Cape Perpetua BioBlitz Series

Central Coast | Summer through Fall

Help build a database of species presence and distribution in the Cape Perpetua area along Oregon’s beautiful central coast. This region contains some of the largest intact stands of coastal temperate sitka spruce and western hemlock rain-forest in the lower 48, includes Oregon’s largest marine reserve and protected area complex just offshore, and encompasses a ‘Globally Significant Important Bird Area’ for the Marbled Murrelet.  

The goal of this project is to gather baseline data and identify as many species as possible at a landscape and nearshore scale, while providing fun outdoor learning opportunities for community scientists. This database will be used as a baseline for future surveys of the area aimed at assessing species range and distribution changes due to ecological and climatological effects such as global warming.

Partners: Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Partnership of Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), Oregon Coast Aquarium, Xerces Society, Surfrider Foundation, The Nature Conservancy

A photo of a youth looking down into the tidepools.
Cape Perpetua BioBlize, photo by ODFW

About the Survey

  • Survey instructions: Will be provided during BioBlitz events. Events typically have a theme (e.g. Mushrooms, birds, intertidal organisms, etc.)
  • When: Several targeted events during the summer and fall. However, you can add to the iNaturalist database anytime of the year on your own!
  • Where: Sites in the Cape Perpetua area including habitats ranging from coastal forest, intertidal habitats, and nearshore ocean.
  • Reporting: Need to join iNaturalist – Cape Perpetua BioBlitz Series to enter observations

 

Volunteer Requirements

  • Training: At BioBlitz events brief trainings are provided and experts are present to help with species identification.
  • Birding skills:  Some general familiarity identifying animals and plants is helpful. iNaturalist allows crowd-source species identification so if you can’t figure out what something is just post a photo!
  • Equipment: Need a camera (could use smartphone camera). Depending on the BioBlitz you may need binoculars (if avian focus).
  • Field conditions: Ranges widely. If in the forest, you may be walking on dirt paths or off-trail including along stream corridors in steep terrain. On the coast you’ll be road-based but venture into tide pools and other area of uneven terrain.
  • Transportation to and from the training is your responsibility. Camping is available at numerous campgrounds in the area including group campsites: Siuslaw National Forest Camping, Cabins & Yurts.  Click here for a list of lodging options near Yachats, Oregon.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about this event contact Katy Bear Nalven (capeperpetuacommunications@gmail.com), Paul Engelmeyer, at Bird Alliance of Oregon (541-547-4227, pengelmeyer@peak.org) or Ian Throckmorton, BioBlitz Coordinator (CPBioBlitz@gmail.com).