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!

It’s the 3rd annual Otter Rock n Roll Beach Cleanup Challenge and Youth Surf Contest! Registration is now open for this fantastic opportunity, the only such event exclusive to youth 18 and under and their families on the Oregon coast. Each yer the Oregon chapters of Surfrider Foundation put on this event to help inspire and get kids more involved in protecting and enjoying the oceans, waves and beaches in celebration of International Surf Day. Register now and learn more at www.otterrockandroll.com.

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!

Beverly Beach captain Peter Snell calculating waste from last year's cleanup

When: Saturday, March 26th – 10:00am-1:00pm

Where: All of Oregon beaches!

It’s time, the annual SOLV spring beach cleanups are here and once again our chapters and volunteers are jumping into full gear to help clean up Oregon Beaches. Participants are encouraged, although not required, to pre-register to save time at the beach and checking in. We hope to see you there!

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:

Final Executive Summary

Oregon Non-consumptive Full Study

The Oregon Chapters of Surfrider Foundation have been involved with wave energy development and the territorial sea planning process for over 5 years now. While the process and terminology can often sound a bit “policy wonky”, here we make an attempt to review in simple terms how this process came about, why we got involved and a bit more on our engagement through the years.

The fact is, the Territorial Sea planning process, as complicated as it actually can be, is pretty simple in its goals. To put it shortly, it’s a planning process for the ocean’s nearshore (0-3 miles) for potential development projects. This process was prompted by the fast and growing interest of wave energy companies proposing development projects along our coastline (2007-2008) and was initiated through an agreement between the state of Oregon and the federal government. In response to that interest, Surfrider began reaching out to our Oregon members and chapters to gauge their interest (perspective?) in wave and ocean energy projects. After about 6 months of outreach and discussion we drafted an Oregon statement from our members on wave energy, which eventually led to our entire organization and board of directors developing an organizational policy on ocean renewable energy:

Surfrider Foundation Environmental Policy on Ocean Renewable Energy

Interest grew amongst various stakeholders over the past few years prompting mapping efforts of existing ocean uses like boating, fishing, surfing, etc. In an effort to help identify and protect important recreational areas, we initiated a study in order to demonstrate spatially credible data on: what activities people participate in; where these activities occur; and the relative intensity of these activities in each area. Surfrider partnered with state agencies to conduct this study and you can learn more about the study and it’s findings here:

Surfrider non-consumptive recreational ocean use study.

Along the way Surfrider has secured a seat on the Territorial Sea Plan Advisory Committee for non-consumptive ocean recreational uses. Our goal in the process is to secure spatial protections for priority ecological and recreational areas in Oregon’s Territorial Sea (0-3miles) through the State’s comprehensive planning process. Follow the below link to read our campaign one pager:

Oregon Territorial Sea 1 pager

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.

Oregon’s only dedicated funding source for beaches, rivers, streams, parks and wildlife habitat was set to expire in 2014. But this election day, voters overwhelmingly passed ballot measure 76 dedicating 15% of Oregon Lottery proceeds to our parks and fish and wildlife habitats. For the year 2011, this means something like 87 million dollars. Oregon beaches are unique coastal environments with ecological, recreational, and economic value. Our coast is a public resource, and in Oregon, it all belongs to all of us. All 362 miles of our Oregon beaches are maintained and protected by the Oregon Parks System. Responsible coastal management requires sustainable, long term planning and preservation of beach environments including public access to them. This is why the Oregon Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation enthusiastically supported to turning out the vote for a yes on Measure 76. And tonight, with all of your support and those of many other organizations and coalition members, we directly supported the beaches where we surf, fly a kite or simply spend time with our families. Our beaches depend not only on preserving our coasts, but on the quality of the water that feeds into our ocean. Oregon’s beaches, marshes, estuaries and the ocean depend on clean water.  Measure 76 continues crucial funding to ensure continued and expanded coastal access & recreational enjoyment of some of Oregon’s most special places, for today and beyond. This funding also helps to restore our watersheds, protecting and improving water quality, says Gus Gates, Oregon Policy Coordinator for Surfrider Foundation. Thank you Oregon activists and voters, says blogger Charlie!