Rocky Shores Workshop

Rocky shores and Pigeon Guillemots.\Photo courtesy of OPRD.

Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) and Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) are holding a series of public meetings in communities along the coast and in the valley to seek input concerning the current planning process for the state’s rocky shore areas.  The goal is to get citizens engaged in the process so as to make their preferences known and give them a chance to provide information to the state agencies. The first of these workshops takes place on Thursday, Feb. 22, from 5-7 p.m., in the University of Oregon’s Baker Downtown Center (975 High St.) in Eugene.

OPAC has formed a working group to study these state’s current policies regarding tidepools and other rocky shore areas and consider revisions.  Background information on the planning initiative can be found on this OPAC site.  Oregon Shores has long argued that the state’s policies were out of date, and that the ones we do have were never fully implemented.  These hearings provide individuals, organizations, and local governments and opportunity to weigh in on needed protections for rocky shores.

The meeting will begin with a welcome and introduction followed by a brief informational presentation.  The agenda is somewhat informal—questions are invited throughout the session.  An opportunity for discussion and additional questions will follow the presentation in a “roundtable-lie” discussion format.  Laptops will be set up in the meeting room so attendees can submit a public comment or fill out a questionnaire at any point throughout the meeting.

The meetings will continue through early March.  For the full schedule, go here. 

For more information about the meetings, contact Andy Lanier, marine affairs coordinator for DLCD’s Coastal Management Program, (503) 934-0072 or (503) 206-2291 (cell), andy.lanier@state.or.us.