Media and Press

As Portland’s largest water users bankroll utility district campaign, opponents question who benefits By Brad Schmidt The Oregonian March 28, 2014 The biggest user of water in Portland is also the largest financial backer of a May ballot measure to strip utility rate-setting responsibility from the Portland City Council. Siltronic Corp., which makes silicon wafers […]

State rejects water rights bid The Willamette Water Co. had sought to be able to take 22 million gallons a day from the McKenzie River By Christian Wihtol The Register-Guard MARCH 15, 2014 Capping a McKenzie River water rights dispute that has dragged on for more than five years, the State Water Resources Department formally

Bend begins water project A section of new Bridge Creek pipeline will soon be installed By Hillary Borrud The Bulletin March 14, 2014 Protester Allie Morgan holds a sign during the Bend water project pipeline groundbreaking. (Andy Tullis/The Bulletin) Bend officials said Thursday they hope future generations will appreciate the controversial Bridge Creek water project,

Controversial McKenzie Water Permit Denied BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN EUGENE WEEKLY MARCH 13, 2014 Though speculating on water is illegal, WaterWatch of Oregon says Willamette Water Company was looking to do just that back in 2008 when it applied for a permit to withdraw 22 million gallons per day from the McKenzie River. On March 7,

State Denies McKenzie River Water Rights Application By JES BURNS KLCC March 11, 2014 The Veneta-based Willamette Water Company applied for rights to 34 cfs – or about 22 million gallons per day – from the McKenzie River. In 2012, after a challenge from conservation group Water Watch of Oregon, an administrative law judge ruled

Klamath Tribes And Ranchers Seek Water Solutions In New Agreement By Devan Schwartz OPB March 5, 2014 An agreement announced Wednesday between ranchers and Native American tribes seeks to resolve contentious water rights issues in the Klamath Basin, a drought-ridden region spanning southern Oregon and northern California. Amidst a deep drought last summer, the Klamath

Giving nature a jolt PacifiCorp plants on Link River to be decommissioned By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News March 2, 2014 Endangered Lost River and shortnose sucker may experience a boost in populations after two hydroelectric facilities on the Link River are decommissioned this month. The facilities, the West Side and East Side powerhouses, are

Groups seek to remove old dams on Evans Creek Two old dams still block prime spawning habitat on the Rogue River tributary; groups hope to get them removed next year March 2, 2014 By Mark Freeman Medford Mail Tribune Two of Oregon’s worst wild fish barriers could be removed from Evans Creek as early as

Bend water project foes won’t appeal ruling Pipeline replacement can proceed until summer hearing KTVZ February 14, 2014 Opponents of Bend’s planned $23 million water pipeline replacement project said Saturday they won’t appeal a federal judge’s ruling allowing the work to start, and instead will prepare for a later court hearing, focusing on their objections

Second fish due for removal from endangered list The Modoc sucker, found only in a small geographic area, has rebounded in population By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press February 13, 2014 The Modoc sucker, found only in desert creeks of Southern Oregon and Northern California (AP Photo/USFWS) A small fish found in desert creeks of

In My View: The city is the cause of its own mistakes By Charlie Ringo The Bend Bulletin January 25, 2014 The Bulletin’s editorial of Dec. 24 regarding the city’s Bridge Creek piping project, “$1.9 million does not disappear,” repeats the city of Bend’s assertion that “delays brought on in large part by LandWatch cost

Parties To Negotiate Future Of Bend’s Water by David Nogueras OPB January 23, 2014 During a hearing on Thursday at U.S. District Court in Eugene, parties involved in a fight over the future of Bend’s water supply announced that they have agreed to enter settlement talks. The city planned to break ground on the project

Pipe opponents fire back in Bend surface water suit Groups say city has failed to address environmental impacts By Scott Hammers The Bend Bulletin January 15, 2014 Environmental groups opposed to Bend’s proposed surface water improvement project argue the city is attempting “to create a crisis where there is none” in a response filed in

Cottage Grove considers appeal The city’s quantity of water from the Row River is the focus of an ongoing court case By Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard January 14, 2014 COTTAGE GROVE — The City Council on Monday moved closer to a possible appeal of a December ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals that could

Water fallout in Upper Basin Tax office sends refunds to shut-off irrigated ranches By SAMANTHA TIPLER Klamath Falls Herald & News January 7, 2014 The dry water year and the implementation of adjudication is affecting Klamath County again, this time on the tax rolls. Last week, the Klamath County assessor’s office and the tax collector’s

Ruling affects Cottage Grove water The city must develop a plan to protect salmon on the Row River and possibly restrict future draws By Christian Wihtol The Register-Guard December 22, 2013 COTTAGE GROVE — The city must create a plan to reduce water wastage by the Cottage Grove municipal water system and its customers, and

U.S. sets stance for Columbia River bargaining By Gosia Wozniacka Associated Press December 13, 2013 PORTLAND — The United States has staked out its position for potential negotiations with Canada over a treaty governing hydropower and flood control on the Columbia River and seeks to keep more of the energy produced at dams. The final

Wyden, Merkley intro Crooked River water bill House OK’d similar legislation; Walden hopeful By KTVZ.COM news sources November 21, 2013 Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined with Crooked River stakeholders Thursday to introduce the Crooked River Collaborative Water Security Act of 2013, which would provide a framework for improving the management of water

