PORTLAND, Ore. - A presidential commission's proposal to finance ocean protection from oil and gas drilling drew concerns Tuesday in the Northwest, where offshore drilling is not currently allowed.

The report from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy released Tuesday in Washington, D.C., also drew praise from scientists and environmentalists for its focus on ecosystem-based management that incorporates every aspect of ocean health - from inland estuaries to marine fisheries - while acknowledging people's needs must also be met.

The report recommends the creation of the Ocean Policy Trust Fund. It would come from the annual $5 billion in bonus bid and royalty payments made to the U.S. Treasury for offshore oil and gas drilling, and newer activities such as aquaculture.

Ron Schultz, a policy adviser to Washington Gov. Gary Locke, said states would feel pressured to snag trust funding by maximizing offshore revenue from drilling.

Washington state has a moratorium on coastal drilling, Schultz said. "I would hate to see someone say, 'Hey, don't you want to get rid of your moratorium so you can get funding for the ocean trust?"'

Ocean experts said the nearly 500-page report, which addresses problems such as coastal development, water pollution and exploitation of marine resources, will serve as an invaluable guide for local and federal authorities.

It's the first such sweeping review of U.S. ocean policy in 35 years.

"Our nation has been drifting along with our ocean policies without a lot of guidance, without a lot of direction," said Jane Lubchenco, an Oregon State University marine biologist and member of the Pew Oceans Commission. "This report gives us a compass to follow."

In the West, government officials said they're already taking measures to protect ocean health.

Both Oregon and Washington state have systems to manage watershed health, which track and control the impact of farming, fishing and other activities on local water supplies. Lubchenko said the commission is proposing the same idea for oceans on a much larger scale.

And Oregon is developing a nearshore fishery management plan, which will work with fishermen in coastal areas, said Joe Rohleder, a former charter fishing boat operator working with the state to develop the plan.

Rohleder said the plan seeks to revive the region's groundfish industry. Overfishing of rockfish, flatfish and other species prompted federal closure of most of the continental shelf to commercial fishing in September 2002.

California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said ocean preservation is a "top priority," noting that the state has two laws aimed at preserving the shoreline.

Environmentalists said they appreciated the commission's focus on reducing pollution, and its close look at ocean health as it affects shorelines and estuaries - where sensitive nutrient ecosystems meet the sea and rivers.

"Sometimes you see reports about the oceans that just deal with the deep blue sea way off shore," said Kathy Fletcher, who heads the Seattle-based People for Puget Sound. "This really brought the issues back home."

But members of the advocacy group Oceana said the report makes preservation efforts voluntary, and fails to address harmful fishing methods such as bottom trawling.

"The biggest, longest term treat is overfishing," said Erin Simmons, organizer for the group's San Francisco branch.

One county official in Oregon worried that the report's focus on regional recovery efforts could infringe upon the rights of individual states. "Why do we want to rely on their guys? We don't have any representation," said Coos County Commissioner John Griffith.