is giving landowners time to show the Planning Department that their property meets requirements of the land use goals if they wish their land to be on the map as a potential destination resort site.

CURRY COUNTY CONSIDERS DESTINATION RESORT PLAN

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FoundationsAmici-Mueller Oregon Fund of the

Oregon Community FoundationBullitt Foundation

Jubitz Family FoundationKCS-Pacific Foundation

Lamb Baldwin FoundationLazar Foundation

Oregon Parks FoundationPew Charitable TrustsSo Hum Foundation

Oswald West Society ($1,000-plus)Bandon Woodlands Community Assn.

John McDonoughJerry Jones

Cathern TuftsJohn Vitas and Pat Towle

Curtis Williams

Director’s Circle ($500-999)Daniel Anderson and Joy Strand

Dorothy and Frank AndersonAnonymous

Allison Asbjornsen and Forrest Dickerson

Brian and Gwyneth Gamble BoothChristine DeMoll and Bill JamesDorothy Diel and Myrna Sims

Arthur and Gertrude HetheringtonRobert and Carolyn Ollikainen

Steve and Georgia SchellRebecca Stayner

DonorsLisa AdamVic Affolter

Martha AndersonPhilip and Joann AnseloneElizabeth and Steve Arch

Marvin BakerChuck Beasley and Melinda O’Sullivan

Paula BechtoldAlan and Karen Beck

Charlotte BeemanDuncan and Melany BerryDave and Diane BilderbackPhil Blanton and Susan Tone

Kitty BrighamChip and Nancy Bubl

Steve BuckDavid and Annette Butler

Richard and Lois CameronNancy Carpenter

Joe Ceniceros and Charyl CatheyMaxine Centala

Bill Chadwick and Teresa AtwillLeonard and Else Cobb

Michael CoeRoz Cohen

Jane ComerfordJohanna CummingsTheodore DeWitt

Richard and Kathy D’OnofrioAnn Eaton

Paula and Bob EdwardsCarl and Millie Ehrman

Jamie Fereday and Margie Ryan

Jeanne and Mark FinkbeinerBob and Linda Fleming

Martha FraundorfBob and Liz Frenkel

Marie and Robert GarganoJerome Garger and Vicki Wootten

Jerry GibsonMathew Gieck

Edward Gingras and Jennifer IamsJim and Joan Goodison

Dale Green and Wanita MillerTom and Eileen Hallee

John Hammond and Alice SimpsonKeith and Pat Harcourt

Robin HartmannGerri and Bob Haynes

Georgia HeidRichard Heinzkill

Bonnie Henderson and Charles Zennache

Diane Henkels and Dan Van CalcarRick and Darlene HessKeri and Joe Hevner

Barbara Hilyer and John DaggettMark Hixon

Arthur and Martha HolmbergDotta JanssensRobert Jensen

Gordon Joachim and Narda TolentinoPhillip Johnson and Jane Clugston

Jill JosselynMary Kentula and Donald Armstrong

Patti KileenJohn and Ruth Kistler

A non-profit conservation group like Oregon Shores exists only through the faith expressed in our work by our members and other supporters. This comes in the form of volunteer time and energy, but also, crucially, through the financial support that sustains our necessary budget. The Oregon Shores board and staff thank all those who have helped to fund the organization. This begins with hundreds of dues-paying members. There are too many of you to thank individually in these pages, but collectively, you are the foundation of Oregon Shores. We also thank those foundations which have supported our work. See the complete list of those who have provided grants during the past year

below. Our particular thanks for recent grants from the Amici-Mueller Fund and the Jubitz, Lamb Baldwin, Lazar and So Hum foundations. And now we turn to our individual donors—those who made contributions over and above membership dues. Some gave $5, some $500 (joining our Director’s Circle), some $1,000 or more (our Oswald West Society, named for the Oregon governor who first declared that the beaches should be reserved for the public). All are greatly appreciated—your generosity is crucial if Oregon Shores is to remain on guard for the Oregon coast. Listed below are those who have contributed since November. They deserve the thanks of every coast-lover.

