’09 Legislature enters homestretch, and region is watching By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin June 03, 2009 What’s left As the 2009 session nears its end, local officials and others are tracking several bills that could affect Central Oregon, including: • HB 3100: Metolius destination resort ban • HB 2227: Destination resort limits in Deschutes • […]
’09 Legislature enters homestretch, and region is watching Read More »
May 28, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon, (541) 826-4399 Demolition Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam Work Crews Move Closer to Historic Restoration Grants Pass, Oregon — June 1st will mark another milestone in the ongoing restoration of the Rogue River when dam demolition commences on
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ENVIRONMENT-US: Free-Flowing Rivers Back in Vogue By Matthew Berger Inter Press Service May 26, 2009 NE W YORK, May 26 (IPS) – It may come as no surprise that a dam impeding the flow of a major river would negatively impact fish populations, but it is only recently that benefits of free-flowing rivers in the
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Upper Klamath water rights issue settled By John Driscoll The Times-Standard May 22, 2009 One of the most contested issues between irrigators and American Indian tribes in the Upper Klamath Basin has effectively been resolved, potentially simplifying talks on a much larger dam removal and restoration deal. On Thursday, Klamath water users and the Klamath
GPID flips switch on new pumps By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier May 12, 2009 For the first time in 89 years, the Grants Pass Irrigation District has begun delivering water from something other than Savage Rapids Dam. Switches were flipped on six pumps Monday, pushing water into the Gravity, South Highline and
Removal of Rogue dam spells end of bitter battle By Jeff Barnard AP April 07, 2009 GRANTS PASS, Ore.—Within weeks, jackhammers will start knocking Savage Rapids Dam into rubble, and with it two decades of bitter battles over whether to keep what had become a crumbling symbol of a bygone era when rugged pioneers
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Water fight brewing By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin April 06, 2009 Diverting water from the Deschutes into Tumalo Reservoir would help meet future demand and make it ‘hugely cheaper’ to pump groundwater, say the plan’s backers. Opponents argue the proposal flies in the face of existing regulations. Challenging the widely held view that all the
Water-management bills debated By Stefanie Knowlton Statesman Journal April 04, 2009 Proposed cuts to key department dampen discussion and plans Environmentalists to water providers debated the future of water in Oregon last week during public hearings, work sessions and budget talks. Looming over every water conversation were proposed 30 percent cuts to the Water Resources
Beginning of end for landmark dam By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier April 03, 2009 The removal of Savage Rapids Dam begins in earnest next week, when Slayden Construction begins building a 26-foot-tall coffer dam to reroute the Rogue River away from demolition of the north side of the dam. The 88-year-old dam on
Another Dam Bites the Dust By Dennis Newman Natural Oregon April 02, 2009 Derided by environmentalists as a “fish killer”, next week marks the beginning of the end for Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River near Grants Pass. After it’s gone, almost 126 miles of the Rogue will be free flowing. It starts
April 1, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon, (541) 826-4399 Carolyn Devine, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, (503) 986-0195 Dan Shepard, Grants Pass Irrigation District, (541) 476-2582 Darren Funk, Slayden Construction Group, (503) 769-1969 Removal Commences on Rogue River Savage Rapids Dam U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Announces Work Crews
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Legislative “Odd Couple” Tackles Water Issues By Chris Lehman Oregon Public Broadcasting March 26, 2009 One of Mark Twain’s many famous quotes is: “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” Nowhere is that more true than in the west. The Oregon Legislature has spent the better part of its history untangling fights
Stimulus spurs county on Gold Ray Dam removal By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune March 22, 2009 Jackson County officials plan to seek $5 million from the federal stimulus package to help fast-track the possible removal of 105-year-old Gold Ray Dam from the Rogue River as early as the summer of 2010. 100 years of
