Official release - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has asked U.S. Coast Guard officials to join him Sunday morning, Nov. 23 at the Newport Municipal Airport to provide him and the central Oregon Coast community answers about the relocation of a Coast Guard helicopter essential to local public safety. Wyden wrote in his letter to Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, Acting Coast Guard Commandant, that he would like that Nov. 23 airport meeting with a Coast Guard representative to happen before his annual open-to-all Lincoln County town hall scheduled later that day in Newport. “On November 12, 2025, I wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Noem and you seeking timely answers about the recent change in Coast Guard assets. To date, I have not received any answers or updates from the Coast Guard or DHS,” Wyden wrote. “That ongoing silence about a decision that carries life-and-death consequences for Oregonians and visitors to this community is unacceptable to the people I’m proud to represent. Wyden reiterated in his letter that the Coast Guard station in Newport serves the city and the central Oregon Coast as an essential safety net for the state’s fishing industry, coastal visitors, and local residents with boat crews and a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew that’s long been a proven lifesaver in search-and-rescue operations. “Newport residents and small business owners remain extremely concerned about how this move threatens search and rescue operations, considering that the next closest helicopter appears to now be more than 90 miles away in North Bend, Oregon,” Wyden wrote. “The fishing community in Newport is understandably worried that if someone in the cold water of the Pacific is in need of immediate rescue, the Coast Guard crews nearby will not have the necessary assets to save their lives.”