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Recent Press Releases
Conservationists Seek Solution to Critical Salmon Barrier on Rogue Basin’s Evans Creek April 17, 2013
Fielder Dam Ranks in Oregon’s Top Ten List of Barriers Harmful to Salmon, Steelhead
Conservation Groups File 60-Day Notice of ESA Challenge on Klamath Salmon April 4, 2013
Coalition says Bureau of Reclamation continues to endanger Klamath River fish, wildlife
by implementing water management plans ahead of environmental review.
Legislation Introduced to Protect Water Quality and Wild Salmon Feb. 19, 2013
SB 401 would curb destructive suction dredge mining in Oregon’s iconic waterways.
Statement on Columbia River-Umatilla Solutions Taskforce Announcement Feb. 15, 2013
Agreement promotes enonomic growth in the form of increased agriculture, as well as in the form of a healthier Columbia River, which provides jobs, food production, and other economic benefits to Oregon and the entire region.
Diverse Coalition Celebrates Landmark Upper Rogue Valley Water Plan Sept. 26, 2012
WaterWatch and allies celebrate launch of responsible, economically viable plan to get cooler, cleaner water in streams, more reliable water supplies for farmers, and better habitat for salmon and steelhead in the upper Rogue River Valley.
35 Organizations Sound Alarm on Klamath Water Sept. 24, 2012
WaterWatch joins other wildlife advocates to urge Obama administration to provide much-needed water to Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges during critical fall migration period.
- Sens. Merkley & Wyden & Gov. Kitzhaber Announce Crooked River Water Agreement July 31, 2012
- WaterWatch helps craft legislation providing significant improvements for fish and river habitat in the beloved Crooked River, joins Oregon leaders in hailing the landmark pact.
- Victory for McKenzie River as Judge Rules Against Water Speculators April 30, 2012
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Proposal Awaits Final Decision by Oregon Water Resources Department
In a victory for WaterWatch and the McKenzie River, an Administrative Law Judge has proposed that the state deny a water right permit application that would allow a private company to profit through speculation on one of the public’s most valuable resources – water – in one of the state’s most iconic waterways.
Recent Press Clips
Klamath Tribes and federal government put out historic call for water rights in drought-stricken Klamath Basin, Oregonian, June 10, 2013
The Klamath Tribes and the federal government called their water rights in southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin for the first time Monday, likely cutting off irrigation water to hundreds of cattle ranchers and farmers in the upper basin this summer.
Klamath Basin water plan won’t harm protected fish, federal scientists say, Associated Press, June 3, 2013
A new plan for balancing scarce water in the Klamath Basin between fish and farms won’t harm salmon or other fish protected by the Endangered Species Act, federal scientists said Monday.
Op-Ed: What are the facts about the KBRA, dam removal and tribal rights?, Times-Standard, May 30, 2013
Yurok/Hoopa tribal member Dania Rose Colegrove writes in favor of Klamath dam removal, but against giving up tribal water rights.
Civil Suit Demands Changes At Evans Creek Dam, Mail Tribune, April 18, 2013
WaterWatch has filed a federal suit against the owners of a defunct Evans Creek irrigation dam near Rogue River, arguing that the dam must be fixed or removed to allow safe passage of protected coho salmon.
Legal Hook, Mail Tribune, April 14, 2013
Some 157 miles of the Rogue River flows freely again because of WaterWatch’s Bob Hunter.
Oregon lawmakers consider moratorium on motorized mining, Oregonian, April 14, 2013
Moratorium would ban motorized mining on the full length of rivers and creeks that contain habitat for ocean-traveling salmon and bull trout.
Conservation groups to file lawsuit over Klamath River water flow, Associated Press, April 4, 2013
WaterWatch and Oregon Wild warned federal agencies Thursday they plan to sue to get more water devoted to protected salmon in the Klamath River.
Bill would add to point of diversion requirements, Capital Press, March 5, 2013
WaterWatch bill to protect fish and streams from a harmful regulatory loophole gets committee hearing.
Protecting Oregon’s rivers, Register Guard, March 4, 2013
The Register Guard editorializes in support of SB 401, a bill expanding the number of Oregon river segments protected by the State Scenic Waterways Act.
Evans Creek dams are on state’s list, Mail Tribune, March 4, 2013
Rogue Basin’s Wimer, Fielder dams cited as two of top ten impediments to fish in state.
County withdraws from KBRA, Herald & News, Feb. 26, 2013
Klamath County Commissioners plan to remove themselves and the county from the moribund Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.
Scenic rivers run through it, Mail Tribune, Feb. 22, 2013
The Mail Tribune Editorial Board argues in support of SB 401, a bill that would add segments of the Rogue, South Umpqua, Illinois, and other rivers to the Scenic Waterways list, calling proposal “a modest step to protect Oregon’s most precious and vulnerable waterways.”
Water proponents split over annual fee proposal, Capital Press, February 21, 2013
Sens. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, and Bill Hansell, R-Pendleton, are lining up on opposite sides of SB217, a bill to establish a water right management fee.
Steve Duin: Roll on, Oregon House Republicans, roll on, Oregonian, Feb. 20, 2013
A plan to divert Columbia River water for Eastern Oregon farmland misses the complex balancing act behind the river’s management for other uses.
Senate Bill Would Expand Protections for Oregon’s Rivers, KLCC, Feb, 20, 2013
A bill introduced in the legislature by Senator Alan Bates of southern Oregon would expand protections for the state’s rivers. It has the support of environmentalists and recreationalists.
Kitzhaber, farmers, environmentalists sign deal to add more water for Umatilla Basin irrigation, Oregonian, Feb. 15, 2013
Gov. John Kitzhaber and a task force of farmers, environmentalists and government regulators agreed Friday to move forward on a short-list of projects that could provide more irrigation water for the water-short Umatilla Basin.
Leonard Masten: In Klamath, Politics Defeat Science and Common Sense, Herald & News, Feb. 3, 2013
Recent claims of retribution by government scientists come as no surprise. The Klamath Bureau of Reclamation has used bad science in the past.
2013 could be a watershed year for water in Oregon, Capitol Press, Jan. 8, 2013
Lawmakers will gather in Salem Jan. 14 to kick off the 2013 Oregon Legislature with an eye on water.
Klamath Basin Farmers and Tribes Extend Water Deal For Two More Years, OPB, Dec, 31, 2012
Bush-era agreement, with no hope of passage in Congress, continues to block dam removal and progress on critical water issues in Klamath Basin.
Study links climate change to warmer Oregon streams, KGW, Nov. 2, 2012
Following the release of another worrying scientific study on the impacts of climate change in our region, WaterWatch’s John DeVoe discusses the importance of protecting Oregon’s salmon and streamflows with KGW News.
Officials deny water permit for gravel pit near Rogue River, Associated Press, Oct. 18, 2012
The Oregon Department of Water Resources said there is already too much water being taken out of Grave Creek, which flows into the Rogue at the start of the section that is one of Oregon’s most popular whitewater runs.
Southern Oregon irrigation project gains wide support, Capital Press, Sept. 27, 2012
Launch of landmark Rogue Valley water agreement, advocated by WaterWatch veteran Bob Hunter, is celebrated.
Objections raised over river mine plan, Mail Tribune, Sept. 22, 2012
WaterWatch and allies launch effort to keep a Josephine County mining operation from developing an open-pit aggregate mine along the upper reaches of an iconic Rogue River tributary.
Wyden, Merkley testify for Crooked River water bill, KTVZ, Sept. 19, 2012
Both of Oregon’s Senators testify in favor of the Crooked River Collaborative Water Security Act.
