March 18, 2025
When it comes to our shared values in conservation, a healthy environment, and a fair and just society, we are in the midst of an extraordinary, uncertain moment in our nation’s history. Conservation may be a core American value, but our nation’s environmental legacy is now under assault by our own federal government, with unprecedented mass firings of civil servants and pressures to roll back bedrock environmental laws and policies that have served our nation well for decades.
However, while federal environmental laws and agencies are under attack, the administration’s reach does not, as of yet, extend far into WaterWatch of Oregon’s state-based mission or work with state laws and agencies. In fact, when it comes to our mission to protect and restore streamflows in Oregon’s rivers, Oregon remains largely open for business.
One thing is for certain — despair is not an option.
WaterWatch can offer you two promises. First, we will stand with our federal and Tribal partners to defend our nation’s bedrock environmental laws. Second, significant opportunities for river and water conservation remain in Oregon at the state level.
In 2025, WaterWatch’s Oregon-based programs offer both a firewall against the chaos of Washington D.C., and some of the most significant river and water conservation opportunities in the nation over the near term.
At WaterWatch, we will secure lasting conservation results for rivers, wetlands, groundwater, and clean water, including:
- Free Flowing Rivers: In the Rogue and Umpqua basins, WaterWatch will remove several obsolete dams to provide migratory and resident fish with unimpeded access to high-quality habitat, a critical defense in the face of a warming climate.
- Instream Water Rights: Arguably the most potent form of natural climate insurance, WaterWatch will push the state to continue to secure new instream water rights in ecologically vital rivers and streams across Oregon.
- Groundwater Policy Reforms: Building upon landmark policy reforms secured in 2024, WaterWatch will protect the connections between cold, clean groundwater and the streams, wetlands, and species that rely on those connections.
- Collaboratives: We will continue to roll up our sleeves and negotiate in local collaboratives to ensure the health of Lake Abert, the Harney Basin, and the Deschutes and John Day rivers.
- Oregon Legislature: Working with our conservation partners, we will continue to advance a bill to address a harmful loophole in the state water right transfer process and defend against proposals that would harm Oregon’s rivers or the public water interest.
While the news on the federal front is indeed alarming, Oregon offers an effective way forward with an opportunity to make substantial environmental progress over the next several years. With your support, WaterWatch will stand with those impacted by federal actions hostile to conservation while we implement real progress in our state.
Together we will reject despair, demonstrate environmental leadership, and continue to protect our world-class rivers and streams for Oregon’s native fish, wildlife species, and people.
With so much at stake, please consider investing in our sustainable freshwater future with a donation to WaterWatch today. These initiatives cannot succeed without your help.
Thank you for your support.
For rivers and fish,
Neil Brandt
Executive Director
