July 27, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A
Don’t fly your drone
near
Haystack
Rock
A visitor to Hug Point films
a sunset using a drone.
EDWARD STRATTON/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Drones can pose
conflicts with
wildlife
By Hannah Sievert
The Daily Astorian
When Melissa Keyser start-
ed working at the Haystack Rock
Awareness Program in 2014, man-
aging drones around the famous
sea stack wasn’t in her job descrip-
tion.
Over the past few years, though,
the number of drones buzzing
around the rock has jumped from
around one a week to one or two
flights a day.
Scientists are using drones more
and more for research, tracking all
kinds of wildlife. But as drones be-
come more popular with people as
playthings and high-flying cameras,
they can cause nesting birds to fly
away and leave chicks and eggs sus-
ceptible to predators. Sometimes,
birds mistake drones for rivals and
attack. On crowded days, drones
can be a hazard when flown too
close to people enjoying the beach.
“I’ve seen a drone 5, 10 feet
above my head, which to me is too
low when you’re at the beach,” Key-
ser said.
The Haystack Rock Awareness
Program and the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department are looking
at new strategies to balance the
technology with wildlife protection.
The emphasis is on education.
Drones are prohibited near Hay-
stack Rock because it is part of a
national wildlife refuge, and drone
operators can face fines for disturb-
ing wildlife.
Keyser said most drone opera-
tors are unaware of the restrictions,
so the awareness program typically
does not report them immediately.
In some instances, staff can’t
even find a drone operator causing
a disturbance because drones can
be controlled from remote loca-
tions. One time, a drone that flushed
birds from the rock was being flown
from a nearby hotel room.
“Whenever we approach some-
one who has violated a rule, it’s not
like they’re a criminal,” she said. “It’s
really just a lack of knowledge. We
totally understand this technology
has grown so rapidly but the educa-
tion hasn’t kept up.”
New signs on the beach explain
that drones must stay 2,000 feet
from Haystack Rock. The aware-
ness program has also provided
guidance to staff on how to handle
drone encounters, and has taken to
social media and newsletters to re-
mind people of proper drone use.
Still, the effort doesn’t seem to
be enough. Apps for drones don’t
list Haystack Rock as a national wild-
life refuge, although they do mark
other no-fly zones like airports.
Awareness program staff only work
at the rock during low tide, leaving
much of the day without anyone to
manage drones.
Keyser hopes drone apps will
eventually include wildlife refuges.
Greater knowledge of the possibili-
ty of fines could help prevent wild-
life disturbances.
“(The fines) would deter a lot of
people, but they don’t even have
that knowledge,” Keyser said. “It’s
still totally insufficient even with the
people we talk to and the messages
we put out. It’s still not enough.”
The state Parks and Recreation
Department has also had to devel-
op new policies. Drones are gener-
ally legal to use in most state parks,
except in areas where flights could
endanger wildlife or pose risks to
people or property.
A drone policy development
group is working on an umbrella
policy for all recreational drone use
that will be easy for park visitors to
understand.
Katie Gauthier, the legislative
and policy coordinator for state
parks, who serves on the drone
policy group, said the policy will be
flexible enough to meet the unique
needs of each park.
“We wouldn’t have drones in ev-
ery park for sure based on the park’s
conditions,” she said. “But it’s those
conditions that we’re still looking at
developing.”
A draft policy should be complet-
ed this fall, with the goal of having
the policy in place by 2019.
Right now, it is up to park man-
agers to decide whether drones are
allowed.
Nehalem Bay State Park was
ruled a drone no-fly zone because of
the nearby airport and the nesting
birds in the area.
Ben Cox, park manager for the
Nehalem Bay Management Unit,
may rule Short Sand Beach in Os-
wald West State Park a no-fly zone
because of the high concentration
of people who visit.
Still, Cox tries to make drone use
happen safely when possible.
“I try to figure out how to make
this happen for the person so they
can have an experience and not be
bound up in regulations,” he said.
“Oftentimes there’s a misconcep-
tion that the government looks to
limit or hinder. I look to allow unless
I can’t. I want to make sure I’m not
saying ‘no’ for no good reason.”
PAINTING
STORAGE AVAILABLE
CANNON BEACH
BUSINESS PARK
10’ x 10’ Heated
Contact Holly at 503-436-2235
LAWN CARE
Free Estimates • Storm Clean-Up
JIM’S LAWN CARE
503-325-2445
LAWNS • SHRUBS • GUTTER CLEANING
BARK • BRUSH CLEARING & REMOVAL
WEEDING • HAULING • MONTHLY RATES
CONSTRUCTION
“Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973”
Residential • Commercial • Remodeling
New Construction • Storm Damage Repair
Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop
503.436.2235
www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126
TREE REMOVAL
HIGH CLIMBING DANGER TREES
PRUNING STUMP GRINDING
JUSTIN J. DAY
F REE E STIMATES
(503) 338-5780
Warrenton, Oregon Licensed Bonded Insured CCB# 214256 WA#QUALITR831PO
PAINTING
Randy Anderson
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
CCB# 89453
36 Years Experience
Anderson Painting
HANNAH SIEVERT/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
(503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337
PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138
Signs posted at Haystack Rock indicate the drone policy.
www.andersonpainting.biz
“Custom Finishing”
LANDSCAPING
Hoping to expand with
more kid-friendly options
Fitness from Page 1A
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
New location of Cannon Beach Fitness.
C oast G allery and n umismatiCs
“a different kind of gallery”
But actually owning a
gym didn’t come across their
mind until Baker was on the
phone with Nofield for an
unrelated reason, before he
flippantly asked if she’d be
interested in owning his gym.
With Baker running the
spa full time and Molyneux
working as a tech consultant
for Global Reach Pacific,
neither had the bandwidth to
go in the project alone and
decided to pursue a partner-
ship.
With both owners having
kids enrolled in the academy,
Molyneux said she hopes ex-
panding the gym to incorpo-
rate more kid-friendly oppor-
tunities and play a piece in the
larger puzzle to attract more
families in Cannon Beach.
“This is truly a passion
project for us,” Molyneux
said. “We wanted to give
back to the community.”
Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix
Soil Amendments
YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF
(no Scotch Broom)
503-717-1454
34154 HIGHWAY 26
SEASIDE, OR
Laurelwood Farm
CONSTRUCTION
B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc .
E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs
r oad w ork • F ill M atErial
s itE P rEParation • r ock
owned and operated by
M ike and C eline M C e wan
503-738-3569
34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR
P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR
S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302
FLOORING
CCB# 205283
Coast Gallery and Numismatics is the northwest
coast newest gallery. Opened June 1, 2018, Coast
Gallery and Numismatics exclusively features
original oil paintings and wood fired ceramics
by Jeff Whyman MFA University California
Berkeley 1981. Jeff Whyman lived in Cannon
Beach for over 10 years and taught at Clatsop
Community College in Astoria, Oregon. From
around the world we also offer exotic shells
and choice world coins. Regards coins we offer
complimentary appraisals on Saturdays.
3350 N Hwy 101 Suite D, Gearhart, Oregon
Wed. thru Sat. 9 am to 4 pm
www.coastgallerynumismatics.com
y
ou ou
r r w
ep alk
ut o
at n
io
n
Flooring
Installation
3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon
503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com