The Oregon Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly supported a proposal adding three marine reserves to state waters.

If the bill, which advanced on a 25-5 vote, also passes the House, it would bring the total to five areas protecting marine habitat within state waters. It also would end a decade of fighting in Salem over the idea of protecting coastal waters from intense fishing to assure fish and crabs will thrive.

Despite misgivings, Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, urged passage, saying creating the reserves would "serve as an inoculation" against the prospects for a ballot measure that would be even tougher on the economies of coastal communities struggling from longstanding cutbacks in commercial fishing.

In 2009 the Legislature created two pilot reserves and set up an intense process for fishermen, conservation groups, and coastal communities to find agreement. The bill was made up of recommendations from the Ocean Policy Advisory Council based on those negotiations.

From the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will seek public comments on Oregon administrative rule changes affecting Oregon’s ocean shore. OPRD is responsible for the management of the ocean shore state recreation area under OAR 736-021-0060.

These rules were last revised in 1996. Since then, the numbers of visitors and kinds of recreation have grown and changed, as have natural resource protection activities.  The current draft rule changes, as well as historical and cultural sites, on the ocean shore, and make it easier for visitors to understand and locate all rules pertinent to ocean shore management.

The Occupy movement spread to the post office on Monday as 20 rural communities protested the proposal to close post offices around the state.

In Deadwood, Ore., about 175 people showed up to support their post office.

In Walton, about a dozen protesters filtered in throughout the day.

"Rural communities depend on these services," said Diana Defazio of Walton, "and in the case of Walton, we're 9 miles from the nearest - Noti - which is where we'd have to go. And that's far to travel over a pretty hazardous mountain pass to get there and to get those services."