A popular campground on Oregon’s central coast reopened this month after workers removed about 200 dying and dangerous trees
For years, the giant spruce trees at Beverly Beach State Park have been getting sick and dying, posing a risk of branches falling onto the 278 campsites below.
“The best-case scenario is that a vehicle or an RV tent would be damaged,” said Nick Morris, Oregon State Forester. “And the worst-case scenario is that someone could be injured.”
The trend was initially confusing to Morris, since the trees showed no signs of disease or pest infestation and drought is unusual in Oregon’s moist coastal forests. He brought in additional specialists from the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon State University.
Typically, the trees would start to turn brown at the tips and ends of their branches – a sign that they weren’t getting enough water. It seemed that the trees were dying primarily in the lower areas of the park, not in the wetter, higher elevations. The team looked at these signs and compared historical weather patterns and concluded that this park was falling victim to a trend that is emerging across much of the state: a declining water table.
When it rains, water seeps into the ground and enters a region’s aquifer—essentially a large underground collection of water. The top of the aquifer is called the water table.
As Oregon’s summers become drier, the winter and spring months are also changing, Morris said. These months feature heavier rain showers that don’t give water enough time to penetrate the soil and reach groundwater.
“A lot of it goes directly into the rivers and directly into the sea,” Morris said.
Morris’ team left behind some dead logs, which are tall, dead tree trunks that birds and other wildlife can nest in. They also left logs on the forest floor to rot and donated some logs to a nonprofit that placed them in streams to create fish habitat.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department plans to plant more drought-resistant native trees and shrubs in the park, including western hemlock and Douglas fir, with work scheduled to begin in 2026.
Beverly Beach State Park reopened Aug. 1 after an 11-month closure. Although some areas of the park look a little different, with fewer tree canopies and more views of the sky, so far visitors seem happy to be back, said park manager Burke Martin. He has observed more birds, such as woodpeckers, munching on the stumps and logs left behind.
“It was incredible to see the diversity of nature,” said Martin.
In addition to the tree work, Beverly Beach State Park staff resurfaced some roads, installed new water faucet lines, improved accessibility to some campgrounds, and relocated power lines underground.
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