Oregon Public Broadcasting

Environmental groups are offering measured support for new federal protections announced Tuesday for a turtle native to the Oregon Coast. Rob Manning reports.

Conservationists were worried that the leatherback sea turtle’s millions of years in the Pacific Ocean could come to an end without stronger protections, so they sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA has responded by designating a large critical habitat area from the Canadian border south to the Umpqua River, on the central Oregon Coast.

Ben Enticknap with the conservation group, Oceana, says the protections should help – so long as rules remain in place, against certain fishing techniques, geared mostly for tuna and swordfish.

Ben Enticknap: “We want to take a strong step forward here, to protect leatherback sea turtles, and maintain those existing fishery closures to the drift gill-net fisheries and pelagic long lines.”

NOAA proposed a smaller protected area in California. The proposed rules – which are open for comment until early March – would require additional reviews for new coastal development within the critical habitat area.