The Coast Guard will continue to operate helicopter operations from the Newport, Ore., municipal airport during Dungeness crab season, Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday assured Oregon senators in a Dec. 12 letter.
Lunday wrote “my intent is to permanently maintain a Coast Guard helicopter operating from AIRFAC (air facility) Newport except when maintenance, crew readiness, or emergent mission needs require short-term, temporary movement of the helicopter and crew until their presence is restored. The Coast Guard will do better to communicate and be transparent with you and the Newport community in these situations.”
Lunday was responding to discussions with Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both D-Oregon, amid alarm in the Newport community over reports the Coast Guard would stop using Newport as a forward base, with Dungeness fishing season opening Dec. 16.
Lincoln County officials and the nonprofit Newport Fishermen’s Wives jointly went to federal court and obtained a temporary restraining order to maintain the helicopter. In his letter Lunday assured the senators the service had intended to return the aircraft during crab season.
The helicopter had been moved “due to a shortage of aircrew and increased aircraft maintenance issues,” Lunday wrote. “There was not an intent to close or terminate operations at AIRFAC Newport. As we have always done since 2015, the Coast Guard planned to resume regular operations at AIRFAC Newport in December 2025 for the duration of Dungeness crab season. I directed return of the helicopter and crew on Nov. 25, 2025.”
The same day Lunday’s letter was made public, Lincoln County and the Newport Fishermen’s Wives expressed skepticism through a letter from their lawyer Eric Birckenstein.
“While the county and Newport Fishermen’s Wives welcome Admiral Lunday and the Senators’ engagement on this issue, it is important to be clear that notwithstanding these statements, the Coast Guard and Secretary Noem continue to oppose the county and Newport Fishermen’s Wives’ case in federal court,” Brickenstein wrote.
“The fact is that the Coast Guard and Secretary Noem continue to oppose my clients’ request for an injunction,” Brickenstein wrote. “That is the best indicator of theier legal position and as far as I am aware the Coast Guard and Secretary Noem have not withdrawn their opposition in light of Admiral Lunday’s statements to the Senators. Our actions will continue to be guided by what the Coast Guard and Secretary do n court, not by what is said in the political arena.”
In his letter Admiral Lunday told the senators “the Coast Guard understands how important helicopter operations from AIRFAC Newport are along the Oregon coast for commercial fishing and recreational boating, as well as the dangers of the cold water and harsh weather along and offshore of the Oregon coast.”
“In addition to Newport, we will continue to conduct search and rescue response along the entire Oregon coast with helicopters and crews from AIRFAC Newport and Coast Guard Air Stations in Astoria and North Bend.”
