Willapa Erosion Control Action Now (WECAN)

Supporting ongoing erosion control and shoreline recovery projects along the northern
shore of Willapa Bay in Pacific County, Washington.

Meetings

Next meeting: TBD

At this time, WECAN does not have an official designated facilitator or organizer. Meetings are held on an ad-hoc basis and typically convened by a project sponsor and/or local community member. If you would like to be added to an email notification list for future meetings, please reach out to Connie Allen at callen3@mail.com. 

Notes and Materials from Previous Meetings

August 14, 2024 WECAN meeting, Grayland Grange Hall:

  • Agenda (host and facilitator: Connie Allen, Washaway No More)
  • Jackson Blalock (PCD) provided updates on project funding for the North Cove Dynamic Revetment and Restoration Project. More than $13 million has been secured from the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge to fund the project. Final design, permitting, and construction will take place over the next several years. Read the blog about the funding for this project and others across the coast here.
  • Shane Phillips (Moffatt & Nichol) provided an overview of the completed North Willapa Erosion Mitigation Master Plan. Recommended next steps include developing a system or agreement for continued facilitation and coordination of WECAN meetings. Presentation slides here.
  • Ashley Moore (UW) presented on the Coasts Cameras Action project. The project team is starting the process of determining locations for two new additional photo stand sculptures. Presentation slides here.
  • Chelsey Martin (WSDOT) provided an update on the Graveyard Spit Restoration & Resilience Project. The project is now fully funded and will go to construction next summer. 
  • George Kaminsky (Ecology) presented an update on beach monitoring for North Cove. Overall, monitoring indicates that the north shore of Willapa Bay is retaining more sediment than it is losing over time. However, a few erosion hotspots are still experiencing sediment loss. Presentation slides here.
  • Wendel Raymond (WDFW) announced that WDFW, in collaboration with UW, have begun monitoring of intertidal habitat and beach wrack to understand the ecological effects of cobble beach revetments on coastal beaches. This will fill a key information gap. The team is conducting monitoring at three locations (Grayland Beach, North Cove, Graveyard Spit) over the next several years. Presentation slides here.

August 17, 2022 Willapa Erosion Mitigation Master Plan meeting with WECAN members and stakeholders:

June 16, 2022 Willapa Erosion Mitigation Master Plan meeting with WECAN members and stakeholders:

October 21, 2021 WECAN meeting:

  • Agenda
  • Recording of the meeting
  • WSDOT and Ecology provided an update on the Graveyard Spit Restoration & Resilience Project. The presentation slides can be found here.
  • USACE provided an update on the Empire Spit Shoalwater Berm repair process. The aim is to conduct repair work in summer 2022. A contingency plan with specific emergency triggers is inplace for the upcoming winter/storm season.
  • The FEMA CTP Grant was awarded to Pacific County to complete a Master Plan for erosion control projects in the region. The plan will focus on organizing exsting data and information and identifying gaps and needs for the region.
  • Ecology’s Coastal Monitoring & Analysis Program (CMAP) and David Cottrell provided an update on the North Cove dynamic revetments. A copy of the slides, which include photo comparisons of monitoring results, is uploaded here. A recent poster presented by CMAP’s Hannah Drummon, “”Integrating Nature-based Engineering Designs and Adaptive Management Stragegies for a Resilient Coast in North Cove” can be viewed here.

April 22, 2021 WECAN meeting:

January 11, 2021 WECAN meeting:

November 18, 2020 WECAN meeting:

  • Please send all WECAN webpage feedback to Henry Bell at henry.bell@ecy.wa.gov
  • Doug Davis of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe took the following drone videos of the Shoalwater Dune near Tokeland during the king tide period on November 15:  Video 1  Video 2
  • Screen shots analyzing November 15 and 17 tidal event effects on the Shoalwater barrier dune, courtesy of George Kaminsky: Shoalwater Dune Video Stillframes PDF
  • Mott MacDonald update on the North Willapa Shoreline Protection Demonstration Project: Slide Deck