Updating the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy

June, 2021 UPDATE: In their May meeting the Ocean Policy Advisory Council approved recommendations of two new rocky habitat site management designations. These include a Marine Garden at Coquille Point, and a Marine Research Area at Cape Blanco (click links to access proposal materials). DLCD will be hosting a workshop later this summer to revise the proposal submission and evaluation processes. Check back for more updates.
 
 
 
Managing Oregon's rocky coastline is a shared responsibility. In fall 2018, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) gathered decision makers across the state to begin an amendment to the Rocky Shores Management chapter (Part Three) of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan (TSP). The plan acts as a coordinated vision for marine resources in Oregon and guides the actions of state and federal agencies that are responsible for managing coastal and ocean resources in the public trust. The amended rocky habitat plan will incorporate the best available science and consider the needs, concerns, and values of Oregonians balanced with the state’s goals for a resilient coastal ecosystem that can provide enduring opportunities for its users.
 
 
 
 
 
The rocky habitat site management proposal process will re-open for submissions October 1, 2021. 
 
To create and submit your proposal, access the Rocky Habitat Web Mapping Tool here:
 
 
 
 
The new Rocky Habitat Web Mapping Tool contains a wealth of coastal resource information, and provides an opportunity for interested members of the public to generate and submit proposals for coordinated management changes to Oregon's marine rocky habitats. Site designation proposals collected by this tool will be reviewed for potential incorporation into the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy.
 
 
Additional materials and helpful links:
 
Rocky Habitat Web Mapping Tool user guide with proposal walk-thru.
 
Public webinar recording with video demonstration of the tool.
 
 
 
 
For additional updates, please check the events calendar below or look on the Territorial Sea Plan page.
 
Users may also find additional helpful information at OregonShorezone.info and the Rocky Shores Story Map.
 
*PLEASE NOTE: Due to restrictions and conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, staff capacity may be temporarily reduced. Please be aware that this may cause delays in responses and updates.
 
 
 
Rocky Habitat Amendment Navigation
 Current Status of Update - Phase 3 now underway!
   
   
   
   
 

How will the Rocky Habitat Strategy amendment be performed?

MONTH

KEY DATES & PUBLIC MEETINGS

January 2021

Agency analyses of rocky habitat proposals submitted during 2020 Initial Proposal Period.

February

Rocky Habitat Working Group evaluations of rocky habitat proposals.

(02/25) Working Group meeting

March

30-day public comment period begins on initial Working Group recommendations for rocky habitat site management designation proposals.

Information on public comment period published to www.OregonOcean.info

April

 Final revisions to draft Rocky Habitat Management Strategy; Final Working Group recommendations for rocky habitat proposals.

May

 OPAC Meeting

The Territorial Sea Plan Working Group will conduct a series of public meetings and workshops to inform and educate the public about the plan amendment process, review site maps and inventory information, and analyze the various alternatives and options for specific areas, after which it will present its findings and recommendations to OPAC for consideration. OPAC will then finalize a draft plan amendment and submit it to the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission(LCDC) for public review and formal adoption. The process is expected to span from fall 2017 through 2021.

The Strategy amendment is a public process that will occur in three phases, shown below.


The following process timeline is flexible and may be adapted throughout the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why update the Territorial Sea Plan for Oregon’s Rocky Habitats?

The Oregon Territorial Sea Plan was first instituted in 1994 and provides detailed guidance to state and federal agencies to manage uses within the coastal zone and the state’s territorial sea from 0-3 nautical miles offshore. The ocean is governed by a tapestry of authorities at multiple government scales, and the Territorial Sea Plan acts as a coordinating framework for the Oregon coastal zone from which individual agencies institute regulations and management activities.

 

 

Who is involved in the Rocky Habitat Strategy amendment?

Consistent with Statewide Planning Goal 1, citizens are invited to participate during all phases of the amendment process. The diagram below shows how parties will be involved.


At the outset of this process, the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) will use its Territorial Sea Plan Working Group, composed of OPAC members, agency representatives, and others with relevant expertise in rocky habitat management, science, or education, to evaluate the latest knowledge about the rocky shores system and generate recommendations for the plan amendment. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is leading and coordinating this effort. The input and assistance from the general public, resource users, coastal communities, and other interested parties is integral to the process.

 

The general activities of the Working Group will include the following:

  1. Solicit public input via a survey focused on rocky habitat users’ needs, concerns, and observations related to rocky habitat areas along the Oregon Coast.
  2. Establish an inventory of existing resources and uses based on the best available scientific information. Inventory information can include geological and biological characteristics, human usage statistics and concerns, and special protection needs. This information will be presented visually via spatial maps and conceptual models to determine linkages and interdependencies.
  3. Identify uncertainties, data gaps, and information gathering opportunities.
  4. Develop objectives for ecosystem-based management and public awareness building for rocky habitats.
  5. Generate planning and management alternatives to meet the identified objectives.
  6. Develop performance measures for alternatives, relative to management objectives.
  7. Develop risk management strategies and mitigation/response measures that can be applied as conditions change.

 

Get Involved!

There will be many opportunities for you to participate in this planning process and a variety of ways to submit your ideas, concerns, and responses about how the plan is being developed. All comments are welcome. You may be concerned with state policies used to guide the planning process. You may want to provide information or know more about a particular area or location. Or you may want to provide input on the various types of data and maps used in developing the plan. All of these comments will be useful in assisting OPAC and its Territorial Sea Plan Working Group, and the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) and its Territorial Sea Plan Advisory Committee, in their deliberations about planning options.