SUPPORTERS KEEP OREGON SHORES ON THE FRONTLINES

Page 7: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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Ran and Lainie Beal KochPaul and Janet KomarJim and Myra Lawson

Byron LippertMitzi Loftus

Porter and Corinne LombardIan and Yvonne MaitlandDiane and Jon Maloney

Michael Manzulli and Nadia Gardner

James MarshallRobert and Donna Harwood Martyn

Lloyd MaxfieldEve McConnaughey

Dick McCutchenJohn and Vernie McGowan

Nancy McKimens and Bob MurphyCraig McMicken

Carol and Joe MooreBill and Molly Morgan

Wade and Corinne NewbeginJuel Ann North

Leslie and Liam O’NeillLiz and Don Oswalt

Walter and Carol OttosonPhyllis Parker

Edgar and Phyllis PearaFrancis Quinn

Elizabeth ReadelJudson Randall

Phyllis ReynoldsErica Rubin

Charles Rule and Susan HollowayBill Russell

Wayne and Catherine SalvoMonica SchreiberMark Seligman

Tim Sercombe and Jane Van Boskirk

Patricia Sims

Jenny SmithHarriet Smith

Dave and Janet SnazukJohn Solters

Lori and David SoursSarita Southgate and Jerry

ChadwickRon Steffens and Zita Ingham

Vivi TallmanLinda Tarr and Florence Prescott

Barbara TaylorLynn Thompson

David and Eileen ThreefootCharlotte UrisCharles Vignos

Hal WeeksJean White

Louise WhiteheadNorman and Dolores Winningstad

Wayne Zurflueh

Many of our members are business owners, and many more work for coastal businesses. Until recently, though, Oregon Shores hadn’t reached out to businesses, as such, asking for their support. That has changed, as we have begun a new business membership program. We are actively seeking support from coastal businesses that recognize the connection between the coast’s environmental protection and its economic well-being, and from businesses inland whose owners and employees cherish the coast and would like to help us preserve it. We offer three levels of business membership: Business members ($100 and up); Business Mile Steward ($362—the number of miles of Oregon shoreline—and up); and Business Sponsor ($1,000) and up. We are highly appreciative of businesses that have supported us in the past. In particular, we would like to note two of our longest-running donors, Ocean Haven (a lodging on the coast between Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head) and Trillium Natural Foods in Lincoln City. And we would like to welcome our first new Business Mile Steward: Relax the Back, a store offering a wide range of products designed to ease back and neck pain, located in the Bridgeport shopping center in Tigard. For information about business memberships, contact Allison Asbjornsen, Oregon Shores’ president, at [email protected].

OREGON SHORES LAUNCHES NEW BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Help Us Keep You Informed

We lack e-mail addresses for hundreds of Oregon Shores members. We would like to be able to reach you with our periodic e-newsletters, and with occasional alerts on matters of critical concern. If you have e-mail, but aren’t on our list (or recently changed addresses without notifying us), please s e n d u s a m e s s a g e a t [email protected], so that we can do a better job of providing you with timely information.

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Oregon Shores, along with Kalmiopsis Audubon and the Curry Sportfishing Association, recently lost two cases before the Land Use Board of Appeals in our quest to stop instream gravel mining in the Rogue River estuary. This ecologically important area, already severely degraded, is now under even greater threat. The three groups had appealed Curry County’s decision agreeing with Tidewater Contractors that the existing mining site at Wedderburn on the north bank of the Rogue River was zoned as “Estuary Conservation,” which allows mining as a conditional use. LUBA upheld the County decision. This means that Tidewater can apply for permits to the county, and other required agencies, such as the Department of State Lands and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to continue and possibly expand mining at the Wedderburn site. Tidewater also applied to Curry County for permission to mine the 52-acre mill site gravel bar on the south side of the Rogue River. The county granted the permit, and LUBA upheld the County decision. This site has never been commercially mined for gravel. It is also on the Department of Environmental Quality’s Contaminated Sites Index because of toxins remaining from the old lumber mill. The mill site is also just downstream from the City of Gold Beach’s water intake. Tidewater must now pursue permits with state and federal agencies before mining at the mill site can take place. It is very difficult to protect the Rogue’s estuary from degradation using the land use laws, which are fundamentally designed for other purposes. However, other required permits will consider impacts to salmon on the federal threatened species list, as well as sedimentation problems in the estuary. The Rogue estuary is in serious trouble, being heavily clogged by a sediment plume that is due in large part to mining by Tidewater at the Wedderburn site. The condition of the estuary is critical to the future of salmon on the

Rogue. Oregon Shores and its partners in this fight will continue the battle to protect and eventually restore the lower Rogue, opposing the permits for instream gravel mining as Tidewater applies for them.

