Have you ever found yourself on a remote beach or in a secluded cove and wondered why there always seems to be so much trash on the beach? Most of it usually floats in during winter storms, brought by ocean currents that have been carrying this trash throughout the ocean. Unfortunately, 80% of the trash that is found in the ocean gets there from land-based sources. Most Surfrider members make everyday beach cleanup day by picking up the un-sightly trash that they find on their beach, and many chapters and members also participate in the annual SOLV beach cleanups in the Fall and Spring. This year will mark the 25th anniversary that SOLV has been doing beach cleanups in Oregon, please mark your calendar and plan to participate in the annual Fall cleanup on September 19th at all Oregon beaches. Chapters and Organizing committees will be captaining sites all along the coast, and your help is needed! To learn more, and to fill out an on-line volunteer waiver click here. To find out more facts about the impacts of plastics on the marine environment, and how you can be part of the solution, rather than the pollution, visit www.riseaboveplastics.org

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners and County Counsel, in conjunction with Oregon State Extension Sea Grant Program and the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, are holding Community Forums on Wave Energy in the communities of Yachats, Lincoln City, and Newport. The goal of the Community Forums is to inform, listen to and engage citizens in Lincoln County in the planning and development of wave energy generation.

• Monday, August 24th at 6:00 pm in Room 8, Yachats Commons, 441 Hwy 101 N., Yachats

• Tuesday, August 25th at 6:00 pm in the Lincoln City Council Chambers, City Hall, 801 SW Hwy 101, Lincoln City

• Wednesday, August 26th at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 Marine Science Drive, South Beach

  
  

  For more information, and to view the agenda, click here

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5998970&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

The Blue Vision Summit from David McGuire on Vimeo.

Great work and good minds by all our chapter members and Oregon’s very own Pete Stauffer who participated in this amazing summit!

The State of Oregon has been engaged in a process to consider marine reserves along its coast for the past few years. With a recommendation from the state’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC), and passage of legislation implementing that recommendation, the process is entering the next phase. Two pilot marine reserve sites will be implemented soon, and four other sites will undergo further work to consider, develop, or refine site proposals, and will be further evaluated as sites for possible future marine reserves. ODFW is in the process of developing a work plan that will guide the state’s marine reserves work during the 2009-2011 biennium. The plan encompasses both the two pilot and the four evaluation sites, and covers biological, habitat, socioeconomic, and community outreach work. The plan seeks to achieve the goals and objectives set forth by OPAC, the governor’s office, the legislature, and others within the state. The purpose of this workshop is to receive input from coastal community members, the fishing industry, ocean users, local elected officials, and the general public to help shape the work plan. Once this work plan is complete, further workshops and meetings will be held over the coming months with local community groups to guide work plan implementation. The workshop will be held on Thursday August 6, 2009 6:00-8:00 pm at the Best Western Agate Beach Inn 3019 North Coast Highway, Newport. For more information about the workshop, click here. To view the DRAFT workplan, click on the link below.
ODFW MR WORKPLAN DRAFT.pdf