WASHINGTON, June 19 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release: A plan to issue a Special Use Permit (SUP) to Dare County to utilize a privately-owned hopper dredge to perform maintenance dredging within Oregon Inlet has been approved by the National Park Service (NPS). In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NPS adopted an Environmental Assessment (EA) drafted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for their Sec  more

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, June 18 -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following news release: Officers from the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement will be conducting patrols during the upcoming commercial halibut fishing opening. They will be joined by state fish and wildlife agencies from Washington, Oregon, and California, and the United States Coast Guard. The patrols will take place on the Washington, Oregon, and Northern California coasts on June 22-24, 2020. The s  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 18 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation Portland Field Office issued the following news release on June 16: The FBI has launched the "Protected Voices" initiative to help 2020 political campaigns and American voters protect against online foreign influence operations and cyber security threats. The Protected Voices campaign includes information and guidance from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of   more

SACRAMENTO, California, June 20 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release: Director Tanya N. Garfield of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Disaster Field Operations Center-West announced that SBA has approved $1.3 million in federal disaster loans for Oregon businesses and residents impacted by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred Feb. 5-9, 2020. According to Garfield, SBA has approved $1,327,400 to h  more

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects across the Nation under the America's Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oreg  more

PENDLETON, Oregon, June 17 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service unit - Umatilla National Forest - issued the following news release on June 16: The Umatilla National Forest reopened an additional four developed campgrounds across the Forest, where crews have completed annual start-up preparations. While the Forest is working hard to actively reopen developed recreation sites to the public, some campgrounds and all cabin rentals remain closed. Forest staff will reopen add  more