The proposal to mine chromite sands in Coos County has moved forward another notch. Oregon Resources Corporation (ORC) hopes to stripmine chromite sands just south of Charleston, in the Seven Devils area. The area where mining will take place is forest land which ORC has leased from Weyerhaeuser. Recently the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted ORC a permit for four mining sites. Each site will be up to 20 acres wide and 60 feet deep. In December, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries also issued ORC a general operating permit. ORC has begun construction and overhaul of the plant in Coos Bay that it plans to use for refining the sands. Still to be issued is a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) permit, which requires ORC to complete a stormwater management plan.

CHROMITE MINING NOW CLOSER TO REALITY

GRAVEL MINING THREATS TO ROGUE ESTUARY STILL LOOM

Page 9: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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The public’s right to use the dry sand portions of Oregon’s beaches, as promised by the state’s famous Beach Bill, could be at risk due to a case currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. The threat comes from a possible unfavorable decision in a case known as Stop the Beach Nourishment Inc. v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protections. Underscoring the potential impact in Oregon, a local anti-land use planning group, Oregonians In Action (OIA), has filed an amicus brief in the case, urging a decision that would undermine Oregon’s customary public use easement basis for public use of the dry sands. The case will likely be decided by July of this year. The details of the case before the Supreme Court don’t resemble anything happening in Oregon. In the wake of a hurricane which stripped sand from some F l o r i d a b e a c h e s , t h e government there artificially maintained the shoreline through the process known as “ b e a c h n o u r i s h m e n t , ” essentially pumping sand onto the beach. The public was given the right to use the publicly maintained shoreline. Certain landowners, wishing to keep their private control over the beach (possible in Florida, which doesn’t have our Beach Bill), despite the public effort to restore it, sued and claimed that making the beach public was a “takings” under the Fifth Amendment.

Although the Florida situation differs drastically from Oregon’s, Oregonians in Action hopes to persuade the conservative majority on the court to include language in its decision that would undermine the public right to the shoreline established here. Oregon’s Attorney General has joined those of 15 other states in another amicus brief to oppose the position taken by the Stop owners. A pro-“takings” decision by the Supreme Court in this case could affect Oregon’s shoreline and politics, and Oregon Shores’ work, for years to come. For a more detailed description of the Stop the Beach Nourishment case and its potential r a m i f i c a t i o n s , g o t o o u r w e b s i t e , www.oregonshores.org, and look for the article in the Land Use section.

SUPREME COURT CASE COULD THREATEN OREGON’S OPEN BEACHES

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We can offer all kinds of opportunities to undertake fascinating and challenging work that can make a difference in the future of the Oregon coast. If you don’t see a role below that fits you, please contact us anyway—we are developing a number of committees that need participants for many types of projects.

Treasurer: Here’s an opportunity for someone with a relevant background to step right into the heart of the action and play a central role in Oregon Shores’ success.

Finance committee member: Volunteers with bookkeeping, accounting or money management backgrounds are needed to work with the board and treasurer to supervise the organization’s financial affairs. In addition to

assisting the treasurer in assuring accuracy, the committee will make recommendations on software, methodologies and financial instruments.

CoastWatch calendar editor: Position involves regularly searching for information about events of interest to CoastWatchers (and anyone else interested in learning about the coast) throughout the coastal region. Modest computer skills are needed, but this job is more about old-fashioned reporting.

CoastWatch support group member: CoastWatchers are needed in each county to get further involved by helping the CoastWatch director to organize the program at the local level—coordinat ing events , welcoming new volunteers, assisting with publicity and the like.

No special skills needed (although for some tasks, computer skills would be helpful). Here’s a chance to work directly with people in your area who love the coast, and help to assure plenty of CoastWatch training and natural history education for your area.

Grant-writer/researcher: A volunteer with fund-raising experience is needed to join Oregon Shores’ Planning and Development Committee and assist the Executive Di rec tor wi th iden t i fy ing founda t ion p rospec t s and developing grant proposals. A great job for a would-be sleuth.

If interested in any of these positions, or in volunteering for Oregon Shores in any other way, contact Executive Director Phillip Johnson, (503) 238-4450, [email protected].

