The Oregon Chapter

Surfrider Foundation Newsletter

Dear Keepers of the Coast,

• April 21 – Earth Day Clean-up!!! We will be doing our first clean up on our stretch of highway we adopted through the Adopt-A-Highway program. Oregon Surfrider Foundation is teaming up with the Coastal Hang Glider Pilots to adopt-a-highway. We applied to adopt a 2-mile stretch of coast highway 101 just north of Newport. This stretch includes one of our great open beach surf spots, Mooloch Beach. We will be meeting at Mooloch Beach at 12 noon. This is a great way to actively demonstrate our concern for our environment, help keep our beaches and oceans clean, and raise public awareness for our organization. Please remember to bring sturdy shoes, gloves, a long sleeve shirt, and please dress appropriately!

• April 28 & 29 – 2001 Pacific Northwest Chapter Activists Training Conference in Westport, WA at the Chateau Westport, located at 710 West Hancock. April 28: 10:30AM to 3PM, April 29: 10AM to 12PM Everyone is welcome; there is no cost for the conference, however you must pay for your own lodging! If you would like to stay at the Chateau Westport, you can make reservations by calling (800) 255-9101 or (360) 268-9101.

• August 4 & 5 – 2001 Annual Cape Kiwanda Longboard Contest, Pacific City, OR (more to come…)

• August 11 & 12 – Seaside Volleyball Tournament, Seaside, OR (more to come…)

Good news! The US Postal Service has considered creating a postage stamp in honor of the father of modern surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, but they need a little coaxing. Please send a letter, card, etc of support to:

Polluted runoff is all of the contaminated water that flows off of the land - farms, yards, roads, and developed areas - within the watershed. For our U.S. coastal waters, polluted runoff has become the number #1 water pollution problem. Many beaches, such as those in Southern California, have coastal waters unsafe for human contact after EVERY runoff-generating rain. To solve the problem of polluted runoff, we need to change many of our individual and societal lifestyle habits.

Though we have it really good in Oregon compared to the rest of coastal America, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about the public's rights to access and recreate along the Oregon coast. Many people believe the public owns the beach and should have free and open access to it from any point. It may be good, relatively speaking, but its not that good.

There are two major pieces of public policy that provide and protect the publics' public access rights; the famous Oregon Beach Bill of 1967 and the State Planning Goal 17 for Shorelands. First, the Beach Bill established a permanent public easement for access and recreation along the ocean shore seaward of the existing line of vegetation, regardless of ownership. Earlier legislation had established the wet sand portion as state property and a recreational area. (Oregon Revised Statutes 390.605-755) The Beach Bill also set forth a policy, under what is now the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (ORPD), to provide public access to the beach at routine intervals.

The second pillar of public access is the requirement in Statewide Planning Goal for Shorelands that cities and counties, in coordination with OPRD, have plans to provide public access. The goal also requires that local governments protect those access sites and replace them if they are lost for any reason.

What this means to beach users is that we have open access along the sandy beach area and at regulated sites leading to the ocean shore. It does not mean that the public has a right to access the beach from anywhere or that private property can't block access along the ocean shore. Still, as anyone who has traveled elsewhere knows we have it pretty good and shouldn't abuse the privilege. Use the designated access sites, don't trample on someone's private property, and be respectful of the public's resource. If we abuse the privilege, we may lose it, as happened to the camping and vehicle users along the Clatsop plains last year. J

Oregon’s coast is one of the most scenic and wild in the country. There are few other places in the United States where one can camp on the beach, have a campfire, and not see a light on the coast for miles in either direction, all without having to pay a fee. The sense of peace and solitude that comes from these experiences is not without regulation.

Oregon's Administrative Rules implementing the 1967 Beach Bill contain rules specific to the ocean shore, which includes ocean beaches and shorelines from the extreme low water line up to the statutory vegetation line (surveyed in 1969), or the line of established upland vegetation, whichever is higher. The ocean shore does not include inland estuaries, bays or streams, only the ocean beaches and shorelines.

Camping on the beach is addressed in several different rules, each of which addresses specific areas of the ocean shore. "Camping" as used in the rule, includes, but is not limited to, erecting a tent or temporary shelter or arranging bedding, or both, or parking a recreation vehicle or other vehicle in such a manner as will permit remaining overnight, or for other extended periods.

Here is a summary of the three rules relating to camping on the ocean shore:

• OAR 736-010-0050: Camping prohibited on ocean shore abutting state park areas.
• OAR 736-030-0020: Camping on the ocean shore prohibited within the city limits of Cannon Beach, Lincoln City, Seaside, Newport, Bandon, Gold Beach, Rockaway Beach, and Manzanita.
• OAR 736-030-0095: Camping on the ocean shore prohibited between the Necanicum River and the Columbia River South Jetty.

These regulations explain where we can camp on the beach. To insure that this right remains, it is important as members of the public to consider two unwritten issues – safety and stewardship. Remember that although this right to camp has been granted, it can be further limited or even taken away if our actions draw unnecessary attention to the issue.

From a safety point of view, there are a few things to remember. First, know the tides, it is not fun to wake up in the middle of the night with waves lapping at your feet. Second, don’t camp under a sea cliff, these bluffs erode at odd times, and no one wants to be crushed under a boulder or landslide. Third, stay away from drift logs, they float and can move quite rapidly if caught in the waves. A general rule of thumb to maximize your peaceful sleep is to make sure that you pick a wide area of dry sand above the high tide line on a relatively gentle slope away from others.

Stewardship is something that society needs to embrace. As Surfrider Foundation members, we need to be the role model for others to follow. Respect the locals. Pick a camping spot away from residences and other campers. Your fun should not intrude on others especially the locals. In general, wilderness rules apply. Use available restroom facilities. If none are available then follow the most important rule. Pack it in, pack it out! Don’t leave trash, even in a campfire ring. Trash includes bottle caps, toilet paper, and cigarette butts. If you see trash left by others, be a steward and pick it up, leave the area cleaner than you found it. If driving is permitted on the beach, then follow posted speed limits, signs, and closures. These closures are usually for safety and often for habitat protection. Remember that we are not the only users of the ocean shore.

Follow these few unwritten safety and stewardship rules and you will be rewarded for the wave gods smile on such actions. Respect and enjoy the Oregon coastline, remembering that irresponsible camping is likely to result in more prohibitions and more rules to follow. J

Thanks to everyone who submitted an article/update/event: Paul Klarin, Dave Revell, Christine Hanna, Ralph Meier, Tina Torri, Greg Krutzikowsky, Billy Hagerman, Kimmie Gilbert. Thanks to everyone who came to the recent Portland update meetings and to those of you who have already volunteered for some of the upcoming events!

Kimmie Gilbert – Cheerleader, Portland member coordinator.
Chris Speakman – Official OR. Surfrider photographer
Andrew Rodman – Ancient forest preservation, alternative media
John Morris – Board member
John Marra – Board member
Paul Klarin – Board member
Steve Shipsey – Board member
Steve Williams – Board member
Greg Chilina – Board member

Mailing Address
Oregon Chapter, Surfrider Foundation
PO Box 40861
Eugene, OR 97404