Legislation is being drafted to prohibit federal spending on decommissioning until a thorough review is completed and proper notification procedures are followed.

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Merkley and Murkowski, along with two Democratic House committees, sent letters urging the National Science Foundation to halt or reverse its plan to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million ocean-monitoring network.

Lawmakers warn that removing the OOI could jeopardize El Niño preparedness, noting the first Oregon coast buoy is slated for removal soon and highlighting potential impacts on coastal communities, fishermen, and emergency responders.

Tribal communities rely on OOI data for resource monitoring, underscoring broader stakeholder impacts.

Over a decade, OOI has tracked ocean circulation, ecosystems, climate change, and extreme weather, supporting more than 500 scientific publications with freely available data.

NSF cites a 2025 National Academies report to justify realigning priorities, planning instrument removals by 2027 off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and Greenland, and framing the move as descoping amid budget pressures.

Critics argue the removals should have more warning and review, warning that the plan could undermine coastal forecasts, models, and fisheries management.

Some lawmakers frame the action as part of a broader anti-science stance in climate policy.

Advocates emphasize OOI’s importance for coastal forecasts, ocean models, fisheries management, and its data supporting billions in annual fishery sales and millions of jobs.

The issue has bipartisan and bicameral concern over preserving a major ocean-observing project and the implications for national science infrastructure.

The move is discussed in a broader policy context, linked to Project 2025, Heritage Foundation recommendations, NOAA funding debates, and climate-science priorities under evolving federal budgets.

NSF describes the action as a descope rather than dismantling, asserting data will remain accessible via the OOI Data Center and framing the change as a smarter lifecycle-management approach.