EDITOR’S NOTE: Today, June 18th, the Trump administration backed off plans to cancel a $368 million ocean monitoring system that helps scientists study climate change. The reversal followed bipartisan pressure from senators, who called on Trump’s team to keep the system in place. See link to NY Times article below.
(SALEM, OR) — The Oregon Coastal Caucus sent a letter* (link below) on June 17, 2026 formally urging the National Science Foundation (NSF) to immediately pause the removal of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) floating buoys and the Coastal Endurance Array, a vital ocean monitoring systems that support safety, science, and economic stability along the Pacific Northwest coast.
“These buoys provide real-time, publicly accessible data that our fishermen, mariners, scientists, and emergency managers rely on every single day,” said Senator David Brock Smith. “Removing them without adequate scientific review or stakeholder consultation is unacceptable and puts our coastal communities and their economies at risk.”
For more than a decade, the OOI has delivered continuous, year-round measurements of waves, winds, currents, temperature, salinity, and other key ocean conditions. The Coastal Endurance Array located off Oregon and Washington continues to be a vital data tool.
“The removal of these buoys is not an abstract policy decision,” said Senator Brock Smith. “It is a direct threat to safety, economic stability, and our ability to respond to rapidly changing ocean conditions. Oregon’s coastal residents and their crabbing, fishing and economic drivers deserve better.”
The Oregon Legislative Coastal Caucus emphasized in their letter that these systems have been “indispensable to the safety, economy, and scientific resilience of our coastal communities.”
“The Coastal Caucus stands ready to work with NSF, our federal delegation, our fishermen and coastal stakeholders to ensure Oregon continues to benefit from robust, science-driven ocean observation the OOI provides,” concluded Senator Brock Smith.
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription.
Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to End Ocean Monitoring
The reversal comes after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday to block the removal of deep-sea monitoring instruments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/climate/trump-ocean-observatories-initiative.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rFA.AILm.bbBs5uBFgTuN&smid=em-share
