| The Snowy Plover The Western Snowy Plover is a sparrow sized shorebird that nests on the dry sand adjacent to the beach from March to September. Historically, large numbers of these birds occupied the western United States and Mexico. Rail road companies, land developers, state highway workers, and private persons are ultimately responsible for their threatened situation because of the planting of European beach grass. As the European beach grass spread to the dry sand near the surf, it severely limited the suitable nesting sites. The beach grass provides cover for predators that eat the eggs. Other dangers are hikers and dogs. Of course, threatened or not, you wouldn't want to drive over their nests. Areas where snowy plovers nest are closed to vehicles, signed and usually fenced. The remaining viable nesting sites are near the areas where creeks and rivers reach the surf. One would think that obeying the signs and staying away would be sufficient, but such is not the case. As with many other issues, the birds are "pawns" in a war against recreation options that are not politically correct. To avoid being a victim, learn where the closed areas are and stay 200' away from even the signs. Don't become the one to give the excuse for further closures. Luckily, the open sand where we like to ride, is no where near these nesting sites. |
| Beach grass Controlling and stabilizing the sand were the goals of the developers of the 1900's. As late as the 1980's, this weed was still being actively planted in the dunes in order to stabilize (destroy) them. An example is the roadway that leads to Coos Bay's North Jetty. The beach grass has spread rapidly along the coast and is choking out the natural open sand. This happens in several ways. Along the surf, beach grass has stabilized the foredune, blocking the supply of fresh sand into the interior dunes. The sand immediately behind the foredune has blown away and is not being re-supplied from the surf. The flat, wet area behind the foredune (deflation plain) is now being taken over by other grasses, plants and pine trees. Secondly, the beach grass is hardy enough to colonize many areas of open sand further inland. Research into aerial photographs from the 1940's reveal the vast amounts of open sand that have been lost forever to this non-native plant. The current rate of vegetation encroachment is approximately 2% per year. The forest service has tried several experimental techniques to try to slow this strangling of the dunes. At Florence, they pushed a several hundred foot long opening in the foredune allowing winter storms to push large quantities of fresh sand onto the deflation plain behind. This effect lasted for a year or two. It's only result was to prove the hypothesis that beach grass was the cause of the problem. At Winchester Bay, they cut down the trees and burned the grass along a mile long stretch. Now, only a few years later, one can barely tell anything happened except that the trees are gone. We hope other ideas are tried in this area as the Winchester Bay area is one of the finest riding areas. With few natural enemies and restrictions against the use of herbicides, there are few options. Good or bad, heavy OHV use does seem to keep the beach grass at bay. Areas of the dunes that are closed to OHVs are quickly being covered - soon to look like western Nebraska. It's been suggested that hand pulling of beach grass would be a good job for prison labor. Even if the beach grass were to be eliminated, it would probably be necessary to mechanically remove miles of the foredune in order to truly return to a balance in sand supply vs. losses inland. |
| OHV Mis-use Certain OHV users put the entire sport at risk. Violations of closure rules and of common sense give our opposition ammunition to fight for further closures. Unfortunately, the reverse is never true. Keep in mind that a double standard exists where hikers can do most anything and never risk a loss of privileges. Stay on historically open roads, trails, and the open sand. |
| Litter Don't be a jerk. Pack out what you take in. The photo show why sand camping is a trap to get us locked out of the sand.  |
| Sand Camping. Sand Camping is a really, really bad idea. With no trash pickup or dumpsters, it's a sure bet that trash will be left behind. Without designated fire pits, people will build fires somewhere. Without toilets, people will do it like the bears do. There are just too many users in too small an area for such uncontrolled usage, regardless of their chosen sport. It's almost as if it's a set-up to make OHV users look bad. |