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Oregon's Path to Marine Reserves |
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 Oregon's Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) recently concluded the public process portion of establishing marine reserves in Oregon’s Territorial Sea. This portion of the process concluded with OPAC's letter to Governor Ted Kulongoski that includes recommendations for how to move forward on this issue. The conversation regarding marine reserves will now move to Oregon’s legislative session where implementation and funding of potential marine reserves will be decided.
This website provides links to information about the recently concluded marine reserve process, while providing a perspective on the data and information that were used to support the planning effort.
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What is a Marine Reserve? |
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 In general, a marine reserve is an area of the marine environment that is protected from harmful uses, principally uses that remove or disturb marine life and environment. Around the world, marine reserves have been designated for different purposes, some for research, some to protect unique habitat, some to promote rebuilding of fish stocks, and some for sight-seeing and recreation.
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OPAC Site Recommendations |
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The Ocean Policy Advisory Council, in its November 29, 2008 letter to the Governor, recommended six distinct areas move forward for further consideration as potential sites for marine reserves. Recognizing important distinctions between the six areas, OPAC proposed “pilot” sites in two locations, commended three areas for further study, and made a request for a new local process in the Cape Arago/Seven Devils area. This section will provide more details regarding OPAC's recommendations.
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