Offshore Renewable Energy Planning

To encourage offshore renewable energy projects in areas that pose the least conflict with existing ocean uses and natural resources, Oregon developed a marine spatial plan. This new chapter of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan identifies four “renewable energy suitability study areas” where wave energy projects will be encouraged.

The marine spatial planning process included over 100 public meetings held by Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council, the Territorial Sea Plan Working Group, and the Department of Land Conservation and Development. This work resulted in helpful input from a broad range of constituents and changes to the territorial sea plan.

Under the revised plan, wave energy development proposals in Oregon’s waters must meet state standards for protecting ecological resources, commercial fishing interests, recreational uses, and coastal views. In the four prescribed areas, however, there will be fewer permitting obstacles to overcome because the marine spatial planning process found these areas to be the most suitable for this type of development. To accelerate the development of wave power, the state invested more than $10 million in the Oregon Innovation Council’s Oregon Wave Energy Trust to fund research and other projects.

Since projects outside state waters can also have negative impacts, the state developed a “geographic location description” for a portion of the federal waters. This designation allows the state to review renewable energy activities to ensure compliance with the state policies approved by the Oregon Coastal Management Program. (2016)

More information: www.oregonocean.info/index.php/ocean-energy

Partners: Aquatera, Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management, Coquille Indian Tribe, Ecotrust, Natural Equity, NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Biogeography Branch, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, Oregon Coastal Management Program, Oregon Wave Energy Trust, Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Military Department (Camp Rilea), Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon State Legislature Coastal Caucus, Oregon State University, Oregon Water Resources Department, Oregon Wave Energy Trust, Our Ocean, Packard Foundation, Parametrix, Ports of Coos Bay and Newport, Surfrider, The Moore Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Land Use Guide for Tsunami Preparedness

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, located 50 miles off the Oregon coast, can produce earthquakes of magnitude 9.0 and higher. A major earthquake along this fault line, a one in three chance within the next 50 years, could result in a tsunami striking the coast and its 22,000 residents within 15 minutes.

The Oregon Coastal Management Program began working with coastal communities to reduce their risk of property damage and loss of life from a tsunami by developing a comprehensive land use guide to improve evacuation planning and infrastructure, reduce development in high-risk areas, and encourage stronger building techniques.

Using the guidance, over a dozen coastal communities have worked with the Oregon Coastal Management Program to amend land use plans, modify zoning regulations, develop incentives for homeowners to increase their tsunami preparedness, and improve evacuation facilities. The guide has improved coordination and enabled state agencies to collaborate more effectively to deliver the data and expertise communities need. (2016)

Partners: Oregon Coastal Management Program

Citizens Lead the Way as Communities Prepare for Climate Change Impacts

The South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Coos Watershed Association received two grants (totaling $765,918) to help nearby communities prepare for climate change. A collaborative group representing conservation and development interests, the Partnership for Coastal Watersheds, was formed. The partnership developed information tools for local leaders to use when facing community economic and environmental challenges. The partnership was also responsible for four new water quality monitoring stations and a comprehensive status and trends report that covers the region’s environmental, social, and economic conditions.

The group won an Oregon Land Board’s Partnership Award for its inclusive efforts to create a locally driven blueprint for responsible development. The enthusiasm and commitment of the partnership was evident as a group formed a committee to extend the work of this successful organization past the life of the grants. (2016)

More information: www.partnershipforcoastalwatersheds.org

Partners: City of Coos Bay, City of North Bend, Coos County, Coos Watershed Association, Coquille Indian Tribe, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, South Coast Development Center, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Southwestern Oregon Community College, Stunzner Engineering, University of Oregon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Boosting Oregon Economy through Job Training Opportunities at the Research Reserve

Historically, the Oregon coastal economy has relied on resource-based jobs such as timber, agriculture, and seafood harvesting and processing, but these employment opportunities have been declining in recent years.

The South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve developed an internship program to help the reserve reach its goals while helping the local workforce develop skills applicable to newly developing coastal industries. Internships cover science, education, resource management, and tourism, one of the major economic growth areas for coastal Oregon.

Projects covered in this internship have included conducting oyster restoration, developing fish identification guides, constructing and maintaining interpretive trails, implementing fish surveys, and providing visitor services. (2016)

More information: www.oregon.gov/dsl/SSNERR/Pages/internships.aspx

Partners: Bandon, North Bend, and Marshfield High Schools, Friends of South Slough Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, South Coast Business Employment Corporation, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Southwestern Oregon Community College

Efforts to Establish Blue Carbon Markets Underway

Blue carbon is the carbon captured and stored in coastal ecosystems (marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds). Acre for acre, these habitats can store up to five times more carbon than tropical rainforests. A Massachusetts research reserve (Waquoit Bay) recently led the development of a protocol to be used to make salt marsh restoration eligible for international carbon markets. The Waquoit Bay team came to Oregon’s South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve to participate in a series of workshops and meetings focused on 1) regional salt marsh capacity for carbon sequestration, 2) carbon markets, and 3) how scientists could prepare on-the-ground surveys to better understand and quantify carbon stocks and sinks in the estuaries of Washington, Oregon, and northern California.

