Coast Trails! Newsletter of the National Coast Trail Association Projects 2015/2016 Oregon Coast Trail 2021 plan Over fifty new signs mark the provides updated solutions Columbia River Water Trail Implementation through advocacy, education, Signage helps paddlers identify key locations for and action becomes organization's primary goal access, camping, food along the lower Columbia Eugene, OR – The National Coast Trail Association (NCTA) Portland, OR – The Estuary completed their revised plan, Oregon Coast Trail 2021: Final Partnership installed new signs Connections, Logistics Strategy in October 2015. This report was along the Lower Columbia River initially submitted to various administrative staff of the Oregon Parks Water Trail during spring and early & Recreation Department (OPRD) during November 2015 and will summer 2015 to help paddlers continue during 2016. The report represents the trail organization's identify key locations like launch and updated proposals not only with solutions for missing gaps to landing sites, camping sites, and on- complete the trail by the agency's previously announced 2021 target water food options. date, but also provides recommendations for other infrastructure The signs were installed at sites in needed, such as designated primitive campsites, to make the trail WA and OR from Beacon Rock to logistically doable along it's entire length. Netul Landing near Fort Clatsop in “We needed to update our Lewis & Clark National Historical decade-old plan since Park. Each water trail sign is site things on the coast have specific and includes the site name, changed,” notes NCTA river mile, and amenity icons, plus executive director Al logos from the Estuary Partnership, LePage. “New trail the site owner, and the Lewis and opportunities have arisen Clark National Historic Trail. from such things as new Funding for the signs was secured public land acquisition to from the National Park Service by discoveries about access Lewis and Clark National Historical along certain areas of the Park and the Lewis and Clark coast.” National Park Association. The goals of the plan are The Lower Columbia River Water to provide OPRD and Trail stretches 146 river miles from other stakeholders with Bonneville Dam to the mouth of the the recommendations and Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean. other information needed to (1) assist OPRD in As an ad-hoc committee of the developing a completed Estuary Partnership, the Lower basic route for the Oregon Columbia River Water Trail Coast Trail in the short- Committee was formed in 2001 as a term by the agency's own bi-state coalition of varied target date of 2021, (2) encourage OPRD to allow overnight camping stakeholders involved in the initial for backpackers-only within specific day-use state parks, (3) offer development of the trail. The other routing solutions in the long-term to eventually complete the National Coast Trail Association, Oregon Coast Trail with the highest quality recreational hiking one of the early committee members, experience possible given any and all existing constraints, and (4) was involved in the early planning, address the preservation of special areas along the coast to protect and promotion and outreach efforts. Image:The River Mile 116 Sign enhance the overall trail experience. The Water Trail website at http://www.estuarypartnership.org/explore “Implementation has now become one of our primary goals,” provides non-motorized boaters tips on navigating the Water Trail, an continues LePage, “and we immediately began sharing the plan with interactive map, trip recommendations, safety information, and other the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department and will continue to do so resources for paddlers. with the agency and other key stakeholders during 2016 and beyond. The Estuary Partnership was established in 1995 by the Governors of Advocacy, education and action will continue to be the hallmark of WA and OR and the US Environmental Protection Agency to provide our primary strategy.” regional coordination, to advance science, and to get on-the-ground Presenting the report to OPRD staff at various levels of the agency and results in the lower Columbia River and estuary. It is a collaborative other stakeholders is one immediate objective, which will in part be program led by farmers, educators, businesses, economic and supported with the remaining funds of the Meyer Memorial Trust grant conservation interests, community members, federal agencies, and used to develop the report, and in accordance with the purposes it was state and tribal governments and works to restore and protect habitat, provided. The organization will also strategically seek out and act improve water quality and reduce pollution, and provide information upon existing and evolving opportunities