Conservation of Cape Foulweather Headland, an Icon of the Central Oregon Coast

The Takeaway: The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians regained ownership of 27 acres of their ancestral homelands at Cape Foulweather on the Oregon Coast thanks to a $2.01 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Twenty-seven acres are back under the ownership of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians thanks to a $2.01 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Purchasing the Cape Foulweather Headland on the Oregon Coast brings an end to a multiyear collaboration to protect the land’s ecological, cultural, and scenic value.

The property includes undeveloped habitats rich in marine mammals, a rare salt spray meadow complex, and upland forest connections that are important to threatened species. The headlands will provide opportunities for community resilience education and play a central role in the stewardship and conservation of these important tribal lands and waters.

Robert Kentta, a member of the Siletz Tribal Council, emphasized the significance of this project in reconnecting Siletz people with their heritage. “Before settlement, this land was home to our families, who fished from the rocks and canoed in the ocean and gathered mussels from the rocky shore. Now, we will have the opportunity to reinvigorate our connections to traditional lifeways.”

The return of this land also marks the first oceanfront property the Tribe has recovered. Stan van de Wetering, the Tribe’s biological programs manager, noted the unique ecological features of the property: “This land bridges the ocean and forest, providing access to important cultural resources, including first foods and fibers like seaweed, mussels, kelp, spruce roots, and other native plants and animals that serve important roles in Tribal culture.”

The Tribe plans to steward the land in a way that promotes native plant and animal diversity, connects Tribal members and youth to their culture, engages the public in understanding the importance of Oregon’s coastal habitats for plants, animals, and people, and considers Cape Foulweather a hub for cultural revitalization and ecological stewardship.

For more information about the Office for Coastal Management grant program funding this project, please visit the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law webpage.

Federal Funding: $2,011,465

Partners: Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, McKenzie River Trust, Lincoln County, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, The Nature Conservancy in Oregon