Category Archives: News Release2

2022 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Posted on by

March 14-16, 2022 in Sunriver, Oregon

REGISTER HERE.

Travel Oregon will welcome the travel and tourism industry to Sunriver Resort across multiple days in March.  Focused on “Future Forward” content, keynote speakers and workshop session topics will include destination management, branding, climate change, and equity and inclusion amongst others.  We understand networking and connection time has been missed so more informal time has been built into the conference schedule.  Travel Oregon will also unveil its transformational strategic plan to the industry.

A robust agenda and full schedule of events will be released as it becomes available.

  • Register here to secure your spot.  The conference is expected to sell out with roughly 250 in attendance.  Health and safety information can be found on the conference website and is subject to change.
  • Lodging information can be found here.
  • Scholarship information can be found here.
  • Sponsorships and exhibitor booths are still available.  Please review our guide here and email events@traveloregon.com with interest.
2022 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Tourism Grant Opportunities

Posted on by

US Department of Commerce… Through the Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program, EDA is focused on accelerating the recovery of communities that rely on the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. $750 million of EDA’s American Rescue Plan funds are allocated to support the following efforts:

  • State Tourism Grants: $510 million in non-competitive awards to help states quickly invest in marketing, infrastructure, workforce and other projects to rejuvenate safe leisure, business and international travel.
  • Competitive Grants: $240 million to help communities that have been hardest hit by challenges facing the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors to invest in infrastructure, workforce or other projects to support the recovery of the industry and economic resilience of the community in the future.

See https://eda.gov/arpa/travel-tourism/ for details.

Bandon Geology

Posted on by

You probably know that the bedrock along the entire coast of California and southern Oregon is comprised of a chaotic mix of rock types, generally referred to in the literature as Franciscan mélange.

Pillow Basalts

Pillow basalts are among the most common rocks of these types. They are shaped like a pillow with glassy margins and interstitial calcareous mud. They formed under water, in this case the Mesozoic ocean floor, prior to subduction.

In addition to these rocks, there are so-called exotic blocks within the mélange. Their origin is much more problematic because they have been thoroughly metamorphosed at great depth during the subduction process. They have since been uplifted and are now found in various localities including the Bandon area.

Minerals

The minerals in these blocks, some as large as houses, are hard and dense, imparting great resistance to erosion. They form some of the best sea stacks along the coast.

The second image here is a close-up of some of these minerals. The blue mineral is glaucophane; the spherical red mineral is garnet; and, the green mineral is pyroxene that is rich in jadeite.

People occasionally find gem quality jadeite along the beaches there. All of these minerals are strictly metamorphic, having formed at depths on the order of 20 km and temperatures on the order of 500 degrees Celsius!

(Thanks to Dr. Jim Stout for his insights into local geology!)

You can enhance your next visit to the coast by hiring a professional guide to reveal some stories of the fascinating coastal rock formations! One such company is Wavecrest Tours in Coos Bay