Rough debut for Columbia water bill By Mitch Lies Capital Press February 19, 2009 SALEM – It was, as John DeVoe of WaterWatch said, deja vu all over again in a House committee hearing Tuesday, Feb. 17, on a bill calling for summer water withdrawals from the Columbia River. Many of the same players
Senate OKs surcharge for Klamath dam removal By Matt Preusch and Ted Sickinger Oregonian February 17, 2009 The Oregon Senate passed a bill Tuesday to pay for removing four Klamath River dams with a 2 percent surcharge on the Oregon ratepayers of Pacific Power. Senate Bill 76 was approved 18-12 on largely partisan lines
Metolius resort may face water snag By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin February 14, 2009 Talks are under way on Ponderosa’s well plan, but it may go to a judge SALEM — The Ponderosa Land and Cattle Co. wants to drill as many as 10 wells 1,000 feet into the earth to draw water for the
Bill would pass cost of Klamath Dam removal to ratepayers By Matthew Preusch Oregonian February 03, 2009 A plan to pass much of the tab for removing Klamath River dams to Oregon power users gets its first hearing in Salem today. The bill is considered a critical step in a larger agreement amongst farmers,
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Water districts compete for a big drink from the Clackamas River With population growth coming down the pipe, communities look to the future By Yuxing Zheng The Oregonian September 22, 2008 Growth – Communities looking to have enough water for a population boom may wind up before a judge LAKE OSWEGO — There are
A creek runs through it By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune September 14, 2008 The dam has been notched and water has started to find its way. Now all that’s needed is for the fish to return Timeline of Elk Creek Dam Elk Creek Dam was originally authorized as part of the Rogue Basin’s trio
Smart Water Usage: Methods Abound for Prudent Management By Stefanie Knowlton Statesman Journal (pdf) August 22, 2008 Landscapes account for about half of all the residential water use in Oregon during the summer. Save money and water with landscape planning that features a focus on water conservation. Gadgets and Gauges Even if you don’t have
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Gold Hill Diversion Dam Removal: An Accomplishment to Celebrate July 16, 2008 At 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 16th WaterWatch joins project partners and elected officials in celebrating the removal of the Gold Hill Diversion Dam Removal. This cement diversion dam is the second greatest barrier to fish passage in the Rogue River. The
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By Mark Freeman | July 16, 2008 | Medford Mail Tribune Explosives launch a $7.9 million project to notch Elk Creek Dam for salmon recovery. Trail, Ore. — The crack of explosives on Tuesday sent waves of concrete crumbling and launched a plume of dust skyward, signaling the beginning of the end of the Elk
Gold Hill Celebrates Dam Removal By Chris Jones KTVL News 10 July 16, 2008 They’re celebrating in Gold Hill as crews prepare to remove the Gold Hill Dam. Part of the dam was torn out last week and the rest will be gone by the end of the month. Before long you’ll be able to
Farewell, Gold Hill diversion dam By Buffy Pollock Mail Tribune July 13, 2008 Gold Hill celebrates the removal of a fish-blocking dam on the Rogue River GOLD HILL — Residents and local officials will bid a long-overdue farewell Wednesday to one of the biggest fish barriers on the Rogue River in an official “dam breaking
Feds tell irrigators Klamath salmon need more water Ag Weekly (AP) June 23, 2008 GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Federal fisheries biologists want more water in the Klamath River to keep coho salmon from heading closer to extinction. After evaluating the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s latest plans for splitting water between irrigators and fish,
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Salmon runs on Rogue expected to revive once dams come down By Matthew Preusch Oregonian June 09, 2008 One of Oregon’s storied rivers is on the cusp of a major makeover. What’s happening on the Rogue River isn’t so much transformation as reversion. Dams built during the previous century will come down. Reservoirs will
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Rogue River dams to come down By Matthew Preusch Oregonian June 08, 2008 Salmon runs are expected to grow in iconic Oregon river GRANTS PASS — One of Oregon’s iconic rivers is on the cusp of a major makeover. What’s happening on the Rogue River isn’t so much transformation as reversion. Dams built during the
