About the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative

The Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative was born out of the realization that without prompt action, the dunes as we know it would disappear and that the task is too large to go at alone.

Our group is actively coming up with ideas for restoration projects, pursuing funding opportunities, and engaging with the community to share this story. Group members host volunteer work days to remove invasive species, speak to community groups, and participate in local events to share why they love the dunes and what they’re doing to save them.

Anyone who cares about the future of the dunes is welcome to join the collaborative, where a diversity of voices is welcome and encouraged.

Our mission is to collaboratively support, guide and promote Oregon dunes restoration and the preservation of the open sand, unique habitats and dunes processes that benefit the plants, animals and people who live and play in this special place.

Our collaborative goals

Our group works to develop restoration project ideas, grow public awareness of the need for dunes restoration, and seeks funding opportunities and other support to achieve our goals.

Goal 1: Preserve the Best – Maintain and protect existing areas known to be in a healthy, natural condition. Examples may include areas that have functioning open sand, viable native plant communities, or resilient wildlife habitat.

Goal 2: Restore Site-specific Conditions and Processes – Restore and maintain smaller areas to improve natural conditions at a local level. Site-specific locations may include a beach selected for its value to a population of nesting snowy plover, a scenic stretch of trail or a specific dune formation that has critical value to the bigger landscape.

Goal 3: Restore Landscape-scale Natural Processes – Create and maintain areas where there is a high likelihood that restoration of natural processes and a natural landscape pattern will be successful. Natural processes and patterns include sand movement and deposition and the resulting shifting mosaic of open sand, dune formations, plant communities and tree islands.

Restoring the dunes will be a decades-long effort, and the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative is in it for the long haul, sustained by the passion of those whose hearts and minds are connected to this special place.