These exchanges led to the formation of the Pacific Northwest Coastal Blue Carbon Working Group for the study of coastal blue carbon as an ecosystem service that could be used to generate funding to support wetland restoration and conservation. (2016)

More information: www.nerra.org/how-we-work/protecting-land-for-the-future/blue-carbon-heats-up-in-the-pacific-northwest

Partners: NOAA Office for Coastal Management, South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Using Lidar to Plan for Sea Level Rise

Since the late 1800s, farmers in Oregon have been diking estuarine wetlands for their own agricultural benefit. With sea level rise imminent, knowing the location and condition of the dikes, as well as who is responsible for maintenance, is critical for making decisions about where dikes should be breached to allow wetlands to migrate and where dikes need to be maintained to protect private and public infrastructure.

The Oregon Coastal Management Program worked with the NOAA Office for Coastal Management to create a geospatial database of dikes and levees in Oregon’s major estuaries. Lidar data, aerial photography, and a variety of other map and information products were used. Nonprofit organizations and government agencies are using the dike inventory to prioritize future wetland restoration projects. The inventory is also being used to create more accurate predictions of what marshes and the coast would look like under different sea level rise scenarios. (2016)

More information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/oregon-dikes

Partners: Coastal Management Fellowship, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Oregon Coastal Management Program

The First Research Reserve – South Slough

On June 27, 1974, the South Slough Sanctuary in Oregon was dedicated as the first site in what is now known as the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. South Slough is one of 28 research reserves around the country dedicated to research and education about estuaries—those places where rivers meet the sea and fresh and salty waters are mixed by the tide.

Today, the South Slough Reserve is a 5,000-acre natural area co-managed by NOAA, which provides operating funds and guidance, and the Oregon Department of State Lands, which provides day-to-day staffing and management. (2016)

More information: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug14/south-slough.html

Partners: South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Oregon Department of State Lands

Determining Tsunami Exposure

Although a potential tsunami-inundation zone had been delineated in Oregon, officials needed information about what was located in this area to determine what additional preparedness and response measures were needed.

The U.S. Geological Survey prepared a vulnerability assessment that compared tsunami-related risk differences among Oregon’s coastal cities. As part of the data-collection process, the team used NOAA’s coastal land cover data (C-CAP) to mine land cover information in the zoned cities and to document variations in the percentage of developed land, human populations, economic assets, and critical facilities. This report enabled representatives of the State of Oregon to further their dialogue on societal risk and response. (2016)

More information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/tsunami-or

Partners: NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Pacific Disaster Center, U.S. Geological Survey

Land Cover Data used to Analyze Sedimentation

Clear-cut timber harvests contribute to excess sediment loads in streams, eventually leading to problems for estuaries. However, timber harvest records on private lands are not centralized or available in GIS format, making it difficult to quantify sedimentation processes and threats throughout the watershed.

The Wetlands Conservancy developed a conservation plan for the Yaquina Estuary in Lincoln County, Oregon, and used NOAA’s coastal land cover data to document how land was being used. Comparing land cover data over five year intervals, study leaders were provided a quick and reasonably accurate representation of clear-cuts. The data was analyzed along with impervious surface data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Land Cover Database. This information is now guiding conservation efforts that address critical watershed and estuary processes, functions, and restoration opportunities. (2016)

More information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/yaquina

Partners: NOAA Office for Coastal Management, The Wetlands Conservancy

Identifying Habitat Loss, Prioritizing Restoration

The nonprofit Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership—supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program, the states of Oregon and Washington, and other entities—is working to preserve and restore the natural ecological habitats of the Lower Columbia River. An important initial step was to inventory the current quality and distribution of these habitats and compare this information against historical conditions.

NOAA’s coastal land cover data (C-CAP) was used for this purpose. The results provided useful insight into the extent of change and significant declines in vegetated tidal wetlands, and revealed that conversion of land for agriculture and urban development was the cause for most habitat loss. The partnership was able to identify various habitat types for recovery and protection for each portion of the river according to their relative extents of loss and their value in supporting various species. (2016)

More information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/columbia-river

Partners: Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Sanborn Map Company