Our Ocean Coast Field Trip

Our Ocean to host all-day Potential Marine Reserve Site Visits on Saturday, July 25th
Groups will leave from Portland, Corvallis and Eugene

Come and tour some of the spectacular areas that are under consideration for marine reserves and spend a long summer day with like-minded friends! Both trips will feature talks by experts on marine reserves who can answer any of your questions. Join us on either of these trips - at no charge! Lunch and snacks will be provided. Here are the details:

•    The North Coast Trip will gather in Portland at 9am by the Vera Katz statue (SE Water & Hawthorne) and head out to the north coast via bus to meet with supporters from the Cannon Beach, Manzanita and Netarts areas.
•    We will meet-up with coastal residents at 11:30am in the parking lot of Short Sands Beach. 
•    We’ll have lunch on the beach at Oswald West State Park, along with presentations from guest speakers. 
•    The trip will also stop at the Neahkanhie wayside and at Netarts Bay for beach fun, including boat rides, presentations and fresh grilled fish. 
•    The North Coast trip will head back to Portland and coastal communities from Netarts by 4:30pm

To RSVP for this Coast Trip near you, please contact Our Ocean’s Inland Organizer, Christine Lewis at (503) 319-1986 or christine@ouroregonocean.org
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•    The Central Coast Trip leaves from Corvallis (Corvallis Environmental Center, located at 214 SW Monroe St) and Eugene (in the Fred Meyer parking lot on 11th St) at 8am in passenger vans. 
•    The vans will meet-up supporters from the Central Coast at 10am in the parking lot at Strawberry Hill State Park for presentation by PISCO scientist and viewing of ocean life at low tide. 
•    We will have lunch at the Cape Perpetua view point, head to Neptune State Park for presentations and a walk in the ancient forest, and then head to Heceta Head beach for beach fun, including presentations and fresh grilled fish. 
•    The Central Coast trip will head back to Corvallis and Eugene by 4pm. 

To RSVP for this Coast Trip near you, please contact Our Ocean’s Inland Organizer, Christine Lewis at (503) 319-1986 or christine@ouroregonocean.org

Background
Governor Kulongoski’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) reviewed 20 site nominations for marine reserves and protected areas. The 20 proposals were clustered around 9 ecologically important areas. OPAC recommended 6 areas for further evaluation with two of them moving forward first. The Oregon coastal caucus then took that recommendation and then worked with a diverse group of stakeholders to create a consensus bill (HB 3013A) that continues the process with balanced and diverse participation. Our Ocean believes that HB3013A is an important step to ensuring that Oregon’s ocean health and productivity are sustainable.