June 18, 2026 3:30 a.m.

On Wednesday, State Senator David Brock Smith, vice-chair of the Oregon Legislative Coastal Caucus, announced that the group sent a letter formally urging the National Science Foundation to immediately pause removal of the Ocean Observatories Initiative floating buoys and the Coastal Endurance Array.

A release said it is a vital ocean monitoring systems that supports safety, science and economic stability along the Pacific Northwest coast.

Brock Smith said, “These buoys provide real-time, publicly accessible data that our fishermen, mariners, scientists, and emergency managers rely on every single day”. Brock Smith said, “Removing them without adequate scientific review or stakeholder consultation is unacceptable and puts our coastal communities and their economies at risk”.

The release said for more than a decade, 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, according to the Coastal Caucus.

Brock Smith said, “The removal of these buoys is not an abstract policy decision. 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”.

In their letter, the Oregon Coastal Caucus emphasized that these systems have been “…indispensable to the safety, economy and scientific resilience of our coastal communities”.

Brock Smith concluded, “The Coastal Caucus stands ready to work with NSF, our federal delegation, our fisherman, and coastal stakeholders to ensure Oregon continues to benefit from robust, science-driven ocean observation the OOI provides”.