2A • December 29, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Oregon beach cleanup efforts inspire filmmaker
gest it. There has been a
good amount of local atten-
tion drawn to this issue over
the last five years. Multiple
cleanup events have hap-
pened throughout the spring
and summer, and a program
that turns plastics into jewelry
for awareness launched earli-
er this year.
Microplastics
documentary
filmed on
Oregon beaches
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
In his work at Ocean Blue
Project, Richard Arterbury
said he has found that more
people know what to expect at
a Christmas tree lighting than
a beach cleanup.
Arterbury and his team at
the environmental nonprofit
that focuses on river resto-
ration and ocean health are
looking to close that knowl-
edge gap. They are filming a
documentary on the Oregon
Coast about beach cleanups
and the consequences that
come with increasing plastic
marine debris.
Starting in April, Ocean
Blue Project will host and
document about 50 beach
cleanups on the West Coast.
A large portion will be filmed
on Oregon beaches, including
Fort Stevens State Park, Sea-
side and Tolovana State Park.
The film, tentatively titled
Pollution and people
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Plastic materials, such as this deflated ball, can pose a haz-
ard to wildlife in the area.
“Do it for the beaches,” is ex-
pected to be released in about
a year.
“We wanted to document
what we were already doing,”
said Arterbury, president of
Ocean Blue Project. “When
we’re on the beach doing
cleanups, people ask, ‘What
are you doing?’ and when we
show them what we are pick-
ing up they are shocked and
surprised.”
Throughout the tour, the
five-year-old nonprofit is
aiming to remove more than
50,000 pounds of plastics and
microplastics. Microplastics
are extremely small pieces of
debris broken down from larg-
er waste in the ocean, coming
in a variety of colors and often
mistaken for sea glass.
Earlier this year, more than
240 pounds was filtered from
the sand in front of Haystack
Rock. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration estimates 100 million
tons of this debris fills the
ocean, impacting thousands
of marine animals who in-
While there have been
many documentaries made to
address the consequences of
microplastic pollution in the
ocean, this is one of the few
to focus solely on the Unit-
ed States. The Ocean Blue
Project is also focusing on
the people who conduct and
volunteer at beach cleanups.
One of the goals of the docu-
mentary, outreach coordinator
Karise Boyce said, is to con-
duct an ethnographic study of
beach communities to share
the stories of those who face
coastal pollution every day.
“It’s in their face every
day,” Boyce said. “We want
to share their stories with peo-
ple who live inland who may
be making decisions about the
pollution that may end up on
the beaches.”
A long journey for Japanese fishing vessel
Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
A capsized, 38-foot Jap-
anese fishing boat washed
ashore early this month be-
tween Arcadia Beach and Hug
Point.
Seaside Aquarium report-
ed the boat ashore on Dec. 2.
The boat was covered in large,
pelagic gooseneck barnacles
which indicated it had been
floating out at sea for quite
some time because pelagic
gooseneck barnacles are a
species of barnacles that only
attached to drifting debris,
such as driftwood.
Officials from Oregon
State Parks and the Coast
Guard evaluated its condition
and inspected it for any leak-
ing fluids or safety hazards,
Cannon Beach Fire Chief
Matt Benedict said.
Benedict said the vessel
looks like it has been in the
water for quite a while, and it
appears there is Japanese let-
tering on the hull.
“There’s lots of vegeta-
tion on the side. It appears it’s
been floating upside down for
a long time,” Benedict said.
“If people go down and look,
just be careful.”
Benedict said he was not
aware of health hazards. Ore-
gon State Parks worked with a
salvaging company to remove
the vessel from the beach.
A large part of the docu-
mentary will be dedicated to
educating people about the
dangerous effects of plastic
pollution in the ocean as it
pertains to sea life and envi-
ronmental health. Microplas-
tics never biodegrade, and the
tiny plastic pieces have an af-
finity to absorb chemicals —
which are often carcinogenic
— through broken edges and
surfaces.
But as an anthropologist,
Boyce is looking to study the
effects of pollution past phys-
ical health.
“We’re looking to see
how communities are affect-
ed. How is their well-being
emotionally and mentally?
And what are the economic
impacts? Can we feel a dif-
ference in tourism and indus-
try?” Boyce said. “We want
to help people see how land-
based pollution is impacting
these communities in every
way.”
The inspiration
While the Ocean Blue
Project is based in Bend, Ar-
terbury’s passion for envi-
ronmental activism is drawn
from a love of the coast.
Nehalem ranch praised
for conservation work
EO Media Group
COURTESY CANNON BEACH FIRE AND RESCUE
A vessel washed ashore between Arcadia Beach and Hug
Point.
“I’ve spent the summers
on the coast for the last eight
years and fell in love with it.
It’s the most beautiful place,”
he said. “And what keeps me
going back is the volunteers
wanting to do another beach
cleanup. Because cleaning up
the beaches is a job that never
ends.”
Moving forward, Boyce
and Arterbury plan to reach
out to local businesses and
community leaders associated
with each beach to gather lo-
cal perspectives.
With more than 8 million
tons of plastic deposited into
the ocean each year, focusing
on educating people on what a
beach cleanup can accomplish
is an important step toward
eliminating plastic pollution
on Oregon’s beaches, Arter-
bury said.
“We want to allow every-
one to see what inspires us to
continue doing (beach clean-
ups). Making a documentary
about what a beach cleanup
is will honestly make it eas-
ier for everyone,” he said.
“We want people to go to the
beach, know you can grab a
bit of plastic to help out and
know why.”
A Nehalem ranch has
been praised for its work
around wildlife conservation.
The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife recog-
nized Karen Kuntz and her
Foley Peak Angus cattle op-
eration with the Riley Free-
man award during the Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Association
and Oregon Cattlemen’s
Convention and Tradeshow
earlier this month in Bend.
Kuntz has worked with
the Natural Resources Con-
servation Service and the Til-
lamook Soil and Conserva-
tion District to put a resource
management system in place
and encourage diverse habi-
tat across her ranch, located
in the Nehalem River water-
shed.
Foley Peak Angus em-
ploys techniques like rota-
tional grazing to maintain
good field conditions and to
reduce sediment and manure
runoff into Tomlinson Creek,
a tributary of Foley Creek
and the Nehalem River. The
ranch also maintains buffer
strips along waterways, pro-
viding good canopy and hab-
itat for wildlife and keeping
temperatures cooler for fish.
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