In celebration of Oregon State University’s 150 birthday OSU is hosting a yearlong celebration that included a week in February dedicated to celebrating OSU’s many years of stewardship on the Oregon Coast. One of the main festivities was a day-long, student tour of the marine laboratories that are integral to OSU research and marine management. Two tours were available to students, the North Tour, which included a trip to the research vessel Oceanus in Newport and a trip to OSU’s Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station in Astoria, and the South Tour. I went on the South Tour, which included two stops heading down the coast and a third at OSU’s furthest most field station in Port Orford, Oregon.

It was blustery, rainy and cold, but the coast was beautiful as always. After a three-hour bus ride through the towns and mountains that divide the valley from the ocean we arrived at our first stop, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Due to rain and high winds we could not walk on the dunes as originally planned. The walk would have included viewing of work done by the Watershed Invasive Species Program to remove invasive coastal grass, such as Scotch Broom, European beachgrass, gorse and other nonnative plants; observation of sites used by the Western Snowy Plover for nesting; and the up-close examination of a kaleidoscope of dune sand, multicolored because of the variety of rock that build the dunes. From the high vantage point of a viewing platform, we could see all these aspects of the dunes from afar, except for the plovers, who only reach about six inches long. The dunes are stunning and massive, extending for forty miles along the Oregon coast between Florence and Coos Bay. Wind sculpted sands stand a towering 500-feet high, and they hold a forest that has not always been there. Over the last sixty years, the dunes have transformed from open sand with isolated tree islands and sparse vegetation, to a thick swath of shrubs and trees, due to a misguided restoration effort that took place in the 1940s that promoted the planting of invasive beach grasses and other plants that would help corral the shifting sands. Although the sight of the twisted pines and blowing grasses is mesmerizing, it has altered the face of a sandy treasure that took 55 million years to form from geologic sediment being washed to the coast from the mountains to the east. Through the hard work of volunteers and park rangers, invasive species removal, and indigenous species protection has become a priority.

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Watching from the dunes

A plover darts through the grass

Sand stilled under foot

. . .

The second stop of the day  was in Coos Bay, where we toured the Charleston Marine Science Center and spoke with University of Oregon graduate students about their research with barnacles on the Oregon coast. The Charleston Marine Science Center is a small education center that houses an aquarium and a museum. It sits right along the harbor of Coos Bay, offering not just simulated marine experiences, but a view out at the real thing, including curious seals vying for crab on the docks.

. . .

Basket star twisting

Through the simulated reef

Seals surface outside

. . .

The third, and final stop, on our journey down the coast brought us to OSU’s southernmost marine research field station, in Port Orford. Port Orford is a sleepy little fishing village with an eye-opening view of the tumultuous Pacific Ocean, rocky cliff-faces and windswept sea stacks. The station serves as a hub for student learning, scientific research, and community and economic opportunities aimed at fostering coastal stewardship and sustainability. The station includes research on whale activity, scuba excursions, studies done in partnership with local fishermen, and many other integral marine projects. The scientists at Port Orford stressed the importance of community involvement, and partnership between disciplines. These collaborations will not only help researchers and academics to enhance their projects, but can also further sustainability and environmental efforts for the good of the planet and all those who share it. In a playful moment of the presentation one of the researchers mentioned how they would like to work with a poet, and how the research there could inspire marine style haiku. The research being done at Port Orford is inspiring inside a stanza and out, it is a small but impactful facility for furthering the stewardship of OSU and a wonderful place to end our day of touring.

. . .

Standing on the hill

Above the crashing waves, watch—

The poet scientists work

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