By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
A $5 million grant from the Columbia Sportswear family will allow the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport to dramatically expand its marine life rehabilitation program and add new features about the freshwater origins of Oregon’s rivers.
The funds come from The Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters, begun by the late Columbia founder Gert Boyle and her daughter, Kathy Deggendorfer. In announcing the biggest grant in the aquarium’s history, aquarium president Carrie Lewis said it will have “a tremendous impact on our treasured marine life and will leave a lasting legacy for Oregon.”
The foundation focuses on supporting arts, culture, environmental stewardship, social services and education in rural Oregon.
The $5 million will be disbursed over five years. Phase 1 will use $1 million to fund the remodeling of the aquarium’s entry building and the children’s nature play area. The goal is to educate and engage visitors on the importance of headwaters — the inland sources of streams and rivers.
“Headwaters are important for mankind because they feed into rivers, which we all depend on,” said Molly Dumas, the aquarium’s development director. The cleanliness and free flow of headwaters “impacts us all,” she said. “If there are no headwaters, there are no rivers; if there are no rivers, there are no reservoirs, and with no reservoirs, we have no drinking water.”
Some of the new features will include a new circulating “stream” with signs and interactive exhibits to “teach people about the inter-connectedness of our eco-systems,” Dumas said. “It’s also an opportunity to show how things like single-use plastics, or dumping chemicals into rivers, get into our water systems and end up in the fish that we eat.”
Also in the plans is an outdoor amphitheater for “ambassador animals” such as possums and birds of prey that are native to Oregon’s coastal forests.
New rehabilitation center
In the concept stage now is a entirely new marine rehabilitation center, using the remaining $4 million. That sum represents about 70 percent of the money needed to build the facility; the remainder will come from private support to the aquarium, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The aquarium hopes to raise the remaining funds by 2022, the year it receives the first installment on the $4 million.
The aquarium is the only facility in Oregon authorized to provide critical care to endangered marine wildlife like sea turtles, northern fur seals and snowy plovers — but its resources now are very limited.
“We currently handle about 275 animals in a year — mostly sea birds, and one small tank that we can use for a sea turtle,” said Dumas. What the aquarium lacks is a surgical facility, which will be an important part of the new rehab center.
“If we have a seal pup that has been harmed, we have to transport that animal to Willamette Veterinary Hospital in Corvallis,” she said. The new center “will allow us to be able to handle some of these animals, provide urgent care, and bring in a vet who may be able to do the work needed to help them survive. The goal is to release them back into the wild and increase their chances of survival.”
The rehab center will function as a hospital for marine animals, and won’t be open to the public. Plans are to include access for veterinary students and researchers.
Apart from its work in nature education, the aquarium’s impact on the regional economy can be significant.
“The studies we’ve done indicate that just the visits from people outside of Lincoln County generate $100 million a year,” said Dumas. “We’re anticipating that if we can get the work done now, during COVID-19 restrictions, when travel barriers are lifted people will have more to see and do, and the aquarium will be a destination for them.”
That elevated tourism status “would be such an economic boon to the coastal communities that have really suffered,” Dumas said.
The Roundhouse grant will support OCA’s capital campaign for remodeling, renovation and development. The aquarium’s website has a campaign video here, and a video about the projects being funded here.
The aquarium is one of the largest tourist destinations on the coast, with an average of 420,000 visitors annually before pandemic restrictions took effect last year. It opened in 1992 on 39 acres in the South Beach area of Newport, and has a staff of 65-85 and an annual operating budget of $7 million.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the aquarium is open daily with reserved timed ticketing for general admission. Members who visit on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays need to call in advance for reservations. The aquarium address is 2820 SE Ferry Slip Road, Newport; phone 541-867-3474.
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com