Sen. Anderson Urges DHS to Restore Newport Coast Guard Helicopter Before Crab Season

Lincoln County, OR. — State Sen. Dick Anderson on Friday called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to immediately return the Coast Guard’s MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aircrew to Newport ahead of the 2025–2026 Dungeness crab season. In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Anderson said the helicopter’s relocation to North Bend left the central Oregon coast without dedicated rotary-wing search-and-rescue coverage during the most hazardous time of year.

Anderson emphasized that winter bar crossings at Yaquina Bay, Depoe Bay, and nearby ports regularly occur in dangerous weather conditions, and that fixed-wing aircraft and boats cannot perform hoist rescues in low ceilings and heavy seas. He warned that the absence of a helicopter in Newport “creates an unacceptable and preventable threat to human life.”

The senator requested that DHS redeploy one MH-65 and its crew to Newport no later than December 1 and conduct a broader review of restoring permanent rotary-wing capability to the region. Anderson noted that local fishermen and families “are deeply grateful for the Coast Guard’s service,” adding that returning the aircraft is “literally a matter of life and death.”