Please come out for a Surf Art Show from 7-10pm on June 2 at the Lizard Lounge (1323 NW Irving Street) as part of First Thursday in Portland’s Pearl District! The event is a benefit for the Portland Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and will feature beer and live music. Local and regional surf and ocean-themed artwork will be shown and for sale. 50% of proceeds from the night will support Surfrider Portland and our many campaigns like Ban the Bag, Snowrider, Storm Drain Marking and more. Artwork presented at show by: Todd Fischer (pictured below), Michael Lorenzini, John Holm , Justin “Scrappers” Morrison, Katie Preston, and others!

From Staj Pace, Porltand Chapter Chair, sailing across the south pacific gyre:

Upon entering the Pink Coconut, a swanky, ocean front, restaurant at
the end of the dock in Marina Taina, Tahiti, several hundred yards
from where Sea Dragon is anchored, one might think they stepped into
an Apple Mac Computer commercial being filmed. But this is not a
commercial, this real life for most these folks. That’s right. The Sea
Dragon crew is made up of people that I think is safe to say, most
others are jealous of. Sitting among palm trees, piña coladas and a
million dollar view of Moorea Island in the  middle of the South
Pacific 9 individuals, including Professional surfers, photographers,
divers, journalists, videographers and travel writers, type away at
their shiny silver laptops reporting back to their respective sponsors
before we set sail for the Cook Islands.

The select crew, while chosen for our varied expertise, all have one
thing in common: an affinity for the preservation and conservation of
the worlds ocean. Our job on this journey in addition to actually
working on the boat as crew is also to help promote the work of
5Gyres, raise awareness and educate others on the exponentially
increasing amount of plastics accumulating in the world oceans and the
ramifications of marine species consuming plastics accidentally and as
food.

Tomorrow we plan to leave Tahiti aboard Sea Dragon, a 72 foot sailboat
with a crew of 14 people total. Like most islands however, time moves
slowly here and the only two motors for the boat have not yet returned
from the mechanic, which was suppossed to happen several days ago.
Fingers crossed, they’ll show up midday tomorrow and we’ll set sail!

Along the five day  journey we plan to sail, snorkel, and swim in some
of the deepest waters in the world. In addition to having a kick ass
time, we also be trawling for plastic marine debris, taking fish
samples and cutting the open to see if plastic ingestion is taking
place, and removing the  livers and tissue samples to send to a lab in
Sweden called MTM Reasearch Institute to measure the levels of
persistent organic pollutants accumulating in the species.

We will be taking many photos and notes along the way, so stay tuned
for more updates when we arrive in the Lower Cook Islands!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Earth Day Work Party at Oaks Crossing Natural Area on April 23! In partnership with the Portland Parks & Recreation and the Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School we removed huge amounts of trash and invasive plants. Stay tuned for more events this spring and summer!

Secretarial duties for surfrider

Ever wish you could find everything snow and surf related all in one place instead of going to 10 different websites? Well now you can with NW Surf and Snow! Not only is it all one beautifully laid out website, it’s also tailored to our Pacific Northwest region and it’s 100% local with writers, photographers, businesses and more all from our area.

They ride where you ride!

From amazing stories and epic Oregon coast surf photos to local conditions to upcoming events, NW Surf and Snow is covering it all. Check them out, spread the love and let them know what you think. Also, If you interested in writing, taking photos, or including your organization or business on NW Surf and Snow like Surfrider Oregon has then contact Jens today at jensodegaard@nwsurfandsnow.com. Go ride!

As you may have seen on the front page of the Oregonian, BAN the BAG is gaining momentum, yet again, and going statewide!

On Dec. 15th, several Surfrider Oregon Chapter activists headed to Salem to represent the incredible, grassroots work we have done to gain support and raise awareness on the environmental and economic costs associated with Single-Use Plastic Bags.

Portland Chapter Chair, Nastassja “Staj” Pace, testified on behalf of Surfrider to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee asking for support on a  comprehensive, statewide policy banning single-use plastic bags and instating a small disincentive on paper bags. “We believe [this policy] will be the most effective way to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste in our oceans and encourage consumers to shift towards reusables,” Pace stated.

Support for such a policy was not only heard from other environmental groups including Audubon Society, Willamette Riverkeepers and Environment Oregon, but also from the Northwest Grocery Association, Fred Meyer Stores, International Paper, and Far West Fibers.

Jeff Murray, Vice President of Far West Fibers – Material Recover Facility, expressed his support for a ban and reported, “plastic bags and film pose the single biggest challenge for properly resorting recyclables,” and added that 25 to 30 percent of total labor costs are spent on shutting machines down and physically cutting jammed plastic film out of the machinery “during every single break.”

Plastic bags are not recyclable curbside in the State of Oregon.

Bill Gardner, General Manager of Kraft Bag/International Paper, said “paper recycling is an environmental and economic success,” adding that 66 percent of all paper packaging is being recycled with plastic being 5 times less.

Paper bags are made in Oregon. The Kraft bag manufacturing plant in Beaverton employs nearly 1,000 Oregonians. No plastic bags are made within the state

As support form these key players grows and consumers’ habits shift towards using re-usable bags, we still need your help to make this ban a success!

Things you can do:

Check out media coverage on the Oregonian & Oregon Capital News.  Make comments and share on Facebook.

Sign the petition.

Write your representative and express why banning plastic bags is important to you. Don’t know who they are. Click here.

Join Surfrider Foundation, find a chapter near you, or get involved with the Portland Chapter! And maybe you could be the next activist testifying to your Senate. If public speaking isn’t your thing, you could educate others by tabling at a music concert at the Crystal Ballroom, during First Thursday Art in Pearl or even at your school. If you are at all interested and want to get involved or just learn more contact the Portland Chair: staj.pace@oregonsurfrider.org.

Come catch up and write your legislators a letter expressing your support in passing the upcoming Bill to BAN Plastic BAGS Statewide. 6pm – Tuesday Nov 16th – EastBurn, 1800 E Burnside, Portland Or.

We’ll bring the letter writing supplies and even buy the first round, so you just need to show up! See ya there!

Click here for directions

On Saturday, November 6, Portland Chapter participated in a successful restoration and cleanup event on Ross Island. In partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation and Willamette Riverkeeper, we helped plant 350 dogwoods as part of the first native planting since the land was donated to the City of Portland. We also had the opportunity to canoe back and forth from the site from the Portland Boathouse (an added bonus)! Thanks to Jocelyn, Staj, Tristan, Kevin, Rick, Pete, and everyone else who participated! Stay tuned for more events like this in the future!

Due to a slight mix up we will be meeting at Kells Irish Pub & Restaurant at 112 Southwest 2nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97204. See you there at 7:30pm tonight!

Bring something to paddle if possible – limited no. of kayaks/canoes so please try to bring your own/borrow. 

Place: Rivers East Center at the foot of SE Clay.

Date/Time: Sat. Nov. 6, 8am-noon.  The lot is open to the public after hours and on weekends, so ignore the no parking signs.  We’ll be meeting at the back corner of the lot, under the I-5 ramp down from the Marquam Bridge.  Just look for our big purple van and canoe trailer. Contact Jocelyn Gary for details and more information to volunteer.