Stretching along Oregon’s dramatic coastline lies an ecological treasure: rocky habitat areas. These rugged intertidal and subtidal zones, marked by towering sea stacks, tide pools, and underwater reefs encompass over 40% of our coastline and play a crucial role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems. Despite their beauty and ecological significance, these habitats face mounting threats, making their protection more urgent than ever.
What is rocky habitat?
Rocky habitats are coastal zones abundant with rocks, boulders, and cliffs. Found throughout Oregon’s coastline, these areas include iconic landmarks such as Haystack Rock, Cape Perpetua, and Cape Lookout. These habitats are dynamic environments, shaped by the relentless forces of waves, tides, and weather.
In the intertidal zone, organisms must endure dramatic changes in water levels, temperature, and salinity. Subtidal rocky reefs, hidden beneath the waves, provide stable environments that support an abundance of marine life. Together, these habitats create a mosaic of biodiversity hotspots that support life in their surrounding areas.
Ecological importance
Rocky habitats are home to an astonishing variety of species. Tide pools teem with sea stars, anemones, and crabs, while kelp forests anchored to subtidal rocks provide shelter for fish, seals, and invertebrates. Many of Oregon’s rocky shores also serve as critical nesting and roosting sites for seabirds, including puffins and cormorants. Estimates suggest our shores support over one million seabirds.
These habitats also play a vital role in marine food webs. Filter feeders like mussels and barnacles clean the water, while predators like sea stars and crabs help maintain ecological balance. Kelp forests, in particular, act as underwater nurseries, offering shelter and food for juvenile fish, including species vital to Oregon’s coastal communities.
Combatting climate change
Oregon’s rocky habitats are natural allies in the fight against climate change. Kelp forests, for example, create holdfasts which secure them to rocks. Kelp are highly efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making them important carbon sinks. Some research even suggests kelp forests can sequester up to twenty times more carbon per acre than a terrestrial one. Additionally, these habitats help buffer coastlines from erosion by dissipating wave energy, protecting coastal communities from storm surges and rising seas.
Threats to rocky habitat
Despite their importance, Oregon’s rocky habitats face numerous threats. Climate change is a major concern, with warming waters, ocean acidification, and shifting species distributions disrupting these ecosystems. For instance, sea star wasting syndrome, exacerbated by rising ocean temperatures, has devastated populations of sea stars, key predators found in rocky habitats. With less sea stars – such as sunflower sea stars – there’s been an overabundance of purple sea urchins (a sunflower sea star’s favorite food) which are in turn mowing down kelp forests across the state. In the past decade alone, Oregon has lost over two-thirds of its kelp forest habitat.
Direct human activities also take a toll. Overharvesting of marine resources, pollution, and trampling by visitors can damage fragile ecosystems. Tidepools in particular are susceptible to this which is why some communities, like Cannon Beach, have created organizations like Haystack Rock Awareness Program dedicated to safeguarding these special ecosystems.
Education and knowledge gaps
While Oregon’s rocky habitats are widely recognized for their ecological value by scientists and researchers, significant knowledge gaps among the general public remain. That’s in part why Oregon created the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy, part of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan, which provides a framework for balancing conservation, education and sustainable use. Community-driven proposals, as part of a process outlined in the Strategy, have led to the designation of over 20 protected rocky habitat areas along our coast.
The Strategy is a great step towards protecting Oregon’s special coastal ecosystems, however it lacks adequate funding for it to be fully implemented. For example, eight new rocky habitat sites have been designated within the past couple of years but there is no funding to implement the protection of these areas.
Conservation through legislation
To fully implement the Strategy and to safeguard rocky habitat and the seals, sea stars and seabirds that rely on these habitats, the Strategy needs more funding. Fortunately, there’s a bill in the 2025 legislative session that would increase funding and create a small grants program so local communities could apply for additional funding to manage rocky habitat sites as they see fit.
If passed, this bill would help implement science-based policies to regulate harvesting, reduce pollution, and manage visitor impacts as well as educate the public about the ecological importance of rocky habitat.
Our rocky shores are worth protecting
Oregon’s rocky habitat areas are more than scenic landscapes – they are vital ecosystems that support marine life, protect coastlines, and combat climate change. If we support these natural treasures, we can honor our responsibility as stewards of the environment. Together, we can ensure that Oregon’s rocky habitats continue to thrive for generations to come.
Join us in advocating for stronger protections and sustainable management of Oregon’s rocky habitat, because the health of our ocean depends on it.
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Ian works to protect our oceans and marine ecosystems. Ian lives in Portland, Oregon, where he enjoys ultrarunning, hiking, and local breweries in his free time.
