A key part of our mission is to protect habitats found on Oregon’s Central Coast.

About Marine Reserves

Key habitats include nearshore marine resources. In 2012, Oregon completed the planning and designation of five marine reserves along the coast. Located within three nautical miles of shore, the reserves are dedicated to conservation and research. Removal of marine life is prohibited. So is development.

Four of the reserves – Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, Otter Rock, and Cape Perpetua – are within our service area (Tillamook and Lincoln counties). The fifth, Redfish Rocks, is on the southern Oregon coast.

All five locations were chosen by local communities, working with state officials. Each is ecologically significant. The marine reserves offer a vital opportunity to understand the ecological, economic, and community roles our nearshore ocean resources play and how to best maintain them.

What we are doing

We are providing educational opportunities for our community to learn about the marine reserves and their impacts:

*Painting by Jill Perry Townsend featured in our Reserve Inspiration art exhibit*

We designated August 2021 as Marine Reserve Awareness Month, celebrating our closest marine reserve, Cascade Head, through art, education, and exploration
We invited the leader of Oregon’s Marine Reserve Program, Dr. Lindsay Aylesworth, to present findings from the first 10 years of the marine reserves system to our community in March 2023
Our Reserve Inspiration art exhibit will be featured at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay as a repeat of the successful exhibit we sponsored at the Chessman Gallery in the Lincoln City Cultural Center in 2021. The exhibit will feature many of the same artists who, working in a variety of mediums, were inspired by the marine reserves, so make sure to come check it out!

We are also continually advocating for legislative support for the marine reserves system, including urging support for HB 2903 which, if passed, would provide funding for the adaptive management* and social monitoring programs.

What’s next?

A review of the first ten years of Oregon’s marine reserve system, conducted recently, reveals that the system garners broad support from Oregonians. Marine reserves have provided opportunities to research topics Oregonians care about which include changing ocean conditions, ocean acidification and hypoxia, endangered species, and sea-star wasting syndrome.

Looking to the future, we urge your support of the marine reserve system to help achieve two key recommendations of the ten-year review: 1) implement an adaptive management* program for the marine reserves and 2) develop a social monitoring program to more effectively measure the impacts of the reserves on coastal communities.

Visit the Oregon Marine Reserves homepage to learn more, including the in-depth Synthesis Report.

Get involved!

This spring and summer we plan to table at farmers’ markets in Tillamook and Lincoln counties to share information about the marine reserves. If you would like to spend a couple of hours helping out, you would be most welcome.

We also invite you to take information about the marine reserves to your church or civic group.

Contact us if you would like to volunteer!

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