Oregon’s Marine Reserves are coastal treasures. These living laboratories protect habitat, strengthen our resilience to climate change and contribute important science and monitoring to communities dependent on our ocean resources. But Oregon’s proposed legislative budget would remove funding for the Marine Reserve Program's Community Engagement Project Leader position, a critical role that serves as the nexus between the science and the coastal community. Removing this important position is completely inconsistent with the recommendations of the recently released 2023 Marine Reserve decadal science and social review, which calls for increased investments to support community engagement and resilience to climate change stressors in our ocean.
These budget cuts threaten the Marine Reserve program, the science and monitoring, and the designation of these ecologically significant ocean places. Oregon’s Marine Reserves and protected areas are legacies that must be protected - we need your help to take action to ensure legislators continue to invest in Oregon’s most iconic ocean conservation program.
Please send a letter to your representative below! We encourage you to personalize the message by adding information about your favorite experience(s) in the state's Marine Reserve and protected area network at the end.
