PUBLIC BEACHES FOR OREGON MARINE GARDEN, MARINE RESERVE, MARINE OIL SPILL

 

 

Public beaches usually mean one thing, like the one thing private beaches convey. Public beaches, like Oregon beaches, are available to everyone, anyone.

 

Private beaches? Not so much. More like a backyard pool.

 

But what happens when public beaches in Oregon come with obstacles?

 

What are we supposed to do in an Oregon Marine Reserve that we shouldn’t do in an Oregon Marine Garden? The difference between a Marine Reserve and a Oregon Marine Protected Area?

 

First big question: Is it public, or what?

 

Followed by: If it’s public, why is it so hard to get there?

 

 

Some writers like to raise hell then sit back and watch the commotion. If they get called out they have excuses at the ready, like, “You misunderstood,” or, “That’s wasn’t my intent.”

 

We like calling such writers ‘no account sumbitches’ afraid of the heat they intentionally turned up. Like photographers with lenses as big as their leg, they need a little help with their material.

 

Other writers get into the minutiae of every damn thing. It’s a habit, a protective cover to explain things to death instead of trying to capture a feeling, of putting a reader in the picture they produce.

 

We like calling such writers list builders. They stack one thing on top of the other and call it organic literature. Land. Sand. Rocks. Water. Ocean. Waves. Sky. Clouds. Rain.

 

The end.

 

 

Then there are writers who have a feel for the right thing. Not sensational, hateful, deceitful, sneaky, lowballers looking for the least common denominators. One of my writing goals is seeing things as they could be. Call it my Robert Kennedy eye. Like Bobby, it’s trouble.

 

One beach on the Oregon coast sits on a spit of land with a strip of nice looking houses out there. I saw it from Hwy 101 and decided to make a run for it. After cruising up and down 101 looking for an access road, I stopped at a wide spot in the road and noticed what looked like the entrance to a gated community.

 

 

Like a good citizen, law abiding and respectful of property rights, I pulled into a parking lot in front of an office near the gate and asked about the beach. Yes, there was a beach out there. No, I couldn’t just drive into the gated community. Something about the gate and why it was there. ‘Good enough,’ I thought, ‘let these exclusive fear mongers live behind a locked door in a gated community.’

 

But the beach part bothered me. Aren’t Oregon beaches all open to the public? Apparently this question has a YES and NO answer. Yes for an amphibious landing, no for a drive up. Either way the gate worked its magic.

 

Another Oregon beach has an almost hidden trail down. Take away the ‘Beach Access’ sign and you’d never know it was there. A more public way to the same beach shows up in a hotel parking lot near a hot tub and outdoor pool.

 

 

These two beaches are public if you own property or stay over?

 

Maybe you’ve been on a private beach and seen the differences. I’ve been on one public/private beach, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

 

The line between private and public was too clear: one side was packed shoulder to shoulder, towel to towel. The other side was roomy. And a little weird for this public beacher.

 

Before you start listing all of the ways to define public, let’s move on.

 

 

Oregon’s beautiful beaches are a given. From calendar pictures to actually showing up and getting out next to it, the Oregon coast sets the bar for world class vistas. It’s a coast of adventure, a coast of danger, pirates, the sort of history you don’t expect in such a familiar setting.

 

We know the Oregon beaches for their visible and invisible wildlife. Most visitors focus on the visible, and so do most media. If it takes a blogger to shine a light, so be it. I’ve seen the magistry of a a bald eagle in flight and on a perch.

 

 

One afternoon I watched whales spout plume after plume and even give a tail breach now and again.

 

Out in the real world closer to the earth we walk on I saw seals and sea anemones and sea urchins. From tide pool to rising tide I felt the natural cycles of the moon and water and the urgency both bring. Urgency is key.

 

Consider the science it takes to understand a fraction of what we know about the ocean-shoreline interface. What ever we know about what goes on between land and sea, it comes from hardcore, evidence based, science.

 

If the Oregon coast gets the green light for oil exploration, and when an accident happens, it won’t be science to the rescue. Instead we’ll get opinion based information on how great the oil drenched coastline recovered, and how alarmist the environmental people were.

 

 

The New Normal for Oregon beaches? An oil spill was the best thing that ever happened here. People come to witness the recovery, lots more than ever came for the Oregon Marine Gardens, the Oregon Marine Reserves, and the Oregon Marine Protected Area.

 

Besides, with rising oceans, no one will remember the old coast line.

 

From kgw.com:

Eleven state attorneys general, including California’s, have said they might sue to stop new drilling. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum did not respond to an interview request Thursday.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, California Gov. Jerry Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a joint statement:

“This political decision to open the magnificent and beautiful Pacific coast waters to oil and gas drilling flies in the face of decades of strong opposition on the part of Oregon, Washington, and California – Republicans and Democrats alike,” they said. “For more than 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, short-sighted action.”