Oregon’s Small Ports in Need of Dredging

Members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation recently sent a letter to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Ryan Fisher urging the Trump Administration to fund critical maintenance and dredging of Oregon’s small ports and jetties.

Representatives Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Suzanne Bonamici, along with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, urged the Administration to make these investments to keep Oregon’s small ports open and safe, and to ensure Oregon’s coastal communities are able to thrive.

“We encourage you to fund the critical navigation needs of Oregon’s small coastal ports. Our harbors along the Oregon coast serve as some of the most vital harbors of refuge in the nation. With our breaking bars, the increasing intensity of storms and unpredictable weather, it is extremely important that our channels be dredged and our jetties maintained to adequately serve the safety of our commercial and recreational fishing fleets, as well as allow for the Search and Rescue activities of our U.S. Coast Guard men and women,” the members wrote.

A 2014 State of Oregon study shows that the coastal ports support 15,759 direct/indirect jobs and $904 million to the state GDP.

In addition, NOAA’s 2015 Fisheries of the U.S. report ranked the State of Oregon seventh in the nation for 2015 domestic fish landings, with 195 million pounds valued at $115.7 million.