Coastwatch News Archive

All articles related to Coastwatch

CoastWatcher at Nedonna Beach.
July 17, 2022

Orientations Provide Introduction to CoastWatch

If you are thinking about adopting a mile of the Oregon coast through CoastWatch, or if you are a new CoastWatch volunteer or a veteran mile adopter needing a refresher course, consider joining a CoastWatch orientation. These field experiences are designed to introduce the program and sharpen observational skills. Orientation sessions will be held a number of times times this summer and fall, in...Read more
CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson.
June 18, 2022

CoastWatch Webinars Available on YouTube

CoastWatch training on rocky shore habitats.\Photo by Daniel Anderson. With the onset of pandemic restrictions, CoastWatch pivoted toward working online to maintain volunteer training and public education and to keep the mile adopter community connected. This required some re-orientation for a program that has always relied on community events and beachwalks,...Read more
Volunteers conducting sea star observations.
May 15, 2022

Citizen Scientists Help Track Sea Star Populations

Volunteers conducting sea star observations.\Photo by Fawn Custer. Sea stars are keystone species in intertidal ecosystems. Through their predation, they structure rocky shoreline habitats. Monitoring the status of sea star populations is therefore important in understanding the health of intertidal communities—and all the more essential in the wake of the “sea...Read more
May 10, 2022

CoastWatchers Aid in Beachgrass Search

Comparison of beachgrass species including new hybrid. The search continues for the new hybrid beachgrass that may be spreading on the Oregon coast. CoastWatch volunteers are helping researchers at Oregon State University map the range of the new hybrid, the offspring of two invasive beachgrass species. To sharpen the observational skills of volunteers, two in-...Read more
Photo of Western Snowy Plover with chick by Mick Thompson.
March 15, 2022

CoastWatchers Monitor Snowy Plover Nesting Sites

Sign marks snowy plover protected area.\Photo courtesy of OPRD. Nesting season has begun for the threatened Western Snowy Plover, the only resident shorebird that nests on the Oregon coast. Signs are going up, warning beachgoers about the presence of plovers. CoastWatchers can help by carefully observing restrictions on beach use to protect the nesting birds,...Read more
Beached bird training. Photo courtesy of COASST.
March 5, 2022

Citizen Science Projects Need Volunteers

Beached bird training. Photo courtesy of COASST. CoastWatch has long helped volunteers connect with citizen science projects, such as the beached bird survey in which many mile adopters participate. We continue to expand the range of these projects as the field grows, working with scientists and other conservation groups who lead many interesting citizen...Read more
February 28, 2022

CoastWatch Joins Hunt for Hybrid Beachgrass

Rebecca Mostow in the field. Much of the terrain of the Oregon's sandy shoreline we see today has been shaped by two dominant, invasive beachgrass species. They build the tall, stable dunes that parallel sandy beaches, providing some protection for infrastructure but causing the decline of native animal and plant species. A team from Oregon State University...Read more
January 4, 2022

King Tides Project Rose Again

King tide assaults the Hwy 101 seawall at Waldport.\Photo by Roy Lowe. The King Tides Project has now completed its 12th year. This citizen science effort, organized by CoastWatch and the Oregon Coastal Management Program, engaged exactly 100 volunteer photographers during the 2021-2022 season, who contributed 247 photos. That is the largest number of...Read more
Mile 147.\Photo by Lyndell Wilken.
January 2, 2022

Mile-by-Mile Competition Concludes

Mile 147.\Photo by Lyndell Wilken. By way of honoring our 50 th anniversary and laying the groundwork for the next 50 years, we launched a special fund-raising campaign, pegged to our signature CoastWatch program. We have a special place on our website devoted to this campaign: ...Read more
December 31, 2021

Rocky Habitat Proposals Under Review

The view from Blacklock Point.\Photo by Alex Derr. The state of Oregon is developing a new Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, the first revision of Oregon’s policy for protecting rocky intertidal and nearshore subtidal ecosystems since 1994. Oregon Shores has been actively engaged in this slow-moving process for more than three years. The basic framework of the...Read more