Help Ensure Oregon Protects its Rocky Coast

The plan used to manage Oregon’s rocky shore resources is being updated for the first time in more than 20 years.  Now is your chance to get involved to ensure we protect this incredible habitat and state resource!

In 1994 Oregon published the Territorial Sea Plan which acts as a guiding framework for agencies to manage the coastal environment.  Chapter 3 of the plan, Rocky Shore Management Strategy provides a broad plan to manage tide pools, rocky beaches, and headlands that make up Oregon’s rocky shore, representing 41% of the state’s 362 mile coastline.

Photo by Scott Carpenter

Please Join Bird Alliance of Oregon by Taking the Pledge to Keep Oregon a Welcoming State by Denouncing IP 22

Oregon will hold meetings from February through March to ask the public for their concerns and your input is needed. Check out the full list of upcoming public workshops and learn other ways to get involved. 

Learn More

Little has been done to this management plan since its adoption in 1994, yet the uses and threats to Oregon’s rocky environments have intensified significantly. These dynamic ocean shoreline habitats are home to a diversity of creatures living on the edge of their ecological threshold, including fish, birds, mammals, plants and invertebrates.  Birds that depend on this system like the Black Oystercatcher, a species of conservation concern, need your help.

Talking Points 

More detailed talking points available here

The goals of the Rocky Shores Strategy need to be more explicit and elevated. We urge the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) to incorporate the following goals:

  • Protect and conserve the habitat, living marine resources and ecological functions of Oregon’s Rocky Shores for future generations.
  • Reflect and support the protections of adjacent Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas.
  • Promote scientific research to inform better conservation, management, and protection of rocky shores habitat.