OREGON SHORES JOB LISTINGS—PLUG IN HERE

If you are an Oregon Shores member, have you renewed your membership for 2010? If you are not yet a member, would you consider joining now and helping to provide the fundamental support that enables us to stand guard for the Oregon coast? As with any good non-profit advocacy and education group, Oregon Shores rests on the foundation of its membership. We are engaged on many fronts, from land use cases to marine conservation to public education to legislation. And we envision doing far more—see our s t ra teg ic p lan on the webs i te , www.oregonshores.org.

But to continue with this record of accomplishment, and expand it, we need every member on board as a renewal in 2010, and everyone who cares about the coast on board as a member. Dues are just $25 per individual, $40 per household. Please join or renew today, using the envelope you’ll find in this edition of the newsletter, or by writing to Oregon Shores, P.O. Box 33, Seal Rock, OR 97376. For future reference, if you aren’t sure when your dues are due, check the label on your copy of the newsletter.

MEMBERSHIP IS THE CORE OF OREGON SHORES

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April 22, Corvallis and Portland, details TBA: Special screenings of the new DisneyNature film, “Oceans,” will celebrate Earth Day while helping Oregon Shores and our coalition partners in Our Ocean build support for protecting marine ecosystems. In “Oceans,” the movie’s producers literally dive deep to show spectacular, never-seen-before imagery captured by the latest underwater technologies. Disney will make a donation to coral reef protection in honor of every patron who sees the movie during its opening week. For more information, contact Oregon Shores’ Ocean Program Director, Robin Hartmann, at [email protected] or visit Oregon Shores’ website, www.oregonshores.org, where details about venues and times for the screenings will be posted as they become available.

April 26, Brookings, 1:30 p.m.: CoastWatch sponsors a slide talk by environmental educator (and CoastWatcher) Marty Giles at the Chetco Public Library, 405 Alder St. in Brookings. Giles topic will be, simply, “Sand”—where it comes from, what it is made of, how it moves around and what lives in it. Her presentation will be followed by a beachwalk. The event is free.

May 7, Charleston, 12:30-4:30 p.m.: The still-developing Coastal Master Naturalist Program offers its first, pilot training session at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, in conjunction with Oregon Shores’ Coast Conference. Marine ecologist Cynthia Trowbridge will conduct this workshop on “An Introduction to Coastal Habitats.” The event is free. For more information, including exact location at OIMB, contact Coral Gehrke, [email protected], (541) 888-2581, ext. 238.

May 7-8, Coos Bay and Charleston: The Coast Conference, Oregon Shores’ major coastwide event of the year, comes to the south coast. See front page for full details. The conference is free, aside from a special cruise of Coos Bay Saturday afternoon.

May 14, Portland, 7 p.m.: CoastWatch sponsors a talk by Julia Parrish, founder of the COASST beached bird survey and director of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, at the Ecotrust building, 721 N.W. 9th Ave. in Portland. Parrish’s subject will be “citizen science’ and how it can make major contributions to ecological science and resource protection—CoastWatch monitoring being only one example. The event is free.

June 15, Portland, 7 p.m.: Oregon Shores sponsors a talk by a leading figure in the “seaweed rebellion.” David Helvarg, founder of the Blue Frontier network, speaks on the state of ocean advocacy, the health of the ocean, and strategies for tackling coast and ocean issues that are working here and there around the country. The talk is free. Location TBA—watch our website.

June 21, coastwide: End of the spring quarter—CoastWatch mile reports due.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

Page 12: Spring 2010 Driftline Newsletter Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

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Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

PO Box 33

Seal Rock, O

97376R

Yet, if we met, on a beach, you and I,

washed down to the mouth, might still understand.

Between sun and salt, moon driven tides advance

and then recede, in the landscaper’s unrelenting dance.

We might rest a moment there. We might consider when

anything rests, without resuming, once again. We might stop

to consider what whirling circles move us all.

And then, begin, or end. I know I do not know, but I

believe today is crystalline. And after, perhaps sand.

An excerpt from the poem, Metamorphic, by Susan Lynch

STAFFPHILLIP JOHNSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND COASTWATCH

DIRECTOR [email protected]

(503) 238-4450

ROBERT HARTMANN, OCEAN PROGRAM DIRECTOR

[email protected](541) 672-3694

KEY VOLUNTEERSALLISON ASBJORNSEN, PRESIDENT

[email protected]

LLOYD MAXFIELD, [email protected]

CONTACT US