Plastic Campaign Web Mail Manager Needed! This technologically savy individual is needed to help merge all of our petition signers into a cooler email account so we can message to them and coalition groups. Please contact Charlie at cplybon@surfrider.org
Thanks to all of our volunteers for there amazing work in 2011! Here’s to another great year!
For the past 5 years, the Oregon Chapters have had the great benefit of having legal and policy support from a Legal Clerk position. This position originated in the Portland Chapter when they decided that they wanted to help support statewide efforts and better connect with emerging leaders with expertise in ocean law and policy. The previous law clerks have all come from Lewis and Clark Law School and played a very active role with the Portland Chapter, and several of them have gone on to become Chapter leaders and awesome activists in their own right. This year, we decided to hire a candidate from the University of Oregon School of Law for the first time with the desire for the position to help us engage our Eugene membership on a deeper level and better connect with the UO. Emily Johnson was the chosen candidate from a field of very highly qualified candidates. Emily originally comes from Iowa, having studied Business Management at Iowa State University with minors in Biology and Political Science. Her previous experience includes working with the Trustees for Alaska this past summer. In her spare time, Emily enjoys kayaking and SCUBA diving. Please join us in welcoming Emily to the Oregon Surfrider Team!
Last year, President Obama established the National Ocean Policy to help protect and restore our nation’s oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. The policy is already being implemented and is improving collaboration between government agencies, scientists, ocean users, and members of the public. Oregon is being viewed as an emerging leader for successful implementation of this policy with our collaborative efforts to amend our Territorial Sea Plan currently underway. Unfortunately, some Members of Congress are attempting to stop the National Ocean Policy with a backdoor attack through an FY12 Interior Appropriations bill. Halting implementation of the policy would reduce our nation’s capacity to protect and restore our ocean and coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend upon them. Please make your voice heard and ask your Senators and Representative to support the National Ocean Policy and oppose any proposal that would restrict its funding or implementation. Participate in our action alert today by clicking here.
It’s well known in the Oregon surfing community that Spencer Reynolds does some beautiful artwork. Check out Spencer’s new website here. In celebration of International Surfing Day, Spencer is generously donating 25% of online print sales from June 20-25th to the Oregon Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation. Get a few pieces to help beautify your home today, and help support the continued protection and enjoyment of Oregon’s ocean, waves and beaches at the same time. Kudos Spencer!
Oregon is as an ideal location for wave energy, and many companies have expressed interest in developing this resource for renewable commercial power. The State is now entering the second phase of a process to amend its Territorial Sea Plan for renewable energy development through a spatial planning process that will locate areas where renewable energy development may be sited within Oregon’s Territorial waters. We here at Surfrider have been working very hard to make sure that recreational areas and interests are protected in this process, you can learn more about that by clicking here. But now, we need your help! Listed below is a schedule of public meetings to help explain the process and allow the public an opportunity to provide comments or input. Don’t let ocean recreation be the red-headed step child of ocean planning, tell state agencies that recreational uses of the coast are as important in considering ocean planning as the many other uses of our ocean.
Click here for a full list and times of the meetings as well as an opportunity to submit comments online!
The Surfrider Foundation has released a new report on ocean recreation in Oregon revealing that 80% of Oregonians visited the coast last year, generating an estimated $2.4 billion in expenditures.
The study, a collaboration between the Surfrider Foundation, Ecotrust, and NaturalEquity, investigated participation in activities such as surfing, kayaking, wildlife viewing, and beach going, as well as the economic expenditures related to these uses through a survey of 4,000 Oregonians.
The study also collected spatial – or geographic – information on activity use that will be used in Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan (TSP) process to identify suitable locations for renewable energy development off Oregon’s coast. Information related to this process, including the final report from this study, is available to the public on Oregon’s ocean information website.
“The Surfrider study provides state agencies and the Ocean Policy Advisory Council with solid spatial data about a wide range of ocean recreational uses that contribute significantly to the coastal economy, and need to be considered as we create a plan for how we’ll use our ocean in the future,” said Paul Klarin, Marine Program Coordinator with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.
Links to the full study report and executive summary, click below:
Big props to our assistant environmental director Mark Rauscher whose been leading the charge with state of the beach author and coastal management coordinator Rick Wilson on our newly launched Beachapedia site. The main site is now up to almost 250 pages with definitions of coastal terms or fully developed articles on important topics, all categorized by subject matter. We’re constantly coming across little tidbits to add to articles, and I hope that you all will help us continue to grow and improve what we think is the world’s largest collection of coastal environmental information. Please take a few minutes to visit www.beachapedia.org.
We also have now integrated the entire State of the Beach Report into Beachapedia. The Report has it’s own section with specialized navigation to help you find all the info you need about your state’s coastal management program. Easily get to your state’s pages from the front of the site. Please check out the site and let us know your thoughts or register to start contributing!
In 2005, the Surfrider Foundation set an ambitious goal to attain 150 coastal victories by the end of 2010. On December 1st, we successfully achieved this milestone when the Obama administration announced that it would ban new offshore drilling in the continental United States for the next 7 years; capping a two-year effort by the Foundation to restore coastal protection lost in 2008.
The Surfrider Foundation originally set the 150-victory goal as a way to measure success on the ground. Surfrider Foundation defines a coastal victory as an official decision made in favor of the coastal and ocean environment that results in a positive conservation outcome, improves coastal access, or both.
“Achieving such a monumental goal is a true testament to our organization and the volunteers who have given up countless hours of their time to help protect our beaches and coastlines for the benefit of everyone, everywhere,” says Surfrider Foundation’s CEO Jim Moriarty.
