Pacific City during this month's snowstorm. Photo by Alexandra Pallas.
2025 is off to a wild start, with winter swell, snowy beaches, and a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds. Now is a great time to get involved with your local Surfrider chapter and make a difference for your ocean, waves, and beaches. With opportunities to take action on protecting Oregon's eelgrass (a carbon sinking workhorse!) & rocky intertidal habitat, plastic pollution reduction bills, and local shoreline armoring campaigns, your impact at the state and local levels will mean greater protections for the beaches, surf breaks, and ecosystems we care about. Surfrider will continue to fight for progress in Oregon, defend what we can federally, and we hope to see you out there.
- Kaia Hazard, Oregon Regional Manager
New Year, New Beach:
January Cleanup Impact
Oregon chapters hit the ground running, hosting three cleanups in January! Through this collective effort, 140 volunteers collected 866 lbs of trash from our beaches, rivers, and bioswales. Read on to see how Portland, North Coast, and Coos Bay volunteers are tackling pollution on the coast and upriver, and how you can join in to make a difference locally and statewide.
The past two weeks of dismantling critically important federal programs under the federal Administration's Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been nothing short of chaotic. These cuts are directly impacting key ocean and coastal programs and services that enable safe and sustainable access to resources deeply important to our nation - everything from navigation and forecasting to food safety and harvest opportunities are being negatively impacted. At the ground level in Oregon, this also means the jobs of many of our colleagues and friends. Newport, a home port of the NOAA fleet and fisheries programs is feeling these cuts significantly - the Hatfield campus also includes offices for USFWS, EPA, USDA, etc. Join Surfrider in speaking up for these ocean programs, services and people - defend NOAA!
HUGE shout out to Newport and Astoria volunteers (Vince and Jesse!) that turned out to Wyden town halls requesting his leadership to protect beaches in Oregon and nationwide, and to all of our Blue Water Task Force volunteers out there testing every week. This sponsorship is a direct result of YOUR efforts! And of course, thank you to Senator Wyden! Read more here.
State Legislative Update
The 2025 Oregon Legislative Session is well underway with a full boat of ocean and coastal issues this year. From combatting plastic pollution and marine debris to protecting Oregon's public beaches and adapting to climate change, Surfrider is tracking over 50 bills this session. Learn more about where we are leading the lineup and where we're feeling underwater this legislative session.
This month, Surfrider Policy Fellow Dr. Sarah Wolf spent the afternoon at the Oregon State Capitol with Surfrider's Oregon Senior Policy Manager, Charlie, and other environmental advocates and policymakers. Sarah takes you inside her experience and breaks down two key bills addressing plastic waste in Oregon.
Get the scoop on these plastic pollution bills with a 60 second video from Policy Fellow Sarah Wolf:
Beyond the Bag Ban
SB 551
This bill would eliminate the plastic bag loophole, require hotels to use refillable dispensers rather than tiny single-use toiletry bottles, and have restaurants ask before handing out plastic cutlery and condiments for takeout.
Did you know synthetic fabrics release millions of fibers per load in our washing machines? SB 526 would require new washing machines to include microfiber filters, preventing this plastic pollution from entering the environment.
Foam Free Oregon: The End of Polystyrene in Food Service
Surfrider Foundation’s Oregon chapters have long been at the forefront of tackling polystyrene foam pollution, which consistently ranks among the top 10 most collected items during cleanups, breaking down into toxic microplastics that harm wildlife and accumulate in the environment. Following the 2023 passage of Senate Bill 543, which bans the use of polystyrene foam in the food service industry, this statewide ban is now in effect, marking a turning point which will help reduce pollution, protect wildlife, and encourage sustainable business practices.
Our Oregon Beaches Forever webinar series is back! Join us this month as we welcome Meagan Wengrove, Associate Professor at Oregon State University in Coastal Engineering, as she digs into some of the nature-based features used for coastal protection in Oregon. This webinar series is aimed at deepening our collective knowledge of beach dynamics, what threats our beaches face from both a changing climate and encroaching development, and what we might stand to lose if we don’t act. Join us monthly as we host scientists, professionals, authors, and more!
The Surfrider North Coast Chapter has been fighting a proposed riprap structure in Cannon Beach over the last several months, and the applicant has now appealed to the City Council. However, there's a new, concerning development. All of our previous opposing testimony was wiped from the record! It's now more important than ever to speak up at the next hearing on Wednesday, March 5th to oppose the installation of riprap on the public beach. Please lend your voice to urge the City Council to uphold the Planning Commission’s denial, and protect the beach!
Feb 27, 6pm –PDX Ocean Friendly Happy Hour – More info
Feb 27, 6pm –Oregon Beaches Forever Webinar - More Info
March 3, 6:30pm – Coos Bay Social: Water Safety - More Info
March 11, 6pm – PDX Legislative Action Policy Panel - More info
March 19, 6pm – PDX Wave Watch Wednesday - More info
The Surfrider Portland chapter headed out to Lincoln City for our Annual Planning Retreat. We spent the weekend bonding, planning, prioritizing, and mapping out a great calendar of events to elevate important issues and have FUN doing it!
We had fun tabling Cape Perpetua Collaborative's 12th Annual Land-Sea Symposium, and loved watching Joe Liebezeit of Bird Alliance of Oregon present on the Oregon Ocean Alliance. Joe is one of our Co-Chairs, and is helping guide the Alliance as we work to advance the Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill (HB 3587) and Eelgrass Action Bill (HB 3580)
Some of the cleanup champs during the Portland Chapter's annual MLK Day of Service Cleanup. Plus one of many Surfrider pooches!
The Newport chapter Leadership crew during our Annual Planning Retreat. We are so lucky to have such a great team of folks working hard for our ocean, waves, and beaches!
