OPENING FOR A VOLUNTEER WITH AN RV OR CAMPING TRAILER

Do you love the Oregon coast, enjoy watching wildlife, and have an RV or camping trailer? Come and spend three months in Bandon OR, as a SEA volunteer!

SEA is recruiting a volunteer wildlife interpreter to work at one of our beautiful coastal overlooks in Bandon. This position runs from May 1 through July 31, 2023.

Offshore islands and rocks at Face Rock Wayside and Coquille Point, provide nesting habitat for thousands of seabirds. The volunteer will work a 4-hour shift (10am-2pm), three days a week at Face Rock Wayside or Coquille Point, doing interpretive work with the public.

SEA will provide training and equipment for viewing tufted puffins, peregrine falcons, common murres, western gulls, and many other marine birds. The volunteer will share information about this unique coastal habitat and use spotting scopes to assist visitors with viewing wildlife.

The volunteer will also work a shift on two other days a week for OR State Parks, helping to monitor a snowy plover nesting area at nearby China Creek State Park. Your primary duty will be to provide interpretation regarding snowy plovers, their habitat, and conservation efforts in protecting their nesting areas.

You will be expected to inform visitors of the rules regarding the restricted nesting grounds on adjacent beach and surf areas. While on duty, you will be required to keep records of visitor contacts as well as any rule infractions you may witness. Bullards Beach State Park (located near Bandon) will provide a free RV campsite for the duration of the 3-month period and provide a state vehicle to get back and forth to China Creek State Park. The Oregon State Park system requires a DMV license and criminal background check for its volunteers.

For more information or to apply for this volunteer opportunity, please contact Laurie Friedman (SEA Volunteer Coordinator) at tokku129@gmail.com.

Rocky Habitat Management News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 8, 2022

Territorial Sea Plan Part Three – Rocky Habitat Management Strategy Adopted

SALEM – On March 31, 2022, the Land Conservation and Development Commission unanimously adopted Part Three of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan (TSP), the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy.  The decision completed a multiple-year effort led by the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) to revise the Strategy. The revision of Part Three of the TSP included extensive input from agencies, organizations, governments, and those with general interest in Oregon’s rocky coast.  This is the first significant update to the Strategy since it was originally adopted in 1994 and completes a comprehensive rewrite of the whole chapter. 

The amended Strategy is now consistent with the existing policies of the Oregon Nearshore Strategy, the Climate Change Adaptation Framework, and recommendations from the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Coordinating Council. Notable revisions include the designation of two new management areas at Coquille Point (Marine Education Area/Garden) and Cape Blanco (Marine Research Area). Part Three also includes a new process that provides the public with the opportunity to submit proposals for additions, removals, and changes to rocky habitat site management designations on Oregon’s (See Section E for details).    

In recognition of this achievement, the Department of Land Conservation and Development and Oregon’s Coastal Management Program would like to thank all those who participated in the revision process, including: the members of OPAC and its Rocky Habitat Working Group, agency staff, local governments, tribal governments, conservation organizations, members of the public who took part in the proposal process, and anyone else who contributed their ideas, perspectives, and time to the effort. The consensus recommendations that advanced this amendment reflect the hard work that was accomplished and the values that Oregon will use in future management of our Rocky Shores.   

View the Part Three Rocky Habitat Management Strategy – https://www.oregonocean.info

Access the Rocky Habitat Web Mapping Tool here – http://Oregon.SeaSketch.org

Sign up for more updates on ocean planning and policy – https://bit.ly/3gCf57y

What is the Oregon Coastal Management Program?

The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) is a federal-state partnership program authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA).  OCMP is housed within the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD).  We work in partnership with coastal local and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure that Oregon’s coastal and ocean resources are managed, conserved, and developed consistent with Oregon’s Statewide Land Use Planning Goals.

The OCMP has been charged by the Legislature with managing ocean resources for the existing and future benefits that they hold. This is codified under Oregon’s Land Use Planning Goal 19: The Ocean Resources Goal – which states all agency actions within Oregon must “conserve marine resources and ecological function for the purpose of providing long-term ecological, economic, and social value and benefits to future generations.”

The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) administers the program. A seven-member volunteer citizen board known as the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) guides DLCD.  

Under the program, all cities and counties have adopted comprehensive plans that meet mandatory state standards. The standards are 19 Statewide Land Use Planning Goals that deal with land use, development, housing, transportation, and conservation of natural resources. Periodic review of plans and technical assistance in the form of grants to local jurisdictions are key elements of the program. Find more information at www.oregon.gov/lcd/Pages/index.aspx.

CONTACT: Sadie Carney (503) 934-0036, Sadie.carney@dlcd.oregon.gov

                   Andy Lanier (503) 206-2291, Andy.lanier@dlcd.oregon.gov

The Oregon Coast Rocks!

The Oregon Coast Rocks! 

Here’s proof: last week the state Land Conservation and Development Commission approved two designations – Coquille Point Marine Garden near Bandon, and Cape Blanco Marine Research Area near Port Orford – to better manage Oregon’s rocky habitat and involve local communities while seeking to honor Tribal sovereignty. The Commission also approved the broader Rocky Habitat Management Strategy which includes critical policies to protect kelp forests and seagrass meadows which support an abundance of marine species. https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2022-04-04/environment/new-protections-designated-for-fragile-or-shoreline-sites/a78529-1 #oregoncoast #thepeoplescoast