Lots of visitors are traveling on the beach along the North Spit since word got out about the wooden vessel bow uncovered by relentless winter storms. Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2008, lots of flagged, four-wheel-drive trucks were parked on the beach while their occupants prowled around the shipwreck. - World Photo by Lou Sennick
That’s the word from Megan Harper about the mystery shipwreck on Coos Bay’s North Spit.
There have been hundreds of people who have trekked onto the North Spit this week to look at the weathered bow buried in the sand. The challenge now is preventing people from wrecking what’s left.
“We’ve been seeing people crawling on it and standing on the edge of it to take pictures,” Harper said Friday.
Just don’t do it.
Clambering aboard the remains breaks up the rotting wood. And it’s illegal. Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, it’s against the law to remove, damage or deface any archaeological resource found on public land.
“The less people are on it, the better. We don’t want to ruin our chances to learn more about it,” she said.
On Friday, BLM staff was considering putting up signs. They don’t plan to keep people away from the wreck, but they would like to warn people about shifting sand, rolling logs and high tides. It can be dangerous out there, especially with storms and high tides coming in.
For people planning to cruise out there on the New Carissa road, it requires 4-wheel drive, an all-terrain vehicle flag and an Oregon ATV permit. For those who plan to park at the Horsfall Beach parking lot in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and walk, there’s a $5 day-use fee.
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It would be nice if some of the folks that have 4x4s or atvs would take the disabled out to see this ship wreck. some of the older folks cannot walk as far as they used to. Might bring back some of the old memories too.
Samuel Mullen-Perron wrote on Feb 10, 2008 9:17 AM:
You know I can appreciate the fact that there are Federal Laws that protect Archealogical finds on public lands, but when you tell people not to do something, they always seem to do it anyway. I am glad that the Government passed that law then because if a law like that today were to be put to a vote, you bet that Congress would just ignore something like this because todays lawmakers have no interest in protecting America's heritage. Just look at what they have done to our natural resources.
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