Going on a walk?
Be sure to wear your best tide-eye
Oregon Shores’ CoastWatch welcomes back coastal ecologist Stewart Schultz on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 3 and 4. Dr. Schultz will lead walking explorations of Nehalem Bay and host a dinner and discussion on the bay’s plants and animals and the role tides play.
On Thursday, the walk begins at the end of Bayshore Gardens Road and will focus on the salt marsh. Parking is extremely limited, but if needed a carpool/shuttle will be available. That evening, dinner and a discussion on Nehalem Bay, climate change and tides will occur at the North County Recreation District.
On Friday, the walk begins at Nehalem Bay State Park Boat Launch and will focus on the intertidal estuary. A day pass is required for parking.
Schultz is a leading expert on the coastal ecology of the Pacific Northwest. Author of “The Northwest Coast: A Natural History,” he has extensive experience studying the Oregon Coast. He grew up playing on the shore near Gearhart, went to Reed College and later obtained a doctorate in botany from the University of British Columbia. He has worked for the Nature Conservancy, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He was a professor at the University of Miami and is now at the University of Zadar in Croatia. During the academic year, he studies marine ecology and plant evolution and genetics. He returns to the Oregon Coast every summer to teach shoreline science.
Through Oregon Shores' CoastWatch program, volunteers adopt mile-long segments of Oregon's coast. They report natural changes and human-induced impacts that shape the coastline. Volunteers also participate in community science projects.
The salt marsh walk will begin at 8 am Thursday, August 3, at the end of Bayshore Gardens Road in Nehalem. The North County Recreation District is located at 36155 9th Street. The intertidal estuary walk will begin at 9 am located at Bay State Park Boat Launch in Rockaway Beach. Participation in walks are $35 each and dinner and discussion tickets are $25. For more information go to oregonshores.org.