Welcome

Oregon is currently engaged in a variety of ocean planning and management activities that will affect the future of our ocean ecosystem and economy. This website will help you learn about these activities and about opportunities to be involved. Be sure to check the calendar of Upcoming Ocean Events, the Latest Additions of publications and announcements, and the list of Most Popular articles and information about Oregon’s ocean.

 

Updating the Rocky Shores Management Strategy

Managing Oregon's rocky coastline is a shared responsibility. In fall 2018, DLCD will gather decision makers across the state to begin an amendment to the Rocky Shores management chapter (Part III) of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan (TSP). The plan acts as a coordinated vision for Oregon coastal resources and guides the actions of state and federal agencies that are responsible for managing coastal and ocean resources in the public trust. The amended rocky shores plan will incorporate the best available science and consider the needs, concerns, and values of Oregonians balanced with the state’s goals for a resilient coastal ecosystem that can provide enduring opportunities for its users.
 

Rocky Shores Amendment Navigation

  
 

 

Read more: Updating the Rocky Shores Management Strategy

Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia

In 2017, the passage of Oregon Senate Bill 1039 created the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH Council) to provide recommendations and guidance for the State of Oregon on how to respond to this issue.

Oregon was one of the first places in the world to observe the direct impacts of ocean acidification - oyster hatchery production collapsed in 2007.  Acidification continues to challenge oyster aquaculture productivity and has caused some producers to move operations elsewhere.  Also of great concern, acidification and hypoxia events are continuing to intensify and there are now clear signs that they are undermining the rich ocean ecosystem food web.  Oregon’s iconic fisheries and the coastal communities that depend on them — both of which quintessentially define the world-renowned Oregon Coast — are at risk.

The sponsors of Senate Bill 1039, Senator Arnie Roblan (D) and Senator Jeff Kruse (R), recognized that Oregonians depend on our healthy coastal environment for fisheries, tourism, and recreation. They created the OAH Council to assemble interests that are currently and potentially impacted by OAH in Oregon. The OAH Council forum is composed of members of State agencies, academic experts, stakeholders, and Tribal interests, who will collaboratively develop recommendations, and advise the State on the implementation of actions to support the sustainability of Oregon’s ocean as OAH intensifies.

 

 

The OAH Council is pleased to announce the completion of their first report!

 

                        

 

The Council has met monthly from January to August 2018 to develop their report and made recommendations in five key areas:

  • Strengthen the science, monitoring and search of ocean acidification and hypoxia by maintaining and expanding the robust monitoring network that captures OAH oceanographic trends;
  • Reduce the causes of OAH by aligning with state and global efforts to reduce excess carbon dioxide and water pollutants that amplify impacts of OAH;
  • Promote adaptation and resilience to OAH, for example by incorporating hotspot/refugia considerations into long-term planning for Oregon’s Marine Reserves;
  • Raise awareness of ocean acidification and hypoxia, the science behind it, impacts and solutions
  • Commit resources to actions that could address OAH.

 

Find a complete copy of the report at: 

2018 Biennial Report

Appendices D - H

 

 Complementary with the OAH Council goals, Oregon is also partnering with the States of Washington and California as well as the Province of British Columbia to collaboratively build recommendations and actions that incorporate the unique needs and values of each jurisdiction, while also creating a unified regional strategy. The work of Oregon’s OAH Council will become part of this regional strategy, through the creation of Oregon’s OAH Action Plan. Oregon’s OAH Action Plan, to be finished by mid-2019, will describe state and local actions that will make a difference for Oregon in facing ocean acidification and hypoxia, as we plan for a more resilient future.

 

OAH Council Members – the list of 13 members and their representation

Meeting Information– includes dates, agendas, minutes, recordings

Council Resources – learn about the OAH Council and its work

Stay Updated – how to subscribe to email lists that will keep you informed of the OAH Council and other ocean policy issues in Oregon

 

Oregon Ocean Science Trust

The 2013 Legislature established the Oregon Ocean Science Trust and Fund (ORS 196.565-569).
 
The duties of the Trust are to:
  • Promote peer-reviewed, competitive research and monitoring that leads to increased knowledge and understanding of Oregon's ocean and coastal resources.
  • Promote innovative, collaborative, community-oriented, multi-institutional approaches to research and monitoring related to Oregon's ocean and coastal resources.
  • Enhance the state's capacity for peer-reviewed scientific ocean and coastal research.
  • Subject to available funding, establish and execute a competitive grant program to conduct research and monitoring related to Oregon's ocean and coastal resources.

The site contains member contact information, meeting summaries, reports, and information on rule making activities related to the Trust.

Read more: Oregon Ocean Science Trust

Stay Informed About Ocean Policy!

Subscribe yourself to an electronic email service provided by DLCD and the Oregon State Library. This service emphasizes notice and distribution of information related to Oregon's Ocean Policy Advisory Council meetings, events, and general marine policy updates.

Subscribe or Unsubscribe Here

Join this list to stay updated on the Territorial Sea Plan: Rocky Shores Amendment Process