We can protect Oregon’s rocky coastal habitats, helping to ensure that Oregon’s amazing tide pools, underwater kelp forests, nearshore reefs, and offshore rocks and islands continue to inspire future generations.

Rocky Habitats

Rocky shores, reefs and offshore rocks and islands make up about 41% of our Oregon coastline. State and federal policies, strategies, and rules have long been in place to manage and protect coastal habitats. One of these strategies, Oregon's Rocky Habitat Management Strategy was recently updated.

The newly adopted strategy includes the ability for individuals and communities to be an active part of designing and implementing new goals and management based on the best available information.

Why this matters:

1. Visitors Matter

Our rocky habitats are one of the primary attractions of our tourist economy. Managing access and accountability will help to keep these areas pristine for years to come.

2. Residents Matter

We live here in part because of the quality of life provided by our beloved coastal landscape. We have an opportunity to support the unique wildlife and scenery for our community’s ongoing livability.

3. Habitat Matters

Visitors to this area can unintentionally cause damage if they don't know how to safely and respectfully interact with our tide pools and surrounding wildlife. A designation can provide greater levels of education to tourists to keep them from trampling over sensitive natural areas and disturbing wildlife.

4. Education Matters

We will be able to offer education opportunities for the local community, including our children for whom we can inspire a love of learning and understanding of local wildlife.

5. Wildlife Matters

We can protect our wild neighbors like Black Oystercatchers, pelicans, sea lions, and seals that depend on our rocky coastal habitats.

What we are doing

Working together to support new protective designations, we can create more awareness of rocky habitats, support important research to better understand our changing ocean, and keep these amazing areas safe while providing equitable public access.

Our proposals to designate Cape Lookout and Cape Foulweather as marine conservation areas (MCAS) have been approved! They will now be listed in the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy
We are supporting and working with other community organizations that are seeking other rocky habitat designations recommended by OPAC
We were instrumental in updating the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy so that community groups and individuals in the future can propose additional rocky habitats for site-specific management

What’s next?

We will be working with other community interests, to begin planning implementation of the educational and community science recommendations for the Cape Foulweather Complex MCA and Cape Lookout MCA. There are also opportunities for community involvement in developing a management plan for the newly designated Fogarty Creek MCA.