Washington Department of Ecology offers new online recreational planning tool

Recreational opportunities abound all along Washington's coastline.

Plan a trip to the beach with Ecology’s new online tool!!!
   
Anyone interested in visiting one of Washington’s public beaches now has a great new online recreational planning tool, thanks to the Department of Ecology (Ecology).
     
A new Public Beach Access feature on Ecology’s Coastal Atlas website (www.ecy.wa.gov/coastalatlas) provides detailed information on where to legally access the state’s public beaches – including those owned by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Department of Natural Resources, counties and cities, or another agency.  The website includes interactive maps and photos of trail heads, viewpoints and signs.  This is especially helpful for access points that aren’t well marked or are located some distance from the beach.
    
Users can enter a beach name or a general location, or hover a computer mouse over a map and click to zoom in.  The site includes information on:
 
• Whether beaches are closed to swimming, with links to advisories and monitoring reports.
• Public boat launches, docks, piers and marinas.
• Campsite availability, accessibility, hours of operations, fees.
• Amenities such as bathrooms, drinking water, picnic tables, barbeque pits and whether pets are allowed.
• Hiking trails.
• Links to weather and tide information.
    
Dr. Kathy Taylor of Ecology’s Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program said, “Especially with the high price of gas, no one wants to spend a day driving only to find a beach is closed for swimming or there is no legal access close by.  Now, you check that before you leave, make sure the campsite you picked has the features you want, and even view photos of the beach and trail heads.”
    
Director of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Don Hoch said:  “Anyone contemplating a trip to one of Washington’s beautiful public beaches will find this site helpful.  It’s fast, it’s fun, and it tells you just about everything a person would need to know to plan a great day at the beach.”
    
Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant said, “For some time now, scientists, business owners and citizens have benefited from the tremendous amount of data available on Ecology’s Coastal Atlas. The Public Beach Access feature is a wonderful addition to this already impressive online resource.  It is a great example of how Ecology uses technology in a smart way to give our citizens the information they need.”
     
The Department of Health and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) partnered with Ecology in developing the Beach Access online tool.  NOAA Coastal Fellow Deborah Purce, who was temporarily placed at Ecology, did much of the field work and data collection used in developing this online tool.
     
The Public Beach Access program is part of Ecology’s Coastal Atlas, a powerful interactive map and searchable database that allows users to navigate and zoom detailed maps of Washington State and then select and layer different types of information.
     
As just one example, a person wishing to buy shoreline property might use the Coastal Atlas to view an aerial photograph or satellite image of the parcel, then zoom in for views from the water.  Photos taken from this angle reveal bulkheads and other armoring that might not be seen from the air.  The tool then allows the user to superimpose county jurisdictions, data on slope stability and soil erosion and other data.
     
The tool is frequently used by property owners, real estate professionals, government land and resource managers, and scientists.  This fall, Ecology plans to unveil improvements to the site that will make information easier to find, navigate and customize.
 
Another way to find the site online is to visit Ecology’s home page at www.ecy.wa.gov and type “Coastal Atlas.”

For more information:
 
Public Beach Access Website/ Washington Coastal Atlas: www.ecy.wa.gov/coastalatlas
 
Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication and Health (BEACH) program: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/beach/
 
For tips on keeping Washington waters clean:
Washington Waters, Ours to Protect:  http://www.ecy.wa.gov/washington_waters/
 
Ecology’s homepage:  www.ecy.wa.gov
 
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission:  http://www.parks.wa.gov/
 
One Front Door to Washington’s Outdoors:  http://access.wa.gov/environment/index.aspx
 
Check out ECOconnect, Ecology’s blog: http://ecologywa.blogspot.com/
 
Follow Ecology on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ecologywa
 
Like us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/EcologyWA
 
Media Contact:
 
Ecology media relations:  Sandra Hughes, 360-407-7006 or Sandra.Hughes@ecy.wa.gov
 
Ecology Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program:  Kathy Taylor, Ph.D., 360-407-7125 or Kathy.taylor@ecy.wa.gov.

Westport/Grayland Fireworks Beach Cleanup to be held July 5, 9-Noon

Just ONE of the loads collected last year at the Cove.

Local organizers in Westport and Grayland are joining forces this year to coordinate a community coast wide clean up of fireworks and other 4th of July debris, this Tuesday, July 5 beginning at 9:00 am. Folks may check in between 9:00-10:00am at the parking lot of either Westhaven State Park (the Jetty) or at the Grayland Beach approach, located off SR Spur 105 on Grayland Beach Road. Just look for signs in the parking lot and clean up organizers handing out trash bags.

This will be the third annual July 5 clean up aimed at removing literally hundreds of pounds of post fourth trash and fireworks off our beaches. For the last two years the effort has been centralized in Westport at Halfmoon Bay and Westhaven State Park but this year Joseph Stacey of Grayland made contact with Westport organizers in order to combine efforts. Spent fireworks and garbage from bonfires and 4th of July tailgate parties are left behind year after year by both visitors and locals alike.

