Huffman, Merkley, Reintroduce Bill to Restore Critical Kelp Forests

The Help Our Kelp Act Would Improve Conditions for the Marine Life Central to Our Economy

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) reintroduced the bicameral Help Our Kelp Act of 2025 to improve conditions for kelp forests and marine life. This legislation would invest federal resources to address the ongoing crises that kelp forest ecosystems face in Northern California, Southern Oregon, and across the country.

Over the last 50 years, more than 95% of kelp forests stretching from the South Coast of Oregon to the North Coast of California have been damaged due to a few different factors – specifically rising ocean temperatures that limit kelp growth, and spreading sea star wasting disease that removes a key predator of purple sea urchins and drives those overpopulated urchins to voraciously consume kelp. As the climate crisis worsens, water quality dips, and overfishing becomes commonplace, kelp forests are in decline.

“Healthy kelp ecosystems are essential not only to the stability and survival hundreds of marine species, but also to protecting coastlines, generating income for coastal communities, and supporting sustainable fisheries,” said Rep. Huffman. “As we continue to see the decline of these ecosystems due to climate change, it’s urgent that Congress steps in and passes much-needed federal assistance to help counter these challenges in our oceans. With this bill, we can take an important step toward improving and recovering conditions for kelp and other marine life before it’s too late.”

“Oregon’s kelp forests provide critical habitats and food sources for the marine mammals, birds, and many fish species that support Oregon’s commercial fishing industry, Tribes, and coastal economies,” said Sen. Merkley. "As these forests vanish, the wildlife that depends on kelp forests will struggle, throwing nature out of balance and leaving coastal and Tribal communities in uncharted waters. The Help Our Kelp Act will get us back on track and protect our ecosystems, our local economies, and our fishing industry." 

“Kelp forests are key to helping keep our waters clean — and healthy waters make for healthy people,” said Senator King. “However, climate change and human activity are having devastating consequences on our coastal ecosystems, putting at harm the iconic Maine fishery and our coastal communities. The Help Our Kelp Act is an important investment that will help to restore these intricate, sensitive underwater habitats, and better protect Maine’s waters and way of life. I want to thank my colleagues for acknowledging the importance of our kelp forests and am encouraged that we are coming together in the House and Senate to safeguard this critical ecological and economic resource.”

The Help Our Kelp Act of 2025 would:

• Establish a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant program to fund conservation, restoration, and management efforts to support kelp forest ecosystems;
• Take steps to address the greatest relative regional declines, long-term ecological or socioeconomic resilience, and focal recovery areas identified by Tribal, federal, or state management plans;
• Authorize $5 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030.

Rep. Huffman was also able to secure $2,000,000 for Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Kelp Recovery Community Project in the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations package. More information about that project can be found here.

Additionally, Sen. Merkley secured $2,521,000 for the Oregon Kelp Alliance’s project to help restore kelp forests in Southern Oregon in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package.

In the Senate, this legislation is cosponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

The Help Our Kelp Act is endorsed by Monterey Bay Aquarium, Center for the Blue Economy, Seattle Aquarium, Blue Frontier, Noyo Center for Marine Science, Ocean Conservancy, Greater Farallones Association, Oregon Kelp Alliance, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, American Sportfishing Association, Surfrider Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Bay Foundation.

“The Monterey Bay Aquarium has long been committed to understanding and safeguarding the kelp forests at the heart of the West Coast’s coastal ecosystems and economy. We’re learning that partnerships and collaboration can help bring our kelp forests back to the levels of abundance that benefit people and wildlife alike. Monterey Bay Aquarium supports the Help Our Kelp Act’s thoughtful approach to ensuring much-needed restoration and research efforts can be eligible for catalytic federal support, and we hope Congress supports this bill,” said Aimee David, Vice President, U.S. & California Ocean Conservation, Policy and Advocacy, Monterey Bay Aquarium.

“In Washington state, we're studying the conditions necessary for healthy kelp forests to inform effective restoration efforts,” said Nora Nickum, Senior Director of Conservation Programs at the Seattle Aquarium. “The Help Our Kelp Act will enable more projects to conserve, restore, and manage these critical ecosystems, which endangered salmon, sunflower sea stars, and a multitude of others call home.”