State Needs Innovative, Aggressive Water Solutions By Peter Gleick Pacific Institute June 01, 2008 A version of this essay was originally printed in the Sacramento Bee on June 1, 2008. For more than a decade, California has had relatively adequate winter rains and mostly full reservoirs. No longer. We had the opportunity to fix many of
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The End of an Era By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune May 16, 2008 Credit: Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — As the last steel panel descended by crane and slipped into place at Savage Rapids Dam, Grants Pass Irrigation District Manager Dan Shepard was too distracted to relish history. His eyes were riveted on three GPID
Un-Damming Elk Creek: Controversial Rogue River dam to make way for salmon By Camilla Mortensen Eugene Weekly May 15, 2008 More than 20 years after its construction was halted in 1987, the Elk Creek Dam, which has long blocked endangered salmon runs in the Rogue River Basin, is coming down. Mostly, anyway. The Army
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NEC weighs stance on Klamath agreement By John Driscoll Times-Standard May 14, 2008 Scientific and legal reviews commissioned by the Northcoast Environmental Center may have the environmental group reconsidering its position not to support the Klamath River settlement agreement hatched earlier this year. Utah State University Klamath researcher Thomas Hardy wrote to the NEC
New dam proposals restart 1970s-era fights By Colin Sullivan (ClimateWire) EarthNews May 07, 2008 ClimateWire: SAN FRANCISCO — Wallace Stegner, the chronicler of the American West, had a simple response when asked to explain the economics of California. “Water,” he said famously. “It’s about the water.” Stegner’s truism is relevant now more than ever.
Don’t rush toward flawed Klamath deal By Steve Pedery and Bob Hunter Times-Standard May 02, 2008 Recent Times-Standard My Word columns (Greg King, March 20; Felice Pace, March 26; Walter Duffy, April 7) make clear that the long history of water battles in the west is far from resolved. Some raise concerns over river
Sorting through our salmon mystery By Tim Harmon Oregonian May 02, 2008 As the owner of one of the oldest charter companies on the West Coast, I’ve been asked many times lately about where all the salmon have gone this year. Good question. My charter service has the most experienced captains on the coast,
Water Trade-Off Bolsters Rivers By James Sinks Bend Bulletin April 22, 2008 SALEM — The straws are drilled deep underground, sucking more water to satisfy the thirst of development across Central Oregon. Yet at the same time, there’s more water flowing down the Deschutes River during the dry summer months when once it ran low.
April 21, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495 Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice, (206) 343-7340, ext. 27 Dr. Chris Frissell, Pacific Rivers Council, (406) 883-1503 Coastal Cutthroat Trout to Be Considered for Endangered Species Protection Court Overturns Decision to Deny Trout Protection in Lower Columbia River and
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Oregon consortium to evaluate Umatilla Basin aquifer recovery Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife News Bulletin April 18, 2008 The Oregon Water Resources Department this week signed a $750,000 contract with an Oregon-based consortium led by IRZ Consulting, GSI Water Solutions, and HDR Engineering to evaluate the feasibility of a “Umatilla Basin Aquifer Recovery Project.”
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Feds failed salmon on delta water pumping, judge says Oregonian article on the federal court ruling on increasing pumping of water from the Sacramento River Delta. By Michael Milstein Oregonian April 17, 2008 A federal court ruling Wednesday involving California’s water supply may lead to extra help for the collapsing salmon population that supports
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Endangered Newsweek article on the state of Oregon’s salmon-fishing industry. By Winston Ross Newsweek April 16, 2008 College didn’t take, and logging threatened to kill him, so Jared Reeves followed in his father’s wake and climbed aboard a salmon troller in 2005, lured by the prospect of a six-figure income in a single summer out
The Trouble With Salmon New York Times editorial about the decision of the federal government to shut down commercial salmon fishing along the California coast to north-central Oregon. New York Times April 15, 2008 The federal government’s decision to shut down commercial salmon fishing from the California coast to north-central Oregon is a blow
