Here is what we read this week on the issues that matter to this coast, with links to the reporting and to the actions that go with each story.
Roadless Rule: The Count Comes In
The comment period closed on October 6. On October 7, Oregon Wild reported more than one million comments, and said the Center for Western Priorities found that 99.1 percent of the comments it analyzed on Regulations.gov opposed repeal.
On October 14, More Than Just Parks counted 1,197,510 comments, letters, and signatures in the federal record, with 1,190,695 opposed to repeal. Just 95 of the 454 organizations and government bodies it reviewed supported repeal. Five Oregon counties (Baker, Harney, Jackson, Douglas, and Union) backed rescission, while the State of Oregon opposed it. The authors note these are entries in the record, not unique people.
The decision is still ahead. Read A Million Comments Later, or use our Write to Congress page for the two asks that are still open.
Coast Range Association: Now We Wait
In an October email to supporters, the Coast Range Association, our fiscal sponsor, says it is waiting on the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, which both announced that their draft forest plans would not arrive until fall. Executive Director Chuck Willer writes that the BLM’s idea is to lease forestland to private entities that would manage the forest day to day.
On the Roadless Rule, the email says the Forest Service received more than one million comments in this round and counts about 1.6 million in total, and it cites the Center for Western Priorities’ finding that 99 percent opposed rescission. It also warns that a potentially wild El Niño ahead may combine with other conditions to cause record coastal flooding and erosion. Read the full update.
Oregon Pauses Data Center Permits, and Wants Your Comments
In an October 9 letter, Governor Tina Kotek directed the Department of Environmental Quality to pause processing and issuing air and water permits for new or expanded data centers until July 1, 2027, FOX 12 reported on October 13. The order was not announced when it was issued, and her staff gave the letter to FOX 12 about a week later.
Kotek said the pause gives her time to review recommendations from her Data Center Advisory Committee, and that reforms could come before the Legislature in 2027. It follows her September 8 pause on state-owned land for data center projects.
That committee is asking for your comments right now. Its Preliminary Learnings and Questions document is open for public comment until 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. Our new action page walks you through the questions and the form. The committee reports that most comments so far were near-copy form letters from the Portland area, so a note in your own words from your own town stands out. To weigh in at the federal level, our data center page has the steps.
Closer to Home: Nye Beach Water Quality
In Newport, Surfrider volunteers test 14 sites about every two weeks. Lincoln Chronicle reported on October 12 that fewer than 30 percent of the samples from the Nye Creek outfall over the past year met state water quality standards, and that the most recent Nye Beach reading, in late September, was 233 against a high-bacteria threshold of 130.
Surfrider is asking the city for follow-up testing, a routine infrastructure investigation, and a study to find out whether the bacteria come from humans or animals. On September 21, the city announced weekly testing at Nye Beach and five upstream locations. Beach water testing is also what our page on reauthorizing the BEACH Act is about.
New on Act Now: Fix the Permitting Bill
On September 30, Senators Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, Martin Heinrich, and Sheldon Whitehouse released a bipartisan permitting bill, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. This week we added a page with the steps to tell Oregon’s senators to fix the bill before they vote on it.
Mixed Media Montage, Remembered
On Thursday, October 8, ECC founder Liz Fox led Mixed Media Montage at the South Beach Community Center in Newport, a hands-on evening of building small keepsakes from old photographs, matchboxes, tins, and found objects. There is a shadow box of crowned cats and a bearded dragon, a Queen of Spades with a Boston terrier’s face, and a little tin that reads “inspiration will find you.” See the photos and read the recap.
Next up is Thursday, November 12, a low-stress doodling and drawing class from 5 to 8 pm at the South Beach Community Center. Details and registration are coming soon, so watch our events page.
Art Worth a Look: Nature in the Frame
Amok Island, an artist based in Fremantle, Western Australia, paints large geometric murals of the mammals, crustaceans, flowers, and birds native to each place the murals appear, on industrial buildings, community halls, and overpasses. Colossal reported on October 6 that the work aims to highlight local biodiversity and encourage conservation by putting wildlife in front of people where they live.
On October 9, Colossal also covered Jonathan Knight’s series Exhale, long-exposure photographs of water and atmosphere, including starry skies, foggy mornings, and rain clouds, that invite viewers to slow down and notice gradual change in nature.
On September 15, Colossal profiled Meg Webster, whose large sculptures and walk-through installations are made from soil, salt, sand, beeswax, and plant matter, as a response to people’s growing disconnection from nature.
Coming Up on the Coast
- Saturday, October 17, 9 am to 1 pm: Native Plant Sale at the MidCoast Watersheds Council office, 914 SW Coast Hwy, Newport. Native trees, shrubs, and flowering plants for pollinator gardens, with staff on site to help match plants to your space.
- Thursday, October 22, 4:30 to 5:30 pm: opening of Making a Splash, an exhibit of paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, and cork sculptures by six artists about animals and their watery habitats, at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, 333 SE Bay Blvd., Newport. Free, with a suggested donation.
- Saturday, October 24, 1 to 3 pm: From Block to Paper, a beginner block printing class taught by Cheryl Horton at the Newport Visual Arts Center, 777 NW Beach Drive. $65 for an adult, or an adult plus one child 14 and older. Materials are provided.
- Sunday, October 25, 2 to 5 pm: Saltwater Stories, an afternoon of FisherPoetry, sea shanties, and coastal visual art celebrating Newport’s working harbor, at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center. $15 general admission, $25 VIP.
- Tuesday, November 3, 2 to 5 pm: Fun with Fungi, drawing and painting locally foraged mushrooms with watercolor and making spore prints, at the Newport Visual Arts Center. $75 for an adult, or an adult plus one child 12 and older. Register by Monday, November 2.
- Saturday, November 21, 11 am to 3:30 pm: Creative Critters Clay Sculpture with Liz Fox at the Newport Visual Arts Center. $95 for an adult, or an adult plus one child 14 and older. Register by Tuesday, November 17.
You can find every open action on our Act Now page, and you can join our newsletter and Action Team to hear when a new one goes up.
