Wrecking a perfectly good shipwreck

The Peter Iredale was a 287-foot, four-masted, steel-hulled British sailing ship. It ran aground southwest of Hammond near the mouth of the Columbia River in 1906 and has been slowly disintegrating ever since. The remarkable thing is that it is such a famous landmark and tourist destination, but with a similar wreck on the beach near Coos Bay, the state of Oregon seems intent on removing it.

The New Clarissa was a chip ship that ran aground several years ago. The state got something like $25 million for the job in a court settlement and evidently they feel guilty about not doing it, even though it just sitting and not hurting anybody. Perhaps they ought to use that money to purchase the land around it and establish a state park? Let's not remove what little reminders we have that this is the rugged Oregon Coast.