Dana Tims

As many questions as answers floated around the Hatfield Marine Science Center this week as researchers drawn from thousands of miles pondered the perilous fate of the Pacific gray whale.

Four Lincoln County property owners whose houses were damaged or destroyed by a massive landslide on Oregon Highway 229 north of Siletz in December are suing the Northwest timber giant they say is to blame.

Pacific gray whales, whose long-distance migrations have transfixed researchers and coastal watchers for decades, are facing unprecedented challenges in their fight for survival.

A decision by the Trump administration to quickly dismantle a complex and massive array of underwater equipment that for 10 years has studied the ocean’s health has stunned and dismayed researchers in Newport and Corvallis.

The Heceta Head Lighthouse, long the brightest beacon on the Oregon coast, has gone dark, due to needed repairs to the complex gears that help rotate its antique lamp works.

The so-called King tides that dash against Oregon’s coastline every winter may grab all the headlines, but an upcoming series of extremely low tides promise to reveal some magic of their own.

Stops are planned for Charleston and Coos Bay from through Wednesday, May 13, and in Newport from May 15-22, with free tours, student field trips and educational presentations.

A land-ownership change this year prompted new owners to post “No Trespassing” signs blocking a critical, one-mile stretch of the trail five miles inland from its Ona Beach terminus north of Seal Rock.

The sheer magnitude of a landslide that blocked a quarter-mile section of Oregon 229 north of Siletz has left state highway officials unsure when the debris will ever be cleared. ODOT officials said it may be months, years, or longer.

Of the myriad shore birds and other critters that beach visitors may see on any given outing, western snowy plovers are unique.