County Joins Forces To Bring Back Coast Guard Helicopter

Newport Fishermen's Wives During the 2014 fight to save the Helo (photo provided by Sharon Biddinger Simply Design Studios)

Lincoln County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting Friday taking decisive action to prevent the permenant closure of the Coast Guard helicopter rescue facility at Newport Municipal Airport. The commissioners unanimously passed a resolution opposing the facility's closure and laid groundwork to join potential litigation—moves lauded by members of the fishing community and city of Newport.

During public comment Cari Bandburg, treasurer of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, thanked the county for its continued support and explained the real-world stakes. “We truly believe that the people sitting at a desk making these decisions do not understand our county, our conditions and our cold water temperatures. The helicopter does have an impact on saving lives and assisting with our sea crews... I want to thank the county for standing up to help us as much as you guys have to this point and previously, and we look forward, unfortunately, to having to do this, but at least we are doing this together.” She also emphasized the group's full support of the Coast Guard.

Newport hosts one of the largest crabbing fleets on the West Coast and the largest in

Oregon. Dungeness crabbing is famously among the most dangerous occupations, and

news of the relocation of the helicopter comes at an especially critical time with the

impending beginning of commercial crabbing season. Every year, the helicopter

conducts dozens of rescue operations, returning imperiled boat crews to their homes

and families. To countless community members, the whir of the helicopter’s blades

above them has signaled salvation.

Helicopter Ocean Rescue (photo by Sharon Biddinger Simply Design Studios)

Taunette Dixon, a fourth-generation fisherman and Fishermen’s Wives member, emphasized the risks her community faces. “Personally, our boat will be crossing the bar soon to go Dungeness crab fishing. It is a very dangerous fishery, one of the most dangerous in the world... When accidents happen, they have a very limited amount of time in the water... Everybody in this county is protected by that helicopter.”

Dixon added "We're watching loved ones cross that bar the knowing in the past that we've always had that rescue helicopter close when accidents happen, and they do happen, they happen sadly, fairly regularly during the crab season. They have a very limited amount of time in the water if there is a rescue helicopter that is a half an hour, an hour away, it makes it very difficult for our men and women to survive in the in the cold waters, hypothermia sets in very quickly. They they lose use in their arms and and after that, it's a it's a short time of being able to survive."

Gary Ripka, president of the Newport Marketing Association and commercial fisherman, shared a firsthand account of how important the Coast Guard helicopter is. “About 10 years ago, I had a crew member that had extreme chest pains. We had to have a Coast Guard medevac. We wouldn’t have made it in time, and a boat wouldn’t have made it in time, probably for this person... These are real things. These aren’t made-up stuff. This is stuff we deal with every season, potentially. And I just want to thank you—like I say, we need all hands on deck to get this helicopter back.”

Dixon also reminded the importance of the helicopter for our tourist community. "You know, we have a large influx of tourists in the summer, and sadly, tourists don't understand our our oceans and our beaches and and that helicopter regularly plucks people off cliffs, off rocks, our surfers,and our loggers also county on the helicopter." Dixon also reminded it is not just here in Lincoln County but up and down the coast. "Everybody in this county is protected by that. And further, we look at at some of the the harbors just north of us, they also have a very difficult time getting a prompt rescue. They depend on our rescue helicopter."

11 years ago. when the Coast Guard announced plans to close the Newport

Air Station, the community rallied to retain this lifesaving resource. Commissioners

joined those voices, adopting a resolution opposing the move as in contradiction of the

Coast Guard’s stated mission. Members of Congress were convinced to keep the

station open in an appropriations bill. The resolution passed Friday that the Board of Commissioners adopted is almost identical to the one adopted in 2014. Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the County to be a plaintiff in potential litigation over the Coast Guard helicopter’s removal.

Federal law now requires that the Coast Guard notify the area’s members of Congress,

conduct a risk analysis, and hold a public comment period before the helicopter can be

moved. None of those occurred in this instance. Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan told the commissioners that "The City of Newport stands firmly in support of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives in their lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Coast Guard to secure the return of the rescue helicopter to Newport. As home to Oregon’s largest commercial fishing port and the fifth city in the nation to receive a Coast Guard City USA designation, the presence of the rescue helicopter in Newport has long been a critical component of public safety for our fishing community and tourists."

In 1987, Newport Fishermen’s Wives fought to secure the rescue helicopter for Newport after a number of deadly tragedies along the Oregon coast. In 2014, they once again fought to keep the helicopter after the attempted closure of the Coast Guard Air Facility at our airport. Today, just weeks before our iconic crabbing season opens, their fight has been reignited. Kaplan added "We remain committed to working closely with Newport Fishermen’s Wives, and our local, state, and federal legislators, to return the Coast Guard rescue helicopter to Newport, upholding the critical safety measures that are essential to our fishing fleet and community."