Marine Legislation
The 2025 legislative session offers a unique opportunity to advocate for conservation and urge decision-makers to prioritize Oregon’s invaluable coastal ecosystems
Advocating for Coastal Habitats
Our Legislative Priorities
The Oregon Ocean Alliance is prioritizing legislation that safeguards coastal habitats and increases climate resilience in 2025. Our bill priorities collectively aim to increase funding for natural resource agencies to improve the management of the below coastal habitats, to the benefit of fish, wildlife, and coastal communities as a whole. Thanks to our chief sponsor, Representative Gomberg, we are proud to see the following bills up for consideration by the legislature:
Eelgrass Action Bill
Developing a collaborative work group to assess the status of eelgrass meadows across the state, recommend conservation and restoration targets, and address barriers to meaningful conservation.
Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill
Ensuring the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy is implemented and well-resourced to support community stewardship of new sites.
Eelgrass is Essential
Eelgrass is a native seagrass that forms underwater meadows in Oregon’s estuaries. It is one of the most productive coastal habitats on the Pacific coast; supporting biodiversity and entire marine food webs. Eelgrass meadows are recognized as Essential Fish Habitat by NOAA, because it provides nursery grounds for many commercially and culturally important species, such as Dungeness crab, rockfish, salmon, and herring.
Eelgrass offers a number of climate benefits as well. The plant sequesters carbon up to 35x faster than tropical rainforests, protects coastlines from storm surges and erosion, and buffers ocean acidification.
Action Needed Now
Globally, eelgrass meadows are declining at a rate of 7% per year. In Oregon, scientists have found once functioning meadows disappearing unexpectedly in Coos Bay. However, we don’t know the status of our eelgrass resources in Oregon’s other estuaries and estuary management plans across the coast are outdated. Meanwhile, pollution and sedimentation in our watersheds, dredging, mechanical harvest, and warming waters threaten to diminish this habitat if we don’t proactively set safeguards.
The Eelgrass Action Bill is the first coordinated statewide effort to set conservation goals for this essential resource in Oregon, following Washington’s lead.
Eelgrass Action Bill Objectives:
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Convene Tribes, agencies, scientists, and stakeholders in a Task Force
The bill mandates the Department of Land Conservation and Development convene a Task Force on eelgrass resources and conduct stakeholder outreach and Tribal consultation related to eelgrass management. A new staff position at the agency is needed to meaningfully engage all parties and meet the bill mandates.
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Review the status of eelgrass and develop conservation targets
The Task Force would be tasked with reviewing information on the current and historical extent of eelgrass resources in Oregon’s estuaries and to develop statewide targets for the protection, conservation, and enhancement of eelgrass resources by 2040.
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Evaluate barriers to effective eelgrass management
The Task Force would be tasked with identifying policy barriers and environmental challenges to meeting the statewide targets and addressing habitat decline, including topics related to water quality, restoration, leasing and permitting, agency coordination, and more.
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Improve monitoring and mapping programs
The Task Force would assess the existing monitoring and mapping programs and make recommendations on technical improvements that could improve mapping frequency, data quality and quantity, public access to data, allow agencies to track progress in meeting 2040 targets, and develop estimates of carbon stocks. The Task Force would also identify research needs.
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Identify funding needs and sources
The Task Force would develop cost estimates for implementing conservation goals and policy recommendations and identify potential sources of funding.
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Make recommendations to the legislature
The Task Force’s findings and recommendations would be delivered to the legislature in 2027 to provide guidance on improving eelgrass management and legal protections.
Iconic Rocky Habitats
Oregon’s rocky habitats are epicenters of marine life–critical to our coastal communities and marine ecosystems. Intertidal rocky habitats host species such as crabs, anemones, and sea stars-which attract millions of visitors each year to interact with tidepools. Rocky habitats further provide nesting habitat for millions of nesting seabirds, support productive kelp forests, and provide resting areas for seals and sea lions.
These coastal areas are most treasured by Oregonians and visitors alike, yet they are vulnerable from increasing human disturbance, climate stressors, and marine heat waves.
Improving Management
From 2017-2022, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) updated the state’s Rocky Habitat Management Strategy. This process engaged many community groups and stakeholders, who nominated eight new sites for increased protection and coordinated management under the program. The vision for managing these sites is non-regulatory, with community groups educating visitors on best practices for stewarding the sites–instead of strict policing. The agency is now working with these groups to develop these plans to support community-led stewardship and research of the new sites.
Helping Rocky Habitats
Unfortunately, the DLCD does not have the money to continue the program and meet this vision for our rocky habitats without our help.
The Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill would ensure the implementation of our Rocky Habitat Management Strategy by enhancing agency and community capacity.
Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill Objectives:
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Invest in the Rocky Habitat Coordinator position at DLCD
The Department of Land Conservation currently has a temporary Rocky Habitat Coordinator position, helping to develop management plans for new rocky habitat sites. However, this position is needed permanently, to help administer the program and work with communities.
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Develop a grant fund to support community projects and programs
This bill allocates $300K to a small grant fund to support community groups in building their volunteer and community science programs to steward and manage their sites. The grant would be administered by the Oregon Ocean Science Trust.
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Ensure the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy is implemented
Investing in the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy allows the program to become self-sufficient and meet the goals established by the communities it serves. Without this bill, these new sites could become “paper parks” with no meaningful implementation.
Working in Collaboration
Ocean Partnerships are Key
Oregon Shores has long been involved in coalitions and partnerships to protect our coast, including the Rocky Habitat Partnership and Oregon Marine Reserve Partnership. Now, we are members of the Oregon Ocean Alliance, whose goal is to build support for ocean conservation in the Oregon legislature. Learn more about Oregon Shores' Ocean program and the Oregon Ocean Alliance priorities below.
The Oregon Ocean Alliance
Oregon Shores is one of eight founding members of the Oregon Ocean Alliance, who collectively aim to advance the protection of Oregon’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.