Cleanup volunteers from the past two years who have lived in the South Beach area for years recall visiting the beach even weeks after the fourth and still finding fireworks debris laying around. This being a primary reason why Kathy Greer began this clean up effort in 2009 with huge support from a small handful of locals. The 4th of July holiday wreaks havoc on beautiful coastal areas everywhere aesthetically and with negative impacts to the health of marine environments. Grayland and south to Pacific County in particular, are hit hard each year with the addition of plentiful vehicular access to the beach. As a beach community it’s a time of year we can all pitch in for the health and beauty of resource we all enjoy and benefit from every day.

A special thanks to Washington State Parks and Ranger Brad Staab who will again donate trash bags and assist with debris transport and to LeMay Enterprises who has sponsored a dumpster which will be placed at the Grayland Beach approach. Volunteers are asked to bring plastic or work gloves.

Below are the logistics for the cleanup:

-Date/Time for the cleanup will be July 5 from 9-12 at both Westport and Grayland locations below.

-Check in for clean up will be July 5 between 9-10 where volunteers can pick up trash bags from cleanup leads at parking lot of Grayland Beach Road (Grayland beach approach) OR Westhaven State Park/the Jetty, Westport.

-Bags of debris in Westport vicinity can be left at either the garbage can area near bathrooms at Westhaven or at a central spot near Coast Guard Tower at Half Moon
Bay where it will be gathered in a pick up truck to be hauled to the dumpster in Grayland.

-Bags of debris in Grayland vicinity must be taken to the dumpster at Grayland Beach Road (the Grayland beach approach of spur SR105).

Folks are asked to bring gloves and/or garbage "pickers" if they like but bags will be distributed. Debris found during past years' have included loads of fireworks debris, wood launch stations, and then your regular party garbage. So come prepared!

Special thanks to all the awesome local support and volunteers heading up this year's cleanup!

See you at the beach!!!

Stakeholder input session to be held June 21 at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen

Those interested in compatible uses of Washington’s coastal and marine resources from shipping to surfing are invited to share their input at the June 21 session.

The Grays Harbor County Marine Resources Committee invites local stakeholders, residents and others with an interest in compatible uses of Washington’s coastal and marine resources to community forum on Tuesday, June 21st from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The forum will be held at Grays Harbor College, Room 2250. 

The goal of the gathering is to provide a forum for coastal communities to share information describing their use of Washington coastal and marine areas as part of the outer continental shelf; to offer perspectives regarding potential conflicts with future alternative energy projects there; and contribute to the development of a system of communication designed to identify potential conflicts as early as possible, to avoid them or to mitigate their impact. 

Keynote speaker for the meeting is Flaxen Conway, Director of the Marine Resource Management Program, Oregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. She will discuss a research project started at the university in the spring of 2010 related to renewable energy and space use conflicts on the outer continental shelf. The project’s primary objectives are to identify and characterize potential space and use conflicts that could result from renewable energy activities in the Outer Continental Shelf of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and to describe strategies and specific measures for avoiding or resolving these conflicts. 

One part of the project included finding ways for improved communication and cooperation among stakeholders. The project continued into fall 2010 with a draft plan for the development of a geospatial database. Following this there has been a near-yearlong process of gathering stakeholder input, including the Grays Harbor session, consisting of meetings and interviews with three different types of coastal and marine resources users. They include commercial fishing users involved in harvesting, processing, tribal fishing and aquaculture; non-commercial users involved in recreational fishing, boaters and scientists; and commercial nonfishing users such as shippers, dredge operators and underwater cable operations. A final report for this project is due September 2011. Public input and questions will be taken following her presentation.

Join Hands Across The Sand - Westport June 25

On June 25th at 12:00 PM in corresponding time zones, people around the world will join hands on beaches and in cities for the second annual Hands Across The Sand to oppose expanded offshore drilling and call for clean energy solutions for a sustainable planet.

There will be multiple locations in Washington that you can participate including Westhaven State Park Beach (the Jetty) in Westport. Participants are asked to arrive at the beach by 11:00am to coordinate for the noon hand joining. Washington Surfrider volunteers and Washington State Park Rangers will be on hand to help organize the event.

Hands Across The Sand is a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses all borders and political affiliations. It is about supporting the advancement of clean energy sources that will sustain our planet. This movement is not about politics; it is about protecting coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife and fisheries from the threats of expanded offshore drilling and the accidents associated with this.

Hands Across The Sand participants are joining hands on June 25th to say NO to offshore oil drilling and YES to clean energy. They are joining hands to implore leaders and decision makers to end the United States’ dependence on oil and coal and embrace a clean energy future for a sustainable planet.

Florida surfer and restaurateur Dave Rauschkolb founded Hands Across The Sand in October 2009 in response to a bill passed in the Florida House of Representatives to lift the ban on nearshore drilling. With the support of sponsor organizations, he rallied over 10,000 Floridians to join hands on February 13, 2010, covering the state’s coastlines, to show a united opposition to nearshore drilling.

Two months later the BP Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Dave then organized a global Hands Across The Sand to urge President Obama to abandon his bid to open the continental United States waters to offshore oil drilling.

On June 26, 2010, over 1,000 Events took place in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. International events were held in 42 countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Belize, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greenland, Greece, Croatia, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Tanzania, and South Africa .

For more information visit www.handsacrossthesand.org.
 
Visit the Flickr Photo stream from June 26, 2010.