NOAA

An alarming new federal report released Wednesday indicates that the number of gray whales in the Pacific Ocean has dropped to the lowest number in decades and that the decline may be only getting worse.

Investigators are searching for a person of interest in the stabbing of an elephant seal pup earlier this year along the Oregon Coast.

The National Weather Service is suspending some weather balloon launches because of staffing shortages.

Thousands of gray whales now migrating north from Baja California are in such poor shape and so few calves were born this winter that researchers and others worry they may be witnessing another die-off.

Among the White House’s latest potential cuts to federal spending is the elimination of the scientific research unit for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If enacted, those could have a major impact on a coastal Oregon city.

Oregon looks to be entering a drought-free spring as rains could continue for several more weeks, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s spring outlook.

Firings and layoffs of federal workers by the Trump administration are likely to have marked effects on the economies of Oregon’s north coast counties, particularly in Lincoln County.

The central Oregon coast is infused with federal money, has branches of many federal agencies and is home to its hundreds of its employees.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, said at least 880 federal employees at the weather and research agency face job cuts

A conservation group in Springfield has won $8.5 million in federal funding, which will pay for floodplain restorations along the Willamette River and its tributaries.

Scientists are studying odd, pickle-shaped sea creatures they found off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. They’re known as pyrosomes.

Spring Whale Watch week kicks off Saturday along the Oregon coast. While the weather won’t be ideal, there may be more gray whales migrating north to Alaska.