Natural forces, some cataclysmic and some gradual and relentless, have shaped the Oregon coast over millions of years. These dynamics are still at work, constantly reshaping the coast. What is different about the coast today, however, is our ubiquitous human presence, one consequence of which is that the same natural forces that shaped the coast so attractively in the past increasingly threaten human life and property.

In response to these threats and to concerns that existing efforts to cope with them were inadequate, the Oregon State University Extension Sea Grant Program, with support from Oregon's Coastal Management Program, organized 20 coastal residents and resource managers into a policy working group to reconsider the entire issue.

Improving Natural Hazards Management on the Oregon Coast is the culmination of more than two years of work by the policy working group. To produce the report, the group participated in 19 workshops between March 1992 and May 1994. The group identified natural hazard problems and possible solutions, took their ideas to the public in a series of workshops, sought and considered public opinion, and formulated the recommendations in this report.

The report addresses 23 issues, organized in four categories: hazard identification, beach and shore protection, land use, and disaster preparedness and response. The group makes 79 recommendations and suggests those actions and agencies, organizations, or institutions that could best implement each recommendation.

How to Order : 

Free download: accessible .pdf

Product Number: 
ORESU-T-94-002
Year of Publication: 
1994
Price: 
Free
Length: 
128 pp.
Size and Format: 
Online