Make a clean start to 2021

Whether you credit the quote, “With great power comes great responsibility,” to Voltaire or Spider Man’s Uncle Ben, we should all be grateful that the state of Oregon has imbued everyone with the power to visit most of the coastline.

But that also means the responsibility for keeping our coastline clean falls with all who visit.

You can help perpetuate the greatness of our public beaches by gloving up for the marine debris cleanup at Cape Cove Beach on Monday, Jan. 11, from 3 to 5 pm.

The project will take only one to two hours of your time, will contribute to science and clean up the areas that border the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve and Protected Areas.

Participants will meet at the Cove Beach trailhead on Highway 101: the first pull-off on your right after the Cape Perpetua campground/day use area heading south or the second pull-off on your left after the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center heading north.

If you have your own bucket and gloves, please bring them with you, but if not, bags and gloves will be provided while supplies last.

The group will survey 100 yards of Cape Cove Beach, which includes flat sandy beach, wood debris, cobble rocks and lava rock. Most of the debris is usually located in the rocky and woody areas. After the survey, the group will come together to pool, sort and document the finds. Plastic items will be kept for re-use in various projects. Due to COVID-19, the coordinator will bring the collected items home, count and document the debris and update participants via email.

Marine debris is a global problem that impacts marine life, damages marine habitats, impedes navigation, impacts our economy and is a risk to human health and safety.

The data collected through this project can be used to evaluate the impacts of marine debris along our coastlines and can help inform future marine debris mitigation and prevention efforts on a local, regional and national scale.

For more information, go to www.capeperpetuacollaborative.org.