Welcome Back, Rain: Life in an Oregon Coast Rainforest
The rain returned to the Oregon Coast today. The heavy, steady kind that darkens the sky and falls faster than the ground can drink it in, while the wind carries rain and autumn leaves through the air as if announcing the season’s return.
This is the time of year many of us look forward to because rain is part of our identity.
We live in a temperate rainforest, and with that comes some of the most beautiful scenery my eyes have ever seen.
Inside an Oregon Coast Rainforest
The Oregon Coast is home to one of the rarest ecosystems on Earth: a temperate rainforest. Unlike its tropical counterpart, which thrives in hot and humid conditions, this ecosystem trades the heat for cool, mild weather. Temperate rainforests cover less than 1% of the Earth’s land area. Oregon’s coastal forests belong to the Pacific temperate rainforest, one of the largest and most intact regions of its kind, stretching along the coast from Alaska to Northern California.
Stepping into an Oregon Coast forest feels like entering another dimension. The outside world fades away as a green wonderland unfolds. The air is cool and damp, the scent is of cedar and earth, and sunlight breaks through the canopy in glowing beams. Moss drapes over branches, ferns scatter along the trails, and fungi and lichens brighten hidden corners.
The sounds are alive too: birds singing overhead and small creatures rustling through the leaves. Look closely, and you may also find the slow crawl of a slug or a rough-skinned newt taking its time across the trail.
Among these living wonders stands the Sitka spruce, one of the forest’s gentle guardians. Built for the coast, Sitka spruce trees tolerate salty ocean winds and thrive in the cool, foggy conditions of the coastal forest. Their immense canopies shelter the understory, helping create the cool, damp conditions in which hemlock, cedar, maple, ferns, mosses, and wildlife flourish.
Just as some of you live with snow and ice, extreme heat, or pollen season, our rainy season comes with its own inconveniences. But it is something we learn to live alongside, knowing that the rain is not separate from our home; rather, it is the foundation of our home.
Here on the Oregon Coast, this living and breathing rainforest exists right outside our doors. We don’t have to drive to the nearest state park or national forest to experience it, though I suggest you do. We get to experience it right in our own backyards or along the roadside. It’s a gift of creation to explore, learn from, and protect.
For those near or far, we created our Coastal Rainforest Bar to share a glimpse of that wonder. Made with salt from the sea, coastal rainwater, and scents inspired by the forest, it is crafted to carry you back beneath the Sitkas, surrounded by the beauty and richness of life that thrives here on the coast.
Rough-Skinned Newts vs. Common Garter Snakes
That slow-moving little newt carries a surprisingly powerful defense. Rough-skinned newts have tetrodotoxin in their skin and eggs, the same type of neurotoxin associated with pufferfish. Their bright orange bellies serve as a warning to potential predators: I am not safe to eat.
Although touching one does not necessarily cause a rash, its toxin can irritate the skin and is especially dangerous if transferred to the eyes, mouth, or an open cut. It is safest for both us and the newt to look without picking it up.
Some populations of common garter snakes have evolved a genetic resistance to tetrodotoxin, allowing them to eat rough-skinned newts that would poison most predators. This resistance is inherited, so some garter snakes can safely snack on a newt, while others cannot.
Over many generations, the newts with stronger toxins have been more likely to survive encounters with snakes. In response, the snakes with greater resistance have been more likely to survive eating the newts. As the newts become more toxic, the snakes become more resistant. Scientists call this an evolutionary arms race.
Now that the rain has returned, look closely whenever you find yourself walking an Oregon Coast trail or roadside. You may find one of these remarkable little creatures making its way through the wet leaves.
The rain may bring its inconveniences, but it also brings our forest to life and gives us so much to discover right outside our doors.
Welcome back, rain.
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