Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
P.O. Box 33
Seal Rock, OR 97376
CONTACT: Fawn Custer, (541) 270–0027, fawn@oregonshores.org
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Mark your calendar, make sure your
camera is in working order, and prepare to visit the coast during 2015’s “King
Tide” episodes. Anyone capable of taking
a picture can contribute to citizen science and help to focus (literally)
attention on high tides and sea level rise.
Through
the King Tide Project, photographers help to document the reach of the year’s
highest tides, the “King Tides.” This
year the project takes place during three sets of
extreme tides: Oct. 27-29, Nov. 24-27, and Dec. 23-25.
For the sixth year, the
annual project is being sponsored by the CoastWatch Program of the Oregon
Shores Conservation Coalition, Surfrider, and the state’s Coastal Management
Program, along with local sponsors. This
is the Oregon
branch of an international volunteer effort to record the year’s highest tides.
(The idea began in Australia,
where such events are known as “King Tides,” hence the name.) Documenting the highest reach of the tides
tells us something about areas of the natural and built environments which are
subject to erosion and flooding now. It tells us even more about what to expect
as sea level rises.
Anyone
capable of taking a photograph and able to get to the coast during the series
of high tides can help by taking shots anywhere on the coast at the highest
point of the tide on those days. These photos can focus on any feature. Those
that show the location of the tide in relation to the built environment (roads,
seawalls, buildings) are especially useful in demonstrating impending threats. Subjects can be the outer coast, or estuaries
and lower river valleys affected by tides. The ideal photo would be taken from
a location where the photographer can return later at an ordinary high tide to
take a comparison shot. Photographers are also encouraged to focus
on iconic or easily recognizable locations and areas where the high water is
impacting infrastructure in order to effectively highlight the effects of
rising sea levels.
CoastWatch
is making a special effort to organize photographers to document the reach of
the King Tides in the vicinity of the new marine reserves (Cape Falcon,
Cascade Head, Otter Rock, Cape
Perpetua and Redfish
Rocks).
Participants will post
photographs online through the King Tide Photo Initiative website, http://www.oregonkingtides.net/ where project information and the online
submission form can be accessed. Be
prepared to include the location, date, description, and direction of the
photo.
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King Tide Project—Page 2
For more information about
the technical aspects of the project, contact Andy Lanier, Coastal Resources
Specialist for the Oregon Coastal Management Program at (541) 934-0072,
andy.lanier@state.or.us.
At
the conclusion of the project, three wrap-up celebrations will be held along
the coast: Jan. 8,
2016 in Clatsop County; Jan. 15 in Lincoln
County; and Jan. 22 celebration in Coos County. Exact locations and times will be announced
later. At these events the best of the
King Tide photos will be shown, photographers will be on hand to comment, and
there will be a special speaker. These events will be free and open to all
(appetizers are provided with beverages and meals available for purchase at the
venues).
For
information about the project, and about participating in the special effort to
document the King Tides in the marine reserve areas, contact Fawn Custer,
CoastWatch volunteer coordinator, at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.
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