The most recent coastal town in Oregon to formally forbid beach camping is Brookings.
After a public comment session during which the rule change received widespread support, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved the new rule at a meeting on Wednesday.
The city bounds of Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Lincoln City, Newport, Bandon, and Gold Beach, as well as the ocean shores of any Oregon state park, already forbid overnight camping. Some areas of Clatsop and Tillamook counties also prohibit beach camping.
Brookings will join the list on December 1.
People must hike kilometers to find overnight parking, even at beaches where camping is permitted. All but backpackers who are hiking the Oregon Coast Trail—some of whom acknowledge that they are camping unlawfully anyway—can no longer camp on the beach as a result.
According to the state parks department, public health, safety hazards, and effects on the marine habitat were the main reasons behind the Brookings camping prohibition. After the Macklyn Cove Condominium Association filed a petition in June, the procedure got underway.
The regulation change received widespread support throughout the public comment period, which ran from September 1 to October 15. Ninety-three percent of the 74 written comments sent to the parks department and the 20 spoken comments given during a public hearing in Brookings supported the camping ban, while six percent were against it.
Opponents spoke to worries about homeless people’s rights and public access. Alternatives to the prohibition were suggested by some, such as permitting beach camping via a permission system or resolving issues by upholding current regulations.
According to the parks commission’s proposal, increasing the areas off-limits to camping can enhance recreational access to the ocean shore, make the environment safer and more pleasurable for visitors, and safeguard coastal resources, even though the sanitation and littering problems mentioned in the public comment are resolved by enforcing current regulations.
–Jamie Hale co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast and writes about travel and the outdoors. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-294-4077, or HaleJamesB.
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