Question: What is the Oregon Ocean Science Trust, and why was it created?

Answer: ​The 2013 Oregon Legislature established the Oregon Ocean Science Trust and Fund to promote competitive research and monitoring that informs our understanding of Oregon's ocean and coastal resources. The Trust has five voting members as well as two nonvoting members from the Legislature.

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Question: Can I donate to the Oregon Ocean Science Trust, and if so, how?

Answer: The Oregon Community Foundation is able to accept donations on behalf of the Trust. Click here if you would like to make a donation.

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Question: The Trust funded more than $1 million dollars in grants focused on ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) in 2022. What is OAH and why is it important for us to learn more about it?

Answer: Ocean acidification is changing seawater chemistry throughout the world's oceans, causing ocean water to become more acidic and corrosive. It's partner is hypoxia - or low dissolved oxygen levels. OAH is making the ocean a less habitable place for many species of marine life, from seastars to commercially valuable fisheries. Understanding how the ocean is changing and how species are responding to these changes (their health, abundance, and distribution) will help us develop management strategies to deal with these stresses on our ocean and marine life.

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Question: The Trust is preparing to announce another competitive round of grant funding focused on nearshore research and monitoring? Why?

Answer: The Trust hosted a summit in 2016 with ocean and coastal experts to describe the highest priority ocean and coastal research needs for Oregon. Research and monitoring that helps us understand and deal with the effects of OAH as well as baseline information about Oregon's nearshore resources were among the priorities. The Trust is currently working with nearshore experts to obtain their recommendations for the latest nearshore research and monitoring priorities.

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Question: How do I learn about the outcomes of the research and monitoring projects the Trust funds?

Answer: Click on Funded Research on the menu of this website, and you can learn more details about the research and monitoring the Trust has funded. As each of the projects is implemented, we'll be documenting outcomes on this website.