By Dan Kelly and NBC 16 Staff | Jan. 3, 2026 | KMTR News and KVAL News The 136-year-old Winchester Dam could be seeing some changes regarding fish passage along the North Umpqua River after a judge ordered the Winchester Water Control District to build new fish passage facilities by 2028. The Oregon Department of Fish […]
Winchester Water Control District Ordered to Update Fish Passage Facilities Read More »
Dec. 31, 2025 In these final hours of 2025, the WaterWatch of Oregon team is taking stock of a challenging, but also busy and successful year for Oregon’s rivers and water — plus we celebrated our 40th anniversary with you throughout the year! As we look toward 2026 we’re reminded again of our collective commitment to
There’s Still Time to Support Oregon’s Rivers in 2025! Read More »
By Gloria Coleman | Dec. 26, 2025 | Roseburg News-Review The Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) was told to start work next week on improving the fish passage in the Winchester Dam to be consistent with current standards, but an appeal might change all that. An Office of Administrative Hearings ruling issued by Senior Administrative
Judge Allows ODFW to Order WWCD to Fix Winchester Dam Fish Ladder by 2028 Read More »
By Alec del Pino Gil-Casares | Dec. 26, 2025 | Harvard Political Review While prompting your AI chatbot does not directly use water, many data centers rely on evaporative cooling to keep their computing chips, in charge of processing, manipulating, and transforming data, at a functioning temperature, consuming millions of gallons of potable water every day.
Dec. 22, 2025 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact:Jim McCarthy, jim@waterwatch.org Big Win for North Umpqua River Salmon and SteelheadWinchester Dam owners must build new fish passage facilities by 2028. Roseburg, Oregon — The North Umpqua River’s native migratory fish could soon find it easier to move upstream and downstream past Winchester Dam, thanks
Big Win for North Umpqua River Salmon and Steelhead Read More »
By John Oliver | Dec. 16, 2025 | Grants Pass Tribune A long-running dispute over a water right tied to a 65-acre property in Josephine County has reached a significant turning point, with state regulators declining to cancel the water right despite objections from environmental advocates. The decision clears one legal obstacle for property owners
Water Rights Dispute Clears Hurdle as Former County Commissioner Seeks Mining Transfer Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 15, 2025 | Capital Press Rights holder wants to change use from irrigation to sand and gravel mining. An environmental group has failed to convince Oregon regulators to cancel a water right associated with a Josephine County property whose owners are seeking a controversial transfer. The owners of the 65-acre
Request to Cancel Water Right in Southern Oregon Rejected by Regulators Read More »
By Alejandro Figueroa | Dec. 12, 2025 | Oregon Public Broadcasting Farmers in Harney County have come to rely on an aquifer that has long been known to be in serious decline. Now, Oregon water regulators will make drastic changes to how much water they can draw from the ground, following more than two years
Oregon’s Harney Basin is Now a Critical Groundwater Area — Here’s What That Means Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 12, 2025 | Capital Press Critics of the state’s adopted plan say it doesn’t protect the region’s ag-based economy. A petition seeking alternative rules to stabilize groundwater levels in Oregon’s Harney basin has failed to persuade regulators, who instead adopted the strategy preferred by a state agency. Though the Oregon
Stakeholder Proposal for Harney Groundwater Rejected by Oregon Regulators Read More »
As the print edition of our 2025 Accomplishments Report begins to arrive in mailboxes, a PDF of our report is online now. With the holiday season in full swing and the end of the year fast approaching, we’re thrilled to announce our 2025 Accomplishments Report will arrive shortly in mailboxes. While there’s no doubt 2025
WaterWatch’s 2025 Accomplishments Report Out Now Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 11, 2025 | Capital Press Water board will take testimony, but says it has grounds to deny application. Oregon water regulators are proposing to again reject a new irrigation reservoir in the Willamette Valley, though they plan to hear additional arguments before making a final decision. The Oregon Water Resources
Oregon Water Regulators Recommend Against Rejecting Irrigation Reservoir Read More »
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has filed applications to establish 44 new instream water rights in Oregon’s North Coast and Mid-Coast regions, and with the public comment period closing this Thursday, Dec. 18th, at 5 p.m. we need your help NOW to ensure legal protections are secured for these beloved coastal rivers and streams — from the Nehalem
Act Now to Support New Instream Water Rights in Oregon’s Coastal River Basins Read More »
By Stephen Floyd | Nov. 28, 2025 | Our Town Community News The Oregon Water Resources Commission (OWRC) is set to discuss next steps on whether or not to approve an irrigation dam on Drift Creek, outside Silverton, during its regular meeting in December. This follows an Aug. 7th Oregon Supreme Court decision undoing the
By Sean Patrick Cooper | Nov. 24, 2025 | Rolling Stone Amazon has come to Oregon’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages. In the spring of 2022, Jim Doherty kept having the same conversation with folks at the only grocery store in Boardman, his eastern Eastern Oregon