“Kelp forests are vibrant, ever-changing living systems that sustain life in the ocean and along our shores. They are among the most productive environments on Earth, nurturing diverse marine relatives, storing carbon, and strengthening coastal resilience. For Indigenous peoples, these forests have long been vital woven into our traditions, sustenance, and way of life,” said ‘Wáahlaal Gidaag, Vice President, Arctic and Northern Waters at Ocean Conservancy. “Congressman Huffman and Senator Merkley’s Help Our Kelp Act is a crucial step toward ensuring these forests continue to thrive, supporting biodiversity and the essential connections that sustain us all.”

“To date, we have removed 37,700 kilograms of purple urchins from our subtidal restoration sites—that’s the weight of a gray whale! By reducing this overabundant population, which far exceeded the ecosystem’s carrying capacity, we’re creating space for kelp spores to settle and young kelp to grow. Using innovative outplanting techniques, Greater Farallones Association and our partners have successfully reintroduced bull kelp sporophytes. At one of our restoration sites, we’ve observed an incredible 1,500% increase in kelp growth over the past year. Restoration works! Greater Farallones Association is strongly in support of the Help Our Kelp Act and commends Representative Huffman's and Senator Merkley's efforts to advance this bill and continue the restoration of our kelp forests along the California coast,” said Monika Krach, Executive Director, Greater Farallones Association.

“The health of Columbia River salmon is tied to the health of the ocean ecosystem where they spend a large portion of their lives,” said Aja DeCoteau, executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “Our member tribes support efforts to protect or restore salmon habitat wherever these far-travelling fish journey. Juvenile salmon especially depend on the kelp forests off the Oregon and Washington coasts, an ecosystem that has been struggling in recent years. Senator Merkley’s Help our Kelp Act has our support and we look forward to working together to protect this dynamic and important marine ecosystem that provides habitat for not only salmon but an entire community of wildlife, provides carbon sequestration, acts as a buffer for coastal erosion, and provides important ecological balance to the marine system.”

“Kelp Forests are the Sequoias of the Sea only with sea otters. They’re a magnificent and productive marine species and habitat that generate over $500 billion a year in terms of fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and indigenous and community-based cultural values. Plus, they provide the ‘mother seed’ for the world’s growing seaweed farming industry, vital to future food security and medical and materials innovation. With 60 percent of the world’s kelp forests damaged or destroyed, including over 90 percent in Northern California and parts of New England, we need the Help the Kelp Act to protect and restore these natural engines of productivity. One of the fastest growing organisms on earth (giant kelp can grow well over a foot a day) we know that these types of investments work. In South Korea, their fisheries ministry has restored 50,000 acres of kelp and aims to restore 150,000 by 2030. The U.S. needs to invest in kelp that, like coral, keeps our public seas healthy and productive. Let’s restore the blue in our red, white, and blue by passing the Help the Kelp Act,” said David Helvarg, Executive Director Blue Frontier, author ‘The Forest in the Sea’ (upcoming, Island Press, 2026).

“Healthy kelp forests are essential to protecting our coastlines, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. Unfortunately, kelp forests are experiencing alarming declines on the West Coast, which is why the Help Our Kelp Act is needed to protect and restore these invaluable ecosystems. Surfrider Foundation calls on members of Congress to swiftly pass this important bill into law,” said Pete Stauffer, Ocean Protection Manager, Surfrider Foundation.

"The Oregon Kelp Alliance strongly supports the Help Our Kelp Act championed by Senator Merkley and his colleagues. This vital legislation will help restore and protect the underwater forests that are essential to Oregon's coastal ecosystems and communities. The Act's emphasis on collaborative restoration work, integration of Indigenous knowledge, and focus on reestablishing natural trophic relationships through actions like urchin control aligns perfectly with our science-based approach to kelp forest recovery. We're particularly encouraged by the bill's support for monitoring and assessment, which will help ensure restoration efforts are effective and lasting. This federal investment in kelp forest conservation couldn't come at a more critical time for Oregon's marine ecosystems and the coastal communities that depend on them,” said Tom Calvanese, Oregon Kelp Alliance.

Bill text can be found here and a bill summary can be found here.

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