Thank you for your interest in reading The Astorian. Here are a few stories that you might have missed this week:

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Rocky shores near Cannon Beach are closer to state protections.

Ecola Point and Chapman Point are among the sites recommended by the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council, the state’s main advisory group for ocean policy issues.

The designations would bolster protections and public education about the ecology at the sites, similar to the measures taken at Haystack Rock.

“Ecola Point is pristine,” said Jesse Jones, the CoastWatch program manager for the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition. “It is just a pristine rocky habitat intertidal area. And visitation is high.”

She said the sites were proposed because of their significant value to wildlife.

“Conservation education will help protect the long-term health of these places,” Jones said.

Read the story by Nicole Bales by clicking here.

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State Rep. Suzanne Weber indicated she would push for a study to evaluate the safety and needs along U.S. Highway 30.

The Tillamook Republican, who was elected to the state Senate in November, heard from local leaders and state officials at a virtual meeting Monday morning.

The meeting was called after a pedestrian was killed in a crash in Knappa and a landslide disrupted traffic near Wauna.

“This meeting came about as a result of going to several meetings in the Astoria area and listening to people worried about Highway 30, especially in the Knappa area,” Weber said at the start of the meeting. “Then we had that tragic accident there and people started talking to me even more about it. Then we had the (landslide) … I would like to know what kind of data we have on the area and if anyone feels that there needs to be more oversight as to speed limits and other safety considerations that need to be taken into account.”

Take a look at Ethan Myers’ report by clicking here.

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Advocates hope to better document trails for disabled people.

Trailkeepers of Oregon, a Portland-based nonprofit, manages the online hiking resource, Oregon Hikers.

Natalie Ferraro, the nonprofit’s engagement manager, said that after a desire to update the website with information on accessibility, the nonprofit began surveying some of the site’s most popular trails to collect information that could be added to the descriptions of the hikes.

Two of the trails are on North Coast — Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain and Clatsop Loop at Tillamook Head.

“There’s such a wide spectrum of abilities of trail users,” Ferraro said. “It’s more about giving them that information that hasn’t really been prioritized in communications yet so they can decide what adventures are a good fit for them or not.”

See the story by Nicole Bales by clicking here.

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