“A Day at the Beach” by Neal Maine/ PacificLight Images. Del Rey Beach/Oregon State Park, Gearhart, Oregon.
“Coastal Elk” by Neal Maine/PacificLight Images. Gearhart Oregon State Park where the Necanium Estuary meets the Pacific Ocean, Clatsop County, Oregon. Seaside’s Tillamook Head in the distance with Tillamook Lighthouse in the far right corner.
“The people of the North coast of Oregon celebrate the extensive undeveloped shoreline along the local ocean/land interface. This valuable resource provides the setting for a wide variety of wildlife to freely use the shoreline as a corridor for movement and food gathering. Given these conditions, a large herd of elk can often be found moving between Seaside and Gearhart.”— nature photographer Neal Maine/ PacificLight Images.
And, just a few moments before another Neal Maine masterpiece…
“Elk Run” by nature photographer Neal Maine/ PacificLight Images. An iconic image captured during high tide in the Necancium Estuary, a protected area, Seaside, Oregon.
Humans: We take pictures, walks, deep breaths, memories, rides on waves, water, timber, in habitat that used to belong to other trail makers. We thought we could never catch all the salmon, never cut all the big trees, and never pollute the ocean. In our hubris, we thought we could make our own trails. With renewed humility, we are learning how to share this place and to live together. PacificLight Images celebrates a partnership as we use our images to inspire others to honor nature’s trails in OUR OWN BACKYARD.–Neal Maine
Unless otherwise noted, images are presented as they were photographed. Slight adjustment by cropping, lightening or darkening may have been used, but the photo subject is presented as recorded in the Oregon coastal landscapes.
A Certificate of Authenticity is provided with each copyrighted and signed image.
Available at Fairweather’s. Proceeds in support of NCLC.
For info about NCLC/ North Coast Land Conservancy please visit http://www.nclctrust.org
To view more images from the photographer, please visit http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com/artists/Neal Maine
Q: Where in the world is the Necancium Estuary, you ask?
A: The Necanicum Estuary is where the Necanicum, Neawanna and Neacoxie creeks and rivers meet the Pacific Ocean between Seaside and Gearhart, Oregon, USA. The estuary is approximately 451 acres and has a watershed of approximately 87 square miles. It includes submerged lands and a large tidal flat surrounded by dunes, spruce forests and residential areas.
Coastal elk forage in the dune grasses and occasionally swim in the estuary. Bald eagles nest in sitka spruce forests on the east edge; snowy plovers nest on the north spit; up to 20,000 sandpipers, small numbers of Whimbrel and occasionally Long-billed Curlews use the flats during fly way migrations.
For info about the Necanicum Estuary, please visit http://www.necanicumwatershed.org
For a Necanicum River Estuary Map go to http://www.mapcarta.com › North America › USA › Pacific Northwest › Oregon
Q: What is an estuary, you ask?
A: An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea (the Necanicum Estuary meets the Pacific Ocean). Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to river influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of both sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.
And, too, for a really good read about the Necanicum estuary go to http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/ Wild about…by Terry Richard/The Oregonian/OregonLive
