Oregonians came together to celebrate our amazing coastal ecosystems

Last week, Environment Oregon hosted a webinar “Celebrating Oregon’s Coastal Ecosystems” that contained an all-star panel of scientists, researchers, and ocean policy experts that provided an overview of the incredible nearshore ecosystems of our state.

Just over a decade ago, Oregonians recognized the importance of our ocean and the value of protecting it with the creation of the state’s Marine Reserves Program. Today the reserves and protected areas around Otter Rock, Redfish Rocks, Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, and Cape Perpetua make up roughly 9% of the state’s waters.

The Program was established to conserve marine habitats, promote biodiversity, and provide space to conduct scientific research and monitoring – and overall it’s been a success.

This year, a bill in the Oregon legislature, HB2903, would improve the Marine Reserves. It would allocate additional funding to the Program, employ more scientists and researchers, and allow for more opportunities to engage the public with these with underwater wonderlands.

Watch the recording of the webinar to  learn more about the background of the Program, the incredible research coming out of the Reserves, and how HB2903 could improve everything.