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom is Supercharging a Water Crisis Read More »
As we prepare to go to court to help defend several challenges to ODFW instream water right applications in the Umpqua Basin, we need your help to support our efforts. Signed into Oregon state law in 1987, the landmark Instream Water Rights Act remains one of WaterWatch’s earliest successes and lasting accomplishments, and allows three
Support Our Work to Defend Instream Water Rights Read More »
In September, the Oregon Water Resources Commission adopted the 2025 update to the Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS), Oregon’s blueprint for meeting instream and out-of-stream water needs into the future. In 2009 WaterWatch helped shape the law that sets the framework for the IWRS. Working closely with then-state Senator Jackie Dingfeler, WaterWatch convinced the Oregon
What a fantastic time we had on Nov. 1st! Thank you for being a part of it! Thank you to everyone — our attendees, our volunteers from Lewis and Clark College, the caterers at Elephant’s Deli, the audio-visual team at David Efaw Productions, the staff at Castaway Portland, photographer Nina Johnson, our Golden Ticket holders, and everyone who provided auction packages for
By WaterWatch of Oregon Staff Oct. 30, 2025 Western water law is full of strange contradictions and paradoxical constructs. Water is extremely valuable, yet water itself is absolutely free. Water is valuable, yet we do not measure the majority of society’s use of water. When a pioneering group of Rogue River anglers came together in
Instream: The First Four Decades of WaterWatch of Oregon Read More »
This article originally appeared in the autumn 2025 issue of WaterWatch of Oregon’s Instream newsletter. A proposal to build a new dam and reservoir on Drift Creek, a tributary to the Pudding River in Marion County, is heading back to the Oregon Water Resources Commission — but only after setting an important precedent for protection
Instream: Years of Work Pay Off with Important Precedent in Drift Creek Reservoir Case Read More »
Oct. 23, 2025 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact:Tommy Hough, tommy@waterwatch.orgKimberley Priestley, kjp@waterwatch.org WaterWatch Applauds Governor Kotek’s Directive to Accelerate Climate Protections for State Lands and WatersCiting rivers, lakes, and wetlands, an executive order issued by the governor directs state agencies to prioritize application of climate resilient strategies into existing programs. Salem, Oregon —
As we inch closer to WaterWatch of Oregon’s 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction on Saturday, Nov. 1st, at Castaway Portland, we can’t believe the volume of auction packages we still want to share with you ahead of doors opening. One thing we do know is if you love to fish, you’ll be right at
If You Love Fishing, You Won’t Want to Miss This Year’s Live or Silent Auctions Read More »
By Chrissy Ewald | Oct. 12, 2025 | Grants Pass Daily Courier One year after a concrete irrigation dam that spanned the Illinois River was demolished and removed, it’s hard to tell the dam was ever there. It was too early in the season on Thursday to see fall chinook salmon, but small juvenile fish
A petition filed by Representative Mark Owens would undermine proposed rules to stabilize groundwater in the Harney Basin. The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is moving to designate the Harney Basin in the high desert of southeast Oregon a “critical groundwater area” to ensure more sustainable groundwater levels. Proposed rules developed over the course of a lengthy and exhaustive public
Take Action! Help Stop a Bad Groundwater Deal for the Harney Basin! Read More »
By Alejandro Figueroa | Sept. 29, 2025 | OPB A coalition of irrigators, tribes and local governments organized under state Rep. Mark Owens — a Republican from Harney County and a farmer — recently filed a petition asking the Oregon Water Resources Commission to consider a different set of rules that diverges from regulators own
By Mateusz Perkowski | Sept. 18, 2025 | Capital Press WaterWatch continues to express skepticism over a proposed regulatory scheme to boost groundwater in the Harney basin. Irrigators and other water users are advocating for alternative groundwater restrictions to be adopted in Oregon’s Harney basin rather than those proposed by state regulators. The coalition, which
Alternative Proposed to Harney Basin Groundwater Restrictions Read More »
Our discounted early bird ticket pricing for WaterWatch’s 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction has now closed. Don’t worry — you still have up to a day before our 40th Anniversary Event on Saturday, Nov. 1st, to purchase tickets at our regular rate of $150 per ticket. Purchase your tickets here. Plan now to join us Nov. 1st
Early Bird Pricing for Our 40th Anniversary Celebration Has Closed Read More »
We hope you enjoyed your Labor Day holiday weekend with family and friends, and we’re thrilled to announce the winner of our guided fishing raffle with Nick Rowell of Anadromous Anglers are Steve and Debra L., a couple whose names were drawn earlier with the close of our August Matching Campaign. Steve and Debra will
And the Winner of Our August Fishing Trip Raffle Is…. Read More »
By Kendra Chamberlain | Aug. 27, 2025 | Columbia Insight A court decision has upheld existing instream water rights held by the state on Drift Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River. A decision by the Oregon Supreme Court is being lauded as a win for fish, but could throw a wrench into future water
Proposