4A • June 16, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
Robin Risley’s pioneering spirit
R
obin proudly and passionately served on
the Oregon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment Commission from 2008 to 2017.
During her tenure, she welcomed several new
state parks into the system, Chrissy Field, Iwe-
temlaykin, Bates, Beaver Creek and Cottonwood
Canyon. Robin encouraged the department
Q: When you were a member of the
state’s parks and recreation department
commission, did you fi nd a confl ict with
industry and parkland preservation?
We’ve had some issues in eastern Ore-
gon, with so much of the land owned by
the government. Some people can be a little
bit upset to hear that maybe a property that
they hold dear would be public when they
would rather stay private land. We have
gone to meetings that start out fairly con-
tentious. But as we go along through the
process, we just don’t have one meeting.
We have many meetings, to get an idea of
the temperature of the community.
Q: Do you anticipate federal policy
changes will change the way land is man-
aged in our state?
That remains to be seen.
Q: Tell me about your background.
I grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon, and my
family were pioneers. They came over the
Oregon Trail the Mount Hood way. They
got two donation land claims. The family
settled in 1843. There is a Risley Park and
the Risley Landing Gardens today.
I graduated from Oregon State Univer-
sity with a degree in scientifi c illustration.
Then I went to work for Myron Frank as an
illustrator.
Q: How did you land on the coast?
I married a fellow whose family owned
the Crab Broiler restaurant. It seated 292
to pursue insecure the acquisition of the Sitka
Sedge State Park, which will be opening for
the late fall season. Risley could continually be
counted on for her reliability, dedication and
involvement. She went above and beyond donat-
ing her own time attending public meetings all
around the state regarding various rule changes
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
people and people would have to wait two
hours to get a table. They would check in
and come back. It was wonderful,
Q: The restaurant had quite a repu-
tation.
It was named “Outstanding Roadside
Restaurant” by Life magazine. We had 100
employees. Behind Crown Zellerbach, we
were the largest employer in Clatsop Coun-
ty.
Q: What happened to the Crab Broil-
er?
The family closed it. They sold it three
times and the last one stuck. It’s been 25
years maybe since.
Q: What was your next move?
I left and went to Lake Oswego for a lit-
tle while then came back and I’ve been here
ever since. I came into Realty in 1989.
Q: Do you have a particular focus?
I’ve always worked in Gearhart, Sea-
side, Cannon Beach and Arch Cape. I’m
with Sotheby’s now. I don’t usually work
in Astoria, just because I think it’s a differ-
ent animal.
and policy impacts to communities and park
visitors. She was a great commissioner always
listening and advocating for what she believed
the public wants it. Her service was top-notch
and will be deeply missed.”
— Lisa Sumption, Oregon Recreation and Parks Department
Commission
Q: When did you become interested
in civic affairs?
I’ve always been involved one way or
another supporting different candidates for
offi ces. I’ve always been involved in deci-
sion-making to a degree or helping to do
that. I am on the Planning Commission for
the county and also for Cannon Beach.
Q: How did you get involved with the
Parks and Recreation Department?
I got a call from a friend and they said
there was a vacancy if I was interested.
And I have to thank Debbie Boone, our
house representative, and (state Sen.) Betsy
(Johnson) because they encouraged me. I
joined in 2008. I served under three gov-
ernors: (Ted) Kulongoski, (John) Kitzhaber
and (Kate) Brown.
Q: From your perspective as a Real-
tor, what are people looking for in Can-
non Beach?
People always want to be by the ocean
and they always want to have a walk. Ever
since the tsunami concerns sometimes peo-
ple request that they request to be higher
up.
Q: How do you address the tsunami
threat?
You need to be upfront with every con-
cern people might have.
Q: As a real estate agent, do you see a
celebrity culture here?
Robin Risley
It goes back to “Kindergarten Cop”
and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I used to be
a stringer for the fi lm and video depart-
ment. We did “Kindergarten Cop,” we did
“Goonies” and we did “Point Break.”
I’m on the Arts Council for Clatsop
County. We fi nished doing a survey of the
different events throughout the county. In
the next month we’re going to come up
with the value that we think the arts provide
in our community.
Q: What can we look forward to at
the state Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment?
Doug Deur is going to take my place —
woo hoo! I am so excited!
He’s going to bring a whole dimension
to parks that I think they need, because a lot
of our areas are very precious. And we need
to honor them.
View of estuary at Sitka
Sedge Natural Area
From the Ice Age to today: How the Rock was formed
I
t is impossible to visit Cannon
Beach without automatically
gravitating to the huge monolith
that is Haystack Rock. Not only
is the rock a designated marine
garden and wildlife refuge, but the
235-foot-tall basalt beauty also
plays host to over 200,000 visitors
each year. For Cannon Beach, the
Rock has become an icon, but
do we really understand how this
geological wonder came to be?
“The journey of Haystack Rock
began 15 million years ago with
a series of active volcanic lava
fl ows, which sent a fi nger of 50,000
cubic miles of lava westward along
the route of the Columbia River,”
explains the permanent interpretive
exhibit at the Cannon Beach History
Center. “When the lava reached
the ocean, it found weak marine sed-
iments. There it descended into the
earth and fl owed along subterranean
channels forged by its own heat.”
A series of volcanic eruptions
produced this large quantity of lava,
believed to be one of the largest
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ELAINE TRUCKE
fl ows in the history of the earth, and
the fi nger spread out into a fan into
the ocean of the North Coast.
This lava fan fl owed under the
earth because of the tremendous
pressure it exerted on the soft
marine sediments (sand). The lava
would occasionally pool and push to
the surface, where it would slowly
cool, transforming over time into
basalt rock.
“The lava intrusions took many
forms: huge fi ngers, sheets, and
knobs,” says the Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce on their
Web site. “They cooled and so-
lidifi ed into hard basalt rock and
remained buried under the uplifted
marine sediments for eons. The larg-
est formed the major headlands, as
the land gradually lifted and softer
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sediments eroded away.”
After this lava fl ow, the Ice
Age began and glaciated parts of
the earth, reducing the level of the
ocean by several hundred feet. This
reduction in ocean levels combined
with shifts in the earth’s crust gave
Oregon a greater landmass, and the
land continued rising (a process
known as uplifting).
During the last 11,000 to 18,000
years, continued uplift and erosion
have removed approximately 30
miles of sediments and volcanic
rocks along the northwestern coast-
line, the History Center’s exhibit
explains.
This uplift caused by the shifting
of the earth’s crust and the accompa-
nying erosion due to the Ice Age and
its eventual end caused many of the
formations that were made during the
lava fl ow to become exposed.
Thousands of years of beating
from the wind, rain, and tides shaped
Haystack Rock into what we see
today. Softer land mass eroded away
from the basalt rock that formed from
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
Children near Haystack Rock in an undated photo.
the lava, and Haystack Rock and
the Needles, along with the offshore
rocks in Ecola State Park, became
more pronounced.
The erosion that formed Haystack
Rock also helped to form the tide
pools that thousands of visitors enjoy
each year. The rocky shallows of the
Oregon Coast allow for water to be
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captured in pools during high and
low tide, creating a habitat for an
abundance of creatures to live.
The Cannon Beach History Center
and Museum is home to a permanent
tide pool exhibit. The museum is
open seven days a week from 11 a.m.
until 5 p.m. For more information
about the exhibit, call 503-436-9301.
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