Erosion Crisis 98569? – Random Thoughts

Image above:

1916 jetty now sits offshore.

Is there an attitude related to climate change/sea level rise that is used as an excuse to back away from maintaining the shore?

Public access for beach walkers at Damon Point:

For a town that promotes visitors, tourism and good times at the beach, things are piss poor over at Damon Point.

Today, beach walkers moving toward the water from the parking area at Damon Point are channeled to a choice between an eroded/unsafe former road drop-off and private property that is posted, telling walkers that they are not welcome. WTF?

Other Parts of the Beach are Maintained Year Round

Think of beach entry points at Chance A La Mer, Pacific Blvd, Ocean Lake Way and Taurus Blvd.

The black top ends and the sand is cleared out of the way on a routine basis. Concerns Re: tsunami zone, global warming, sea level rise, climate crisis, king tides, coastal erosion, El Niño/La Niña and winter storms do not get in the way of keeping things maintained between the blacktop and the beach. Thanks go out to the people who do this work. We appreciate it.

In the news:

Sept 16, 2024 FOX13 Seattle

Ocean Shores battles erosion crisis as WA shoreline vanishes, homes at risk

“…in a race against nature as erosion from the ocean threatens to destroy homes and infrastructure.”

“Marshall believes a solution could lie in restoring an old jetty built more than a century ago, but the cost could reach $60 million — a significant investment that would come with bureaucratic challenges.”

“…the future of Ocean Shores remains uncertain.”

Race against nature, but the original jetty adjacent to public parking at Damon Point has not been maintained in 108 years? Love to see newspeople ask questions on this.

Any federal money for ports and coastal improvement?

Plenty of cash for Ukraine/undeclared/unwon wars and here is what you get back home:

$6.3 million in federal cash for a used Ocean Shores hotel.

Any questions from newspeople?

December 8, 2022 The Daily World

Dept. of Ag invests $6.3M to purchase Ocean Shores hotel

$6.3 million “to fund the acquisition of an existing hotel. Marathon Enterprises Inc. is located in Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County, Washington. The project is expected to result in saving eight jobs and creating one full time job.”

Zero questions from small or large newspapers. Zero questions from TV newspeople.

Ports and coastal improvement:

Oct. 9, 2020 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Website

About the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

“One of the Seattle District’s primary missions is to maintain the navigation channels and harbors in the Pacific Northwest. Maintenance and navigation dredging is done frequently in harbor areas, ports and marinas. A significant component of Washington’s economy depends on navigation and commerce, which in turn depends on dredging navigation channels.”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects roll on. We appreciate the work you do.

Love to see the press head over to Westport and give some credit where credit is due.

History

No longer Here – Ferry to Westport – Fell Apart on the Ocean Shores Side

Ocean Shores to Westport: Remembering the El Matador Ferry
By Douglas Scott

“Sadly, the ferry service shut down in 2008, but not due to lack of popularity. While the ferry service had seen closures in previous years, the service would always pick back up and be celebrated by residents and visitors alike. Sadly, after too much sand and silt built up around the Ocean Shores marina, the El Matador was forced to cancel trips across the harbor. What was once a family-friendly boating experience and adventure across the harbor is now relegated to fond memories.”

Different story over at Westport

“…less than two miles as the crow flies…”

Concerns Re: tsunami zone, global warming, sea level rise, climate crisis, king tides, coastal erosion, El Niño/La Niña and winter storms do not get in the way of keeping things maintained on the working waterfront at Westport. Well done.

Above: Posted near the Westport Light Trail, a description of how the jetty on the Westport side has been maintained over the years.

What would Westport look like if efforts to maintain the coast were suspended?

Damon Point once had:

A state park.

Suitable public access for beach walkers.

At Damon Point, the Ocean Shores side once had an active marina with a restaurant, cocktail lounge and salmon charter boat outings. The Silver King Motel was there too.

At Damon Point, the Ocean Shores side once had a ferry to Westport. People liked it. It was shut down because:

“…too much sand and silt built up around the Ocean Shores marina, the El Matador was forced to cancel trips across the harbor.”

Imagine telling the fishing boat captains over at Westport that their access to a 100 year old armor-plated harbor was going to be let go.

DredgeWire news update:

Nov 7, 2023

“In 2024 the Army Corps will begin work on a $17 million federally-funded project to repair about 7,500 feet of the jetty, protecting the west side of the peninsula, including the Ocean Shores wastewater treatment plant. The scope of that project does not include repairs to the old jetty submerged in Oyhut Bay.”

Below: Public access for beach walkers at Damon Point.

Newspeople Avoid Asking Questions

“Today, a large remnant of that jetty, roughly 10,000 feet angling to the northeast from the peninsula’s western hoof to the Damon Point parking lot, lies stranded and submerged in the bay, battered by 100 years of bashing saltwater, waves and, once, the impact of an errant fishing boat.”

Jetty installed 100 years ago. If it was important then, why not now?

What was done to maintain this jetty over the past 100 years?

Any questions from newspeople?

“While no environmental factor alone can fully explain the widening gap between the relic rocks and receding beaches, the shoreline owes much of its shape to the jetties protruding into the Pacific at Grays Harbor’s entrance.”

Man made structures/one or more jetties installed at the entrance to Grays Harbor have altered the natural migration of sand, not coastal erosion/climate crisis/sea level rise?

“The erosion that you see in Oyhut Bay, and basically the development and expansion of the bay, is part of a very long-term process of the inlet entrance evolving in response to the construction of jetties,” said George Kaminsky, a coastal erosion expert with the Washington state Department of Ecology.

“Another important partner, Martin said, will be the Quinault Indian Nation, which owns the Quinault Marina and RV Park on the east side of the bay.”

“Are we dealing with a natural process? Are we dealing with a partly man made process? Or a combination of both?”

The article above has some excellent images, showing the original jetty and what has changed since the first image was taken in 1942.

Jetty Adjacent to Damon Point

The jetty adjacent to Damon Point appears to be neglected/not maintained over the years. This first got my attention when going down there to walk at Damon Point. The public beach access needs improvement.

Image above: July 6th, 2024. Looking over the jetty that connects to Damon Point on the far end. We are near the end of the jetty adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.