In 2012, Dave Lacy founded South Coast Tours, a business that provides a variety of guided tours in several areas along the south coast. SCT offers several types of guided experiences including kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, kayak fishing, and van tours. Along with his team of five other guides, Dave works hard to ensure the safety of his clients and to make sure they walk away smiling, having had a wonderful time on the tour.

When asked why people should choose to take guided tours instead of venturing off into the ocean alone, Dave referenced our specific tour saying, “There’s a lot to learn from somebody who has done it before, so you can show them some of those sea caves you might not notice, or the arch. If you didn’t know the arch was there, you might miss it. There’s that inside knowledge, plus [weather and ocean] conditions.” When asked about the highlight of his job, Dave added, “The best part is hearing you guys laugh and just the stoke you hear out there.”

To experience what it was like to take a guided kayak tour, Dave kindly invited me and my two coworkers to accompany him with three other clients on his Port Orford Ocean Wildlife Viewing Kayak Tour. As part of tour, Dave provided wetsuits, booties, and kayaks to each client. He discussed water safety and explained the basics of kayaking before we launched from the beaches of Port Orford. We paddled through Graveyard Point, Tichenor Cove, Nellies Cove, and through Hell’s Gate and back to the port.

Along the way, Dave was able to point out local seabirds which included brown pelicans, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, black oystercatchers, and common murres, as well as different types of kelp, how to eat them, and their importance to wildlife. We continued into a cove, where we found a group of 20+ harbor seals, many of them young pups. Dave explained how we should keep our distance and make sure we move slowly so that the seals do not get nervous and hurt themselves sliding off of a rock. We paddled around them and even had some come visit our kayaks!

We continued and saw caves and arches, but the water was too rough for us to paddle through; we were able to go through the arch on the way back though. We kept paddling, with Dave pointing out wildlife such as barnacles, mussels, sea stars, and lion’s mane jellyfish. The highlight of our trip was on the return, where Dave spotted a whale’s spout in the port. We slowed down, and it was headed our direction! We took about a half an hour to watch the whale, as it emerged and dove back down right around our kayaks. Dave explained to us that this whale was likely part of the resident pod and feeding on the kelp beds below us. It was the highlight of my week! Dave even had a camera to take photos of us and videos of the wildlife to send to us.

Taking a tour with Dave was a great way to better understand the need for helpful, well-trained guides. During our interview, Dave said that he is always making sure that we are having a great time but is constantly thinking about our safety. He provided high quality equipment, ensured we were comfortable and confident, and was able to identify and teach us all about the local marine wildlife. Without a guide, we would not have had the same experience, especially as people new to the area. South Coast Tours offers wonderful guided experiences that practice sustainable tourism while ensuring happiness and safety to all participants.

When settlers first came to the Oregon Coast, they were amazed at the abundance of salmon in the area. Commercial salmon fishing started in the 1860s and provided an influx of jobs in cities like Astoria, Tillamook and Gold Beach. By the 21^sst century, it became an important part of every coastal town’s economy. Settlers and immigrants came to the area for the opportunities in both the fishing and canning industries. As the number of commercial fisherman increased, so did the competition between them. Innovations and technological advancements created higher yields with less work. Things like fishwheels and gillnets lead to unrestrained and unsustainable harvesting, rapidly decreasing salmon populations in the area.

Photo obtained from Oregon State University, Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Today, fisheries are managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. They set limits, regulations and run studies to sample fish and shellfish, as well as provide fisherman with as much information as they can. It is important for fisherman to follow limits and quotas set by these agencies because they are implemented to ensure fishing is sustainable and that there will be plenty of fish for everyone and the future of fishing. With proper fisheries management, the Oregon Coast will remain a premier fishing destination for generations to come.

A recent announcement from “Nature Briefing” regarding the global status of wildlife populations may help us recognize the tremendous asset we have in the wildlife and natural resources of Coastal Oregon, and especially the Southern Coast. Outdoor Recreation and Tourism are important aspects of how we interact and manage our coastal communities and our natural resources.

Within two years, we must commit to saving the web of life

Mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations have fallen on average by 60% since 1970, finds a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report involving 59 scientists from around the world. “If there was a 60% decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done,” says Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at the WWF.

Runaway human consumption is to blame: the biggest cause of wildlife loss is the annihilation of natural habitats, much of it to create farmland to feed humans and livestock, followed by killing for food. The WWF is calling on world leaders to strike a global deal at the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020, similar to the Paris agreement on climate change, to limit and reverse the destruction. “This is far more than just being about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is,” says Barrett. “This is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a ‘nice to have’ — it is our life-support system.”

CNN | 10 min read
Read more: Nature digs deep into the last WWF Living Planet Report in 2016
Reference: WWF Living Planet Report & Nature Sustainability paper