Bipartisan Backlash Stops Dismantling of Oregon Coast Scientific Monitoring Instruments

The Trump administration’s latest attempt to cut funding to a climate-related program – dismantling 900 scientific weather monitoring instruments off the Pacific Northwest coastline in Oregon and elsewhere – has backfired after a successful bipartisan backlash led by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.

Lawmakers Put an End to the National Science Foundation’s “Descoping” Plans

The lawmakers were able to stop the National Science Foundation (NSF) from dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) system of buoys and other instruments.

The operation was scheduled to begin off the Oregon coastline on June 16.

Their ‘Save Our Sensors’ bill, passed unanimously, prohibits the NSF from using federal funding to dismantle the OOI project.

Merkley says in a statement that he will continue to fight to ensure that scientists, fishermen, and coastal communities can continue to utilize the important data provided by the scientific community.

Seven Oregon Coastline Bipartisan Lawmakers Supported the ‘Save Our Sensors’ Bill

The lawmakers were supported by seven bipartisan politicians representing districts along the Oregon coastline. They criticized the federal government’s decision in a letter addressed to the NSF acting director, Brian Stone.

Throwing their weight behind Senator Merkley were signatories Dick Anderson (Lincoln City), Court Boice (Gold Beach), David Brock-Smith (Port Orford), Suzanne Weber (Tillamook), Boomer Wright (Coos Bay), and the only two Democrats, David Gomberg (Otis), and Cyrus Javadi (Tillamook).

In their letter, the politicians point out that the OOI is an indispensable initiative protecting the safety of coastal communities. They say it is also important to the local economy, providing jobs, and maintaining community preparedness.

The Dismantling Project Would Have Impacted Tracking Extreme Weather Events Like El Niño

Dismantling the $386 million system off the coastlines of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Greenland would have ended the scientific tracking of changing ocean conditions and extreme weather events, like El Niño.

The NSF stated that ‘descoping’ the scientific OOI project would save the federal government $30 million.

However, the turnaround achieved by lawmakers means that the OOI project will continue its oceanic monitoring services for another 15 to 20 years.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution coordinates the OOI, together with Oregon State University and the University of Washington, at an annual cost of $48 million.