North Coast Land Conservancy

North Coast Land Conservancy (NCLC) is a nationally accredited, nonprofit land trust dedicated to safeguarding Oregon’s coastal land and seascapes and recently adopted a marine program to oversea the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. Since 1986, we’ve worked with a variety of community partners and dedicated individuals to acquire and steward rich coastal habitats for long-term conservation, from the Columbia River to the Siletz Bay.

NCLC manages an ever-growing network of more than 60 habitat reserves and easements across the Oregon Coast, in addition to hosting a marine program centered on Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. Recognizing the interconnectedness of all life on Earth, we work strategically to conserve core ecological systems—air, water, soil and more—that are the basis of all life.

Our service area spans from the Coast Range to Oregon's intertidal zone and extends from the lower Columbia River to the mouth of Siletz Bay. We acknowledge that this land has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, including the Kathlamet, Clatsop, Nehalem, Tillamook, Nestucca, Salmon River, and Siletz tribes, whose cultures and values deeply respect the land and its resources.

The history of colonization, including forced relocation and broken treaties, led to the theft of these ancestral lands, a legacy of injustice that continues to affect tribal communities. The North Coast Land Conservancy strives to honor Indigenous values and support healing by fostering connections between the land, water, and people. Through the Oregon Land Justice Project, we are committed to increasing access to ancestral lands and returning land to Indigenous ownership.

NCLC x CFMR

In February 2021, the North Coast Land Conservancy (NCLC) adopted the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve program, formerly run by a ‘Friends of’ group. The reserve is managed by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) for conservation and scientific research.

Seeking to expand land-to-sea connectivity along the northern Oregon Coast, NCLC adopted the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve program on Feb. 1, 2022. NCLC’s role is to promote awareness and educate the public on the benefits of the reserve for the state of Oregon.

Cape Falcon Marine Reserve is located just offshore from the popular Oswald West State Park.

Hiking trails atop the Cape provide views out over the reserve. Visitors can look over the marine reserve from the Neahkahnie Mountain Highway 101 overlooks, or from several hiking trails. They can also enjoy beach walking, ocean sports, and wildlife viewing from Neahkahnie and Short Sand beaches.

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Cape Falcon Marine Reserve

Cape Falcon Marine Reserve is located on the Oregon North Coast, just off of Oswald West State Park, near the town of Manzanita. This is Oregon’s northernmost site and includes a marine reserve plus two MPAs.

The Cape Falcon Marine Reserve (CFMR)  is the only marine reserve site off the northern Oregon Coast, giving the best representation of the highly productive oceanographic area influenced by the Columbia River. The Columbia River is the largest flow of freshwater into the eastern Pacific Ocean. 

BENEATH THE SURFACE

At Cape Falcon, the seafloor is dominated by sand, providing ideal habitat for crabs and other animals that like soft bottom habitats. In shallower waters (<25m), the reserve has small isolated patches of rock where we find black rockfish, lingcod, kelp greenling, and buffalo sculpins. Stretches of rocky intertidal habitats where you can spot sea stars, anemones and other tide-pool wildlife, are associated with the two headlands, dominated by cliffs.

Take a deep dive into the marine reserve by visiting ODFW’s Marine Reserves website and perusing the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve Site Management Plan

LOCATION AND SIZE

The marine reserve is located just offshore from the popular Oswald West State Park. Hiking trails atop the Cape provide views out over the reserve. Visitors can look over the marine reserve from the Neahkahnie Mountain Highway 101 overlooks, or from several hiking trails. They can also enjoy beach walking, ocean sports, and viewing wildlife from Neahkahnie and Short Sand Beaches. Nearby towns and ports include Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, and Garibaldi.

Size: 19mi^2, Depth Range: 0-164ft.

HISTORY

The process that led to Oregon’s five marine reserve sites involved multiple phases and coastal community members, ocean users, and other interested Oregonians working with state decision-makers to design and site marine reserves and protected areas in locations that would provide ecological benefits while minimizing adverse social and economic impacts to ocean users and coastal communities.

Baseline monitoring began at Cape Falcon Marine Reserve in 2014. Harvest restrictions began in 2016.

Read more about the history of Oregon’s marine reserve sites. 

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