Outdoors
ship. And it makes e-bike purchases more affordable
for low-income people.
The office settled on the $1,200 rebate after sending
an assessment to the community. Households were more
willing to buy an e-bike if it took out a sizable chunk of
the price tag, she says, but the office wanted them to at
least pay $200 for the bike to attract serious applicants.
The rebate also covers safety equipment, such as helmets
and visibility vests.
To qualify for the Corvallis e-bike program, your house-
hold income must be less than 80 percent of area median
income as set by the U.S. Housing and Urban Develop-
ment. For an individual in Corvallis, that’s an annual
income of $47,600 — for a household of four, $68,000.
In July 2021, when the office opened the first round of
applications, it did so without advertising but still gave
out all 15 rebates. Because of the overwhelming number
of applications, the office has used a lottery system.
“We kept the application really simple,” Duvall says.
“For so many programs, they’re constantly asked to prove
how poor they are. And it’s humiliating.” Applicants self-
reported their income but they had to prove they were
a Pacific Power customer.
Being an economic development office, Duvall says
the idea of having the e-bike program was also meant to
stimulate the local bike shop economy. The rebate could
only be used at four bicycle shops in the Corvallis area.
Duvall says Corvallis Electric Bike Shop received most of
the rebates, but the other stores in Corvallis have seen
an increase in e-bike sales.
The office hasn’t finished collecting data on how the
recipients are using the e-bikes, but Duvall says that
based on anecdotal evidence, some were already biking
in some capacity, and it allowed those who have become
unable to bike return to the saddle.
The program plans to distribute 50 rebates — the
Walking on Sand
GET OUT AND EXPERIENCE THE WONDER OF THE
OREGON DUNES By Chandra LeGue
O
regon’s central coast — from Florence to Coos
Bay — was once a vast expanse of moving sand
40 miles long and up to three miles wide in
places. Oregon’s dunes are a unique ecosys-
tem, one of the largest of its kind, that formed more than
100,000 years ago. Fascinating, right?
Oregon’s dunes also happen to be one of the best places
to get outside to play on the coast. They can be enjoyed
in pretty much any season and type of weather, and while
parts of the dunes are a favored playground for off-road
vehicles, others are quiet, lovely and nearly deserted.
Fifty years ago, back in 1972, 32,000 acres were desig-
nated as the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
(ODNRA), managed by the Siuslaw National Forest. But
long before that, humans had begun to change this shift-
ing landscape — introducing European beach grass that
would stabilize the dunes to hold the shifting sands at
bay from Highway 101 and new towns building up along
the coast.
Like the century of extensive logging in Oregon’s
coastal forests, taming the shifting sands of the dunes
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M
has had major consequences. The imported beach grass
held the sand in place as desired, but that meant major
shifts in the ecosystem — less moving sand meant more
stable dunes and shrubs (both native and invasive, like
Scot’s broom) and trees taking root where they weren’t
before. Habitat for plants and animals that depended
on open sand shrunk, and habitat for shrub-loving crit-
ters like the rare coastal marten (a member of the weasel
family) expanded.
Recognizing the importance of the dunes ecosystem,
collaborative efforts by the U.S. Forest Service, off-road
vehicle users, conservationists and Tribes are underway
to both preserve the remaining open sand areas and
restore the vanishing dunes ecosystem by removing
invasive plants and stabilized dunes. (You can help as a
weed-pulling volunteer, which runs year-round — check
out SaveOregonDunes.org for more.)
Aside from a home for wildlife, use of the dunes is
today focused on recreation, and it is a destination that
helps drive the local economy. As such, there are dozens
of places to stop, take a walk, camp, watch wildlife, hop
Photo by Chandra LeGue
office donated staff time to manage the program — and
has so far handed out 31 rebates. The office wants to
continue the program but needs to find funding to do
so, Duvall says.
Duvall says e-bikes aren’t decreasing the number of
trips people make on pedal-powered bicycles but instead
are being used for errands, and getting people out of
cars. And the rebate has helped low income households
make that change.
“What’s so popular about this program is that for
the amount of money that we’re talking about, it really
makes a huge difference. You’re really impacting a lot of
people’s lives,” she says. “Anyone else trying to set up a
program like that is something we should think about:
How many people you can impact.” ■
Electric Avenue is at 187 E. Broadway. For more information, visit
ElectricAvenueSports.com.
To learn more about the Corvallis-Benton Economic Development
e-bike grant, visit YesCorvallis.com.
on a sand buggy or launch a boat in the ODNRA along
Hwy 101.
Motorized vehicles are allowed (and are popular) in
some designated areas of the dunes. I personally like to
avoid these areas for more peace and quiet. One of my
favorite options is the Tahkenitch Dunes Day Use Area
about 14 miles south of Florence, where you can hike
across dunes, along a meandering creek, and through
young forest where you really get a feel for the changes
occuring due to invasive plants.
(Keep in mind that nearly all of these coastal recre-
ation areas require a Northwest Forest Pass, day pass,
or state park permit, which cost $30 a year or $5 a day.)
My favorite place in the Oregon dunes, though, is the
John Dellenback Dunes area, where you can experience
the once-vast dunes ecosystem; it’s the largest expanse
of open sand left in the ODNRA that is closed to motor-
ized vehicles and bikes. Native plants like lupine, sand
verbena and bunch grasses persist here, as do unique
butterflies, beetles, frogs and other wildlife that depend
on the moving sand environment.
The trail starts just south of the Eel Creek Camp-
ground and the community of Lakeside, on the west
side of Hwy 101 about 10 miles south of Reedsport. It
climbs a sandy path through a shore pine and spruce
forest before reaching open sand and tall dunes. Look
for wooden posts leading towards the ocean — but don’t
be afraid to wander and explore the fascinating sand
landscape on your way.
In early spring, the water table can be quite high,
and small ponds form in the nooks and crannies of the
rolling sand hills. (Stay a safe distance from the edge of
these wet areas, as the wet sand can turn to dangerous
quicksand in the blink of an eye.)
Got kids? They’ll love running up and down the dunes
and exploring tracks in the sand even more than you do.
It’s about 1.5 miles to the ocean, and in the spring,
the low-lying forest between the dunes and beach can
be flooded. No matter: If you can’t get all the way to the
beach, just make your own loop back to where you came
from, keeping the prominent tree islands and inland
landscape features in sight so you don’t get lost.
If you do make it to the beach, be aware of posted
signs requesting that you (and your dogs) stay off the
dry sand between the dunes and the beach. The seasonal
closure (March 15 through Sept. 15) is to protect nesting
snowy plovers — a cute little shore bird that nests in dry
sand and has not fared well in the altered dunes land-
scape. Fortunately, restoration efforts and use restric-
tions have helped their population stabilize. Please obey
posted signage. ■
For more information visit FS.usda.gov/main/siuslaw/home click “rec-
reation” and scroll down to the Oregon dunes..
Chandra LeGue of Eugene is the author of the book Oregon’s Ancient
Forests: A hiking guide and is the Western Oregon field coordinator for
Oregon Wild where she advocates for the protection and restoration of
Oregon’s forests and wild places.
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