Over the last few months at Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), one of my focuses has been executing a pilot project in which we audit our permit records. The Ocean Shores team is responsible for regulating development on Oregon’s public beaches, and one major type of development that extends onto the ocean shore is shoreline protective structures. Riprap revetments are the most common type of shoreline protective structure along the Oregon coast and are commonly installed on developed lots that are experiencing erosion. As the main purpose of my role is to organize and geolocate our permit records, we are auditing our new record keeping system to get a sense as to whether we have captured all information during the transition.

The audit consisted of field visits to compare the present site conditions of ocean-fronting properties to our records for riprap revetments. Because patterns of dune erosion and accretion can be cyclical, there are areas of the coast where riprap was installed at a time of erosion but may be buried under the sand of a recently accreted dune. Because of this, if our records indicated the presence of riprap but nothing was visible, it was not assumed that our record was incorrect. In instances where a riprap revetment was visible, we measured it to compare to the conditions which were permitted. While many of the structures we observed were aligned with the permit records we have on file, the process did reveal a few instances in which site conditions did not align as expected with our permit records. Overall, it was a worthwhile exercise and really brought to life for me the revetments and site conditions that I’ve been reading about in our permit records.

The Ocean Shores team is also responsible for coordinating habitat protection and restoration for the threatened western snowy plover, which nests in dry sand areas of our beaches. One of the threats to their habitat has been the proliferation of European beach grass, which grows rapidly and leads to accretion of dunes. I have been lucky to tag along on a couple of trips to nesting areas with teammates who coordinate the restoration of snowy plover habitat. Restoration efforts can include the removal of shore pine and European beach grass and grading of the dunes. After the nesting season concluded in September, we took a trip out to Sitka Sedge State Natural Area to assess maintenance needs for the snowy plover habitat restoration area. Restoration efforts were initiated at this site in 2022, and it was time to assess follow-up tasks. Much of the area was still looking good, but it was determined that more removal of beach grass was needed to maintain conditions ideal for snowy plovers.

On separate visits to the beach at Sitka Sedge this summer, multiple snow plovers were spotted, indicating the habitat restoration is working! Unfortunately, it was a dismal year for nests that fledged across the entire Oregon coast.

Shoreline protection structure permitting and habitat restoration are just two of the many ways OPRD’s Ocean Shores team interfaces with our public beaches in an effort to protect recreational use and vital habitat.

Hi everyone, I am currently a Natural Resources Policy Fellow working with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s (OPRD) Ocean Shore team. I completed my master’s degree in Forest Ecosystems and Society at OSU in 2023. My thesis research was oriented around the human dimensions of Oregon’s marine reserves, which introduced me to some topics of marine resource management. In my fellowship, I am getting even more acquainted with the myriad scientific and policy activities on Oregon’s coast.

Oregon’s beaches, which are all public, fall under OPRD’s jurisdiction and are collectively administered as a state recreation area. The agency’s Ocean Shore team is considered a “central resource” for the agency. While there are many beach and park rangers and managers stationed locally along the entire coast, our team is small, more administrative in function, and focuses on projects, issues, and policies that largely impact the coast as a whole. One of the main functions of our team is to process permit applications for alterations along the coast, such as the construction or installation of accessways (stairways, ramps, etc.), shoreline protective structures (riprap revetments, seawalls, etc.), or other elements that would then have a permanent presence in the public right of way. Aspects of my role include organizing and geolocating these permitted structures, performing an audit for compliance of permissible activities, and analyzing data obtained from these two tasks. As time allows, I will also use these findings to create communication materials for OPRD partners.

Some of my favorite days of my fellowship so far have – surprise! – been those that I get to spend on the beach. So far, I’ve had the opportunity to attend the Navigating Coastal Hazards Workshop put on by Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub (Cascadia CoPes Hub), go on a tour of the north coast, visit a snowy plover habitat management area (we spotted three down near the surf!), and tour marine reserves with partners from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, OPRD, and Oregon State Police. I’ve also made a few visits out to the central coast to kick off my auditing project. More on that next time!