There’s a redd revival on the Rogue Dam removal means river teems with big chinook that dig, spawn in egg nests By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune November 19, 2013 The removal of Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River is doing what biologists hoped it would creating more spawning opportunities for salmon. Photo by Jamie

Bend water project opponents go back to court Seek another court order blocking controversial pipeline By KTVZ.COM news sources November 14, 2013 BEND, Ore. – Repeating a move that proved successful a year ago, Central Oregon LandWatch and WaterWatch of Oregon filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court, seeking an injunction to again block the

Instream solutions are a necessity for the Upper Deschutes By Kimberley Priestley The Bend Bulletin November 4, 2013 “Hundreds of fish die due to low water level” announced the Oct. 19 Bulletin headline, leading into a story of a recent fish kill in the Upper Deschutes River, where nearly 3,000 fish died. The cause? Storage season

How the West Won its Water Back, 1859 Oregon’s Magazine, September/October 2013 Executive Director John DeVoe discusses WaterWatch’s history, ongoing work, and conservation victories.

Low Water Leaves Scores of Fish Dead on Upper Deschutes By James Williams The Source Weekly October 18, 2013 This brown trout and smaller rainbow trout are just a few of the victims of our antiquated water management policies. Photo by Doug La Placa Countless fish now lay dead on the banks of the Upper

For North Coast’s rivers, relying on luck is not a plan by Jared Huffman San Francisco Chronicle Opinion Sept. 11, 2013 In “Dirty Harry,” Clint Eastwood memorably asked, do you “feel lucky?” It made for great theater, but it’s no way to manage North Coast salmon. Unfortunately, that’s been the policy of the U.S. Department

A Record Year For Columbia River Fall Chinook by Courtney Flatt Northwest Public Radio Sept. 11, 2013 Fall chinook have kept fish counters at Bonneville Dam busy. With several weeks left in the strongest part of this year’s run, numbers are already close to beating the previous record set 10 years ago. Counts are on

Drought is causing duck die-off from disease: Klamath Basin marshes drying up by Jeff Barnard The Associated Press August 29, 2013 GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The drought that has forced irrigation shutoffs at cattle ranches in the upper Klamath Basin is also causing hardship for waterfowl on national wildlife refuges in the region. Thousands of

Reverse effect: Wildfire smoke can cool rivers By Devan Schwartz Herald & News August 27, 2013 One of Will Harling’s first memories is the 1977 Hog Fire in Northern California. Fire burned the forest behind the cabin where he was born. Ten years later, in the Siege of ’87, nearly 200,000 acres burned through the

Trinity River flows to be released Eureka Times-Standard August 22, 2013 Trinity River water will be released to protect salmon after a federal judge lifted his order halting the flows at around 5:30 p.m. today. The decision came after Judge Lawrence O’Neill found that if the injunction was granted to block the flows, it would

Judge halts Klamath River flows, for now; order on salmon releases in effect through Friday by Kimberly Wear The Times-Standard August 14, 2013 Salmon fishing communities from Tillamook, OR to Monterey, CA depend upon Klamath River fall chinook for their livelihoods. Photo by Times-Standard. A U.S. District Court judge in Fresno halted water releases meant

Klamath River may be an option to improve salmon conditions by Devan Schwartz Herald & News August 14, 2013 With uncertainty shrouding the Trinity River, additional focus turns to the mainstem Klamath River — the other water source usable to help prevent a fish kill. PacifiCorp owns and operates four Klamath River hydroelectric dams. The

Clackamas Watershed Collects Pollutants And Drinking Water by Cassandra Profita OPB August 12, 2013 The city of Lake Oswego plans to double the amount of water it takes from the river and is building a larger intake system. Photo by Cassandra Profita/OPB On a nursery in Boring, researchers are demonstrating a new high-tech pesticide sprayer

Watershed warning delivered OSU scientists find that changes may be needed to save the main source of drinking water for Eugene-Springfield By Samuel Stites The Register-Guard July 27, 2013 McKenzie River Photo by Tracey Adams The average temperature on Earth could increase by 3.6 degrees by the middle of this century, according to data from

Domestic wells affected by irrigators By Samantha Tipler Klamath Falls Herald & News July 23, 2013 Dennis Oden lives outside Merrill in the middle of green agricultural fields. Oden is not a farmer. He gets water for his home with a domestic well. With the drought this year, and with some Klamath Project farmers choosing

Fish vs. Farmers In Conflict Over Klamath River By Peter Fimrite San Francisco Chronicle July 20, 2013 Big, healthy chinook salmon are all but leaping into fishing boats this summer off the California coast, but the wriggling hordes could be in for trouble when they start heading up the rivers on their annual egg-laying runs.

State legislature approves handing out fewer suction dredge mining permits by Zach Urness Statesman Journal July 8, 2013 A bill that would scale back the number of suction dredge mining permits issued in Oregon has passed the House and Senate and heads to the desk of Gov. John Kitzhaber, who is expected to sign the

Klamath Basin Task Force Will Be Coordinated By Governor’s Office by David Nogueras OPB July 8, 2013 Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation joined Gov. John Kitzhaber Monday to announce the creation of a task force to work on long term solutions to water and power issues in the Klamath River Basin. The task force is

Key wildlife refuge hit hard in Klamath Basin’s water wars by Scott Learn Oregonian July 7, 2013 STATE LINE ROAD — Normally, the honks and calls of thousands of ducks, grebes and egrets clustering at the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge make it hard to talk over the racket. But conversation is easy this summer.