Mile 261 Report
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
April 20, 2021
Report Details
Conditions
Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW. Tide Level: 1.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 146. Number of dogs: 18. Walking or running: 75. Playing in surf: 6. Playing in sand: 12. Sitting: 24. Photography: 3. Tidepooling: 20. Surfing: 2. Kayaking: 2. Other Activities: Tenting?, harvesting muscles:2, parasailing on dune:2, bike riding, (e-bikes):2. It was Monday, so not as busy as the weekend. People mostly spaced apart, one dory was leaving the beach when we arrived. The sand is soft and deep to access the paved ramp. Many spectators watching. People mostly in small groups, no large gatherings. 10 people beyond the newly fenced area on the cape
Concerns
Climbing bluffs/seastacks, Shellfish or invertebrate collection
Apparent violations: Harvesting muscles is illegal in this area, the pair had about a five gallons of muscles in a cooler. I informed them it was not allowed, they stopped and left.Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
1 bald eagle flying and circling over the condo units. Small black birds, about 50 in water off the west end of the cape. Appear to be scoters, pigeon guillemots and double crested cormorants. Sea stars appear to be healthy, no wasting seen. Sand is covering some of the recently exposed areas of rocks covering anenomies, muscles and barnacles. Very few seagulls seen
Driftline Content
Wood pieces, Land-based debris (picnics, etc.). Flowers in arrangements and wreaths near sand mounds surrounded by moats. Multiple pits dug in sand along the high tide area. Human activity. A recent beach clean up by The Dorymans Association has made an improvement in the amount debris along this area.
New Development
Bluff development. New fencing along bluffs in addition to new signage warning about dangerous cliffs. The path up sand dune has been widened, assume this was from heavy equipment driving up to the top to deliver materials for fencing. Paths along dune at cape show heavy usage. A few dead trees still standing, with one laying down the face of the dune and a 2’ diameter by 8’ portion of a tree half way down the dune. Large driftwood trees over the winter have been cut up, pieces laying on the sand. Evidence of beach fires. Vehicle access to the shore is restricted to boat launching. One vehicle pulling a dory observed, other cars on beach may have launched kayaks but no trailers were evident on 2 of the 3 remaining parked.
Man-made Modifications
Dune modification/removal. Trail widened up sand dune, new fencing on cape
Natural Changes
Landslides/major boulder falls, Visible retreat of solid bluff. The cape sandstone continues to erode. New large boulders near the east end on the cape are evident, leaving an area with a significant undercut overhead. Concern is this area is frequented by picnickers and day users because it is protected by the wind. A potential collapse in this area could be dangerous. Increased erosion on the end of the cape, in the bowl area shows exposed rock where sand was recently covering this area. People frequently cross over the fenced areas as evidenced by trails and visual observations of people in the closed areas.
Report Images
All Mile 261 Reports
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
Wow what a change from last month! State Parking lot is closed for a couple of months while construction on the new parking lot and restroom continues. The tree ( object I show as a measure of sand deposition ) is really getting uncovered! Survey also for COASST, no beached birds or mammals found. The beach access point at the north end of Bob Straub State Park is still unusable for vehicles, due to a massive erosion event and 5 foot sharp edges to the beach.
Eric Matthews
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
A lot of winter damage to the foredunes noted. Construction workers working on the new boat ramp and replacing and relocating some drainage pipes. Photos showing bulldozer shift sand by residence. 1 dory and 3 fishermen getting picked up
Eric Matthews
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
Weather: Cloudy and Wintery, High tide today 3.
MatthewsE
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
Drift- Wrack and Surf Zones seem to differ along the beach.
MatthewsE
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
Nice smooth beach Foredunes are nice and smooth, no sharp edges.
MatthewsE
Mile 261
Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda
Beach is very smooth, no berms built up.
MatthewsE