and potential threats to about the river to a range of audiences. continue to move forward towards completing the Oregon Coast Trail. (Source: Text/image, Estuary Partnership April 22, 2015 press release) Trail Development Education Working for Recreation & Public Access Promoting Coastal Trails to Everyone Trail Maintenance, North Coast State Parks Two Oregon Coast Trail Books Published 2015 Repair and restoration of degraded sections of Written by veteran Oregon Coast Trail hikers, and offered as a special coastal trails is planned in 2016, funded through a insert at the end of the PDF newsletter, are two books described using $162,000 Recreational Trails Grant, for Oswald their own promotional information. Day Hiking: Oregon Coast, 2nd West State Park and Cape Lookout State Park. The Edition by Bonnie Henderson is a revised “all new” hiking guidebook, projects total 7.8 miles and include the western half and Exploring the Oregon Coast Trail by Connie Soper is a new of the Cape Lookout Trail plus two sections of the hiking guidebook that also includes some Oregon coast history. Oregon Coast Trail, both the Cape Falcon Trail and the Neahkahnie Mountain Trail. (Image/OPRD) Salmonberry Trail, Watch Informational Video A short video about the Salmonberry Trail concept, envisioned to Permit Signed, First Trail Built for “C2C Trail” provide non-motorized recreation from Banks to Tillamook, OR along On July 7, 2015, Siuslaw National Forest and the Corvallis-to-Sea the 86 miles of the Port of Tillamook Bay railroad, has been created. (“C2C”) Trail Partnership signed a historic 5-year federal permit. The Click this direct link to watch video: https://youtu.be/TsuYXyRvi-0 permit allows the Partnership to build, maintain, and manage those portions of the C2C Trail that cross US Forest Service lands on the 35- Redesign NCTA Website, Expand OCT Website mile eastern half of the route that can now link Corvallis with Big Elk The National Coast Trail Association's main website, CoastTrails.org, Campground 35 miles to the west. Before the was first launched in 1999 and needs to be redesigned literally from a permit expires on December 31, 2019, a new 20th to a 21st-century website during 2016 to better serve our members, permit will be required, and the Partnership the organization and its visitors. Its successful OregonCoastTrail.info envisions that it could include all, or a “sub-website,” besides the annual update for 2016, could also significant portion of, the remaining half of potentially be expanded to better serve both our members, other the proposed route to Ona Beach, if only visitors and for all hikers using the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT). initially as a “wilderness class” (cleared but otherwise unimproved) trail. Volunteers have begun building the last segment of the new Sugarbowl Creek trail that will link Shotpouch Road with Harlan Conservation Road. In addition to the vital trail building over the next half year, Taking Action for Coastal Preservation signs must still be bought and installed and maps printed. Completion of the eastern half of the route is slated for 2016 with an official No Golf Course for Bandon State Natural Area opening target date of June 4, National Trails Day. (Text/Trail Logo: C2C Trail Partnership) Visit http://www.c2ctrail.org/ for more information Olympic Discovery Trail, Trestle Replacement Work is nearing completion on the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s replacement of the Dungeness River trestle that was blown out by flooding in Feb. 2015. Construction of the new structure, consisting of five prefabricated iron spans placed on extensively engineered concrete piling/pier assemblies, has progressed smoothly under the Tribe’s direction and The approved land exchange between Bandon Biota, a company should be done during winter 2016. The Peninsula Trails Coalition is associated with Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, and the Oregon Parks & working with the Tribe and the Dungeness River Audubon Center to Recreation Department (OPRD) regarding Bandon State Natural Area completely renew the surface of the truss bridge itself and the east-side (BSNA) was terminated in September 2015. An apparent lack of ramp, both badly in need of replacement. The work is scheduled to groundwater and new requirements by the Bureau of Land begin February 2016 and move forward quickly as a complete Management, the agency that gave the land to the State of Oregon in renovation of this signature section of the Olympic Discovery Trail. 1968 for "public parks purposes only," but kept a reversionary interest The Peninsula Trails Coalition (PTC), founded in 1988, is the all- on the deed, were the reasons given for Bandon Biota to end the land volunteer nonprofit that advocates for the completion and maintenance