| Proposed Rules for Marine Reserves |
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| What's going on with marine reserves? |
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The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is one of three state agencies now preparing rules to follow a new law passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2009. The law directs the three agencies to:
"...implement the November 29, 2008 recommendations from the Ocean Policy Advisory Council on marine reserves by ... adopting rules to establish, study, monitor, evaluate and enforce a pilot marine reserve at Otter Rock and a pilot marine reserve and a marine protected area at Redfish Rocks ..."
The other two agencies required to act on this law are the Department of State Lands and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is coordinating its rulemaking with State Lands and Fish and Wildlife, and will hold its public hearings in conjunction with those two agencies.
You will find more information on these other two agencies and marine reserves online:
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon Department of State Lands
Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development: Marine Reserves
You can also read a summary of the affected area, and how each agency is involved.
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| How is the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department involved? |
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The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for managing public recreation and natural resources on the ocean shore from low tide landward, normally up to the vegetation line. The ocean shore recreation area is affected by one of the two proposed marine reserves pilot projects: the northeast corner of the proposed Otter Rock reserve. With few exceptions for things like research, removing or damaging natural materials — rocks, plants, animals or any other natural object — would not be allowed in the rocky, northern section of Otter Rock between extreme low and mean high tide.
This one area affected by a proposed marine reserve would remain open to the public and pets.
Most of Otter Rock is a long sandy beach south of the parking area. This is where people come to collect agates, look for shells, and beachcomb in other ways. This sandy beach is not in the marine reserve (the reserve border starts at extreme low tide), and no new rules will affect beachcombing here or anywhere else. Only the rocky part north of the parking area is in the marine reserve.
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| Where can I read the proposed rules? |
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Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Rules are online:
Proposed rule amendments
You can find rules proposed by the other two agencies online, too:
Oregon Department of State Lands
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
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| How do I comment, and what's the deadline? |
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For Oregon Parks and Recreation Department proposed rules at Otter Rock, comment in writing:
OPRD Rules Coordinator
725 Summer St NE, Ste C
Salem, OR 97301
By email: park.info@state.or.us
Or by attending a public hearing:
- 1 – 3 p.m. Oct. 20, State Lands Building, 775 Summer Street N.E., Salem,
- 7 – 9 p.m. Oct. 21, Port Orford Public Library, 1421 Oregon Street, Port Orford,
- 7 – 9 p.m. Oct. 22, The Inn at Otter Crest, 301 Otter Crest Drive, Otter Rock.
The deadline for comment is 5 p.m., Tuesday,. November 17. The Department must have your comments in hand by that time on that day (postmarks don't count).
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