A realistic path forward for the Klamath Basin By Jim McCarthy Bend Bulletin December 27, 2015 Parched Lower Klamath NWR, Sept. 20, 2013 A recent editorial unfortunately repeated the claim that Congressional implementation of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) will largely resolve the Klamath’s longstanding water disputes. In reality, this controversial deal would only […]
Some Salem households use millions of gallons of water – in a year By Tracy Loew Statesman Journal November 14, 2015 It takes 6 1/2 years for the average American family to use 660,000 gallons of water – the amount contained in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. In a single year, 16 Salem households used more
Some Salem households use millions of gallons of water – in a year Read More »
By Kelly House | Nov. 6, 2015 | The Oregonian The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) will scrap its latest strategy to free up water for a Nestlé bottled water plant in Cascade Locks, in favor of an approach that lets regulators consider the public impacts of relinquishing water in the midst of
Gov. Kate Brown Asks for New Approach to Nestlé Water Deal Read More »
Oregon, feds to map cold water fish refuges in Columbia, Willamette rivers By Kelly House The Oregonian/OregonLive November 3, 2015 Yakama fishermen Rex Zack and Doug Lamere prepare hoop nets on a fishing platform suspended over the Columbia River. Salmon have been central to the economy and culture of Pacific Northwest tribes for centuries. Photo
Oregon, feds to map cold water fish refuges in Columbia, Willamette rivers Read More »
Miners go to court over suction dredge moratorium By Mark Freeman Medford Mail Tribune October 21, 2015 Miners have asked a federal judge to block Oregon’s upcoming moratorium on suction dredge mining in wild salmon rivers such as the Rogue, claiming federal mining laws trump state restrictions on federal lands. A consortium of mining interests
Miners go to court over suction dredge moratorium Read More »
Yurok Tribe pulls out of Klamath River agreement By Adam Spencer The Triplicate September 17, 2015 The Williamson River, tributary to Upper Klamath Lake, running through the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The historic agreement designed to end long-standing water wars between fish advocates and farmers throughout the 16,000-square-mile Klamath River Basin appears to be facing collapse.
Yurok Tribe pulls out of Klamath River agreement Read More »
In My View: Restore the Deschutes River to its natural flow By Gail Snyder Bend Bulletin September 17, 2015 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. A recent Bulletin article referenced “natural low flows” in the Deschutes River. That description might be misleading. Under natural conditions, flows in the Deschutes River
In My View: Restore the Deschutes River to its natural flow Read More »
By Jim McCarthy and Tonya Graham | Sept. 6, 2015 | Medford Mail-Tribune In recent years, the growing number of successful removals of obsolete dams on North America’s salmon-bearing streams has become a celebrated symbol of progress, and represents a fundamental change in our relationship with rivers. The communities of the Rogue River Basin have
Removal of Obsolete Dams Benefits Rivers, the Public, and Landowners Read More »
Editorial: Legal Threat is a Wake Up Call BY THE SOURCE STAFF The Source Weekly September 23, 2015 Photo by Gary Nafis, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife. As a society, Americans have a reputation for being litigious. This tendency to sue over every too-hot coffee or too-tall neighbor’s fence is tedious, time consuming, and expensive.
In My View: Water usage must change to help the Deschutes River By Jeff Perin Bend Bulletin August 27, 2015 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. Fishing is my life. Most days you’ll find me at my fly-fishing shop in Sisters, but every chance I get I head out on
In My View: Water usage must change to help the Deschutes River Read More »
Feds release extra water to save Klamath salmon from disease By JEFF BARNARD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 21, 2015 This Oct. 1, 2002 file photo shows dead salmon along the Klamath River near Klamath, Calif., after a disease outbreak that killed an estimated 60,000 salmon. With water scarce in Northern California’s Klamath Basin, a federal
Feds release extra water to save Klamath salmon from disease Read More »
Tribes call on bureau to release fish-kill prevention flows this week By Will Houston Eureka Times-Standard August 17, 2015 2002 Klamath River fish kill. With ceremonial dam release flows expected to reach the Trinity River waters near Hoopa this evening, federal and tribal officials are still working out the details and timeline on another set
Tribes call on bureau to release fish-kill prevention flows this week Read More »
Feds threatened with second suit over Deschutes River management practices By Kelly House The Oregonian/OregonLive August 13, 2015 A second environmental group has announced plans to sue the federal government over dam management practices that, it claims, are harming wildlife in the Deschutes River. WaterWatch of Oregon has issued notice to the U.S. Bureau of
Feds threatened with second suit over Deschutes River management practices Read More »
Tribe files dam lawsuit amicus Yuroks join Hoopa Valley effort against Klamath dams By Adam Spencer The Triplicate October 8, 2015 The Yurok tribe filed a friend of the court brief Friday in support of the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s lawsuit that asks the U.S. Court of Appeals to force a federal agency to end eight
State will test fish-passage mitigation bank By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune August 7, 2015 State fish managers will test-drive a new, big-picture approach to fixing fish-passage barriers by bypassing otherwise required work on some bridges and culverts in favor of larger barriers that will generate greater benefits for wild salmon and open more usable habitat
by Jes Burns | Aug. 5, 2015 | Oregon Public Broadcasting EarthFix Evans Creek is barely a trickle. A dry summer in Southern Oregon means the important salmon and steelhead creek, a tributary of the Rogue River, disappears below the gravel bed in places. Seemingly stagnant isolated pools are all that remain in some areas.
Two of Oregon’s Worst Dams for Fish Are Coming Down Read More »
By Sara Roth with Keely Chalmers | Aug. 4, 2015 | KGW News Lake Oswego wants the ability to take another 22 million gallons a day from the Clackamas River. Conservationists fear fish won’t survive. The Portland metro area may be protected from the drought that’s encompassing the majority of Oregon, but in the Clackamas
Is Lake Oswego Too Thirsty for the Clackamas to Handle? Read More »
‘Mitigation banking’ Project would allow smaller fish-habitat improvements to slide in favor of bigger returns By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune August 2, 2015 State fish managers hope a new, big-picture approach to fixing fish-passage barriers by bypassing otherwise required work on some bridges and culverts in favor of larger barriers will generate greater benefits for
Opinion: It’s Time to Acknowledge KBRA Isn’t a Solution By Jim McCarthy Two Rivers Tribune July 28, 2015 Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath River The Klamath Basin is again suffering another punishing drought year. Locals and coastal fishing communities are again hoping that Klamath salmon won’t suffer more harm from a reckless federal water
Opinion: It’s Time to Acknowledge KBRA Isn’t a Solution Read More »
Basin water pact stalled in Senate By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News July 12, 2015 Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath River. Supporters of federal Klamath legislation have admitted the river’s outdated dams will come out even without bill passage. Parties to the Klamath water settlements are stuck treading water until lawmakers make a move
GUEST VIEWPOINT: ‘Make-believe water’ bill would be disaster for Klamath By Jim McCarthy Eugene Register-Guard July 11, 2015 2002 Klamath River fish kill. As the Klamath Basin’s drought continues another year, some — including both of Oregon’s U.S. senators — continue to claim that controversial legislation long stalled in Congress will solve the basin’s chronic
GUEST VIEWPOINT: ‘Make-believe water’ bill would be disaster for Klamath Read More »
By Mark Freeman | July 6, 2015 | Medford Mail-Tribune Construction crews next week plan to move into the Evans Creek drainage in preparation for removing the two worst remaining fish-killers in the Rogue River Basin, but they will show up already working under Plan B. A pending permit appeal blocking the demolition of Fielder
Flip-Flopped Dam-Removal Plans on Evans Creek Could Start Next Week Read More »
Investigation Will Determine If Klamath Irrigators’ Group Misused Federal Funds by Jes Burns OPB/EarthFix July 2, 2015 Chinook salmon photo courtesy USFWS. A government whistleblower protection office has authorized an investigation into alleged misuse of federal funds by a Klamath Basin irrigators’ group. Earlier this spring, two federal biologists filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special
Investigation Will Determine If Klamath Irrigators’ Group Misused Federal Funds Read More »
Wyden legislation is not what the Klamath refuges need By Bob Sallinger and Jim McCarthy Oregonian Guest Opinion June 27, 2015 Parched canal in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Brett Cole. In a recent guest column, Jason A. Atkinson and Michael Sutton assert that those eager to restore fish and wildlife habitat
Wyden legislation is not what the Klamath refuges need Read More »
Harney groundwater worries halt new well permits By Mateusz Perkowski Capital Press June 23, 2015 New well permits are halted in Oregon’s Harney County due to groundwater worries. Water regulators have largely stopped permitting new agricultural wells in Oregon’s Harney Basin due to concerns about groundwater depletion. Groundwater pumping is exceeding the rate of recharge
Harney groundwater worries halt new well permits Read More »
Dam Laws The owner of a giant Eastern Oregon ranch again brings his issues — and checkbook — to Salem. By Emily Volpert Willamette Week June 17, 2015 Scott Campbell has never been one to let the law hold him back when it comes to his massive Eastern Oregon ranch. Campbell is best known as
By John DeVoe | June 15, 2015 | Instream For many Oregonians, drought once existed as an abstraction, something that happened elsewhere, far away. No longer. This summer, Oregon’s rivers are suffering some of the lowest streamflows and highest water temperatures in our recorded history. These conditions are triggering tragic kills of salmon, steelhead, trout,
Feds: Columbia River Treaty’s future is a ‘priority’ By Christine Pratt The Wenatchee World June 4, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. State Department will include the region’s key recommendations in future negotiations with Canada over how to modernize the Columbia River Treaty. In a May 20 letter to Sen. Patty Murray, the State Department broke
Feds: Columbia River Treaty’s future is a ‘priority’ Read More »
Tribal members speak out against settlement Some oppose land deal as too small By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News June 4, 2015 Members of the Klamath Tribes are speaking out against the Klamath water settlements and the new land base being written into them. According to tribal member Ramona Mason, a Klamath-Shoshone who lives in
Land for Klamath Tribes identified By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News May 30, 2015 The Klamath Tribes and U.S. Forest Service officials have mutually agreed upon a specific parcel of Fremont-Winema National Forest land that will be returned to the Tribes if Senate Bill 133, the Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of
Bottling water in a drought? By Alison Vekshin Bloomberg News May 27, 2015 Nestle’s plan to bottle Oregon’s spring water is stoking a fight with lawmakers and environmental activists who say a corporation shouldn’t be allowed to profit from a natural resource as drought spreads across the state. The Oregon Water Resources Department is considering
Major fish kill likely in Klamath River as salmon parasite thrives in drought By The Associated Press This July 23, 2002, file photo shows fishing boats in the mouth of the Klamath River as it empties into the Pacific Ocean near Klamath, California. Drought has produced conditions allowing deadly salmon parasites to thrive in the
Major fish kill likely in Klamath River as salmon parasite thrives in drought Read More »
County formally requests promised Trinity River flows By Will Houston Eureka Times-Standard May 19, 2015 The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to send a letter to the federal government making a formal request for its promised 50,000 acre-feet of Trinity River water in advance of another summer of drought and possible
County formally requests promised Trinity River flows Read More »
Oregon wildlife officials eye phased-in hunting, fishing fee increases By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press May 16, 2015 Lawmakers are considering how to plug a $32 million funding gap for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife through a combination of raising hunting and fishing license fees, devoting more state revenues to the department and
Oregon wildlife officials eye phased-in hunting, fishing fee increases Read More »
Farmer v. farmer: Future of Oregon water at center of fight over new dam in Silverton By Molly Harbarger The Oregonian/OregonLive May 16, 2015 Map by Dan Aguayo, Oregonian SILVERTON — Bruce Jaquet took over management of his 193-acre farm from his father. He bought the land from his great-aunt, passed down from her father,
Farmer v. farmer: Future of Oregon water at center of fight over new dam in Silverton Read More »
State sets fish ladders at Opal Springs as top priority Steelhead show they want up the Crooked River By Dylan J. Darling The Bulletin May 10, 2015 The big effort to restore ocean-going fish runs in Central Oregon’s major rivers has put the focus on a small diversion dam a half-mile up the Crooked River
State sets fish ladders at Opal Springs as top priority Read More »
Water storage denied for Tumalo reservoirs Tumalo Irrigation District applied to transfer water to reservoirs owned by Bend development company By Ted Shorack The Bulletin May 6, 2015 Oregon regulators have denied permanent water storage at two small reservoirs near Tumalo that developers have considered using for water skiing. The Oregon Water Resources Department determined
Rivers Recover Rapidly Once Dams Are Gone, Study Finds by Cassandra Profita OPB April 30, 2015 When this photo was taken, about 3 million cubic yards of sediment had been flushed down the Elwha River since dam removal began in 2011. That’s only 16 percent of what’s expected to move downstream over five years. Katie
Rivers Recover Rapidly Once Dams Are Gone, Study Finds Read More »
Artificial beaver dam bill advances Oregon House By Mateusz Perkowski Capital Press April 24, 2015 A proposal to streamline permitting for fake beaver dams has progressed in the Oregon House. A bill intended to promote artificial beaver dams in Oregon’s Malheur Lake drainage basin has crossed a key legislative hurdle despite misgivings from some environmentalists.
Artificial beaver dam bill advances Oregon House Read More »
Tribes call for water Water shutoffs could begin as early as next week By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News April 24, 2015 Called-on streams: Crooked Creek Deep Creek Irving Creek Jackson Creek Larkin Creek Lower Sprague River Sand Creek Scott Creek Sycan River Upper Sprague River Wood River Since Monday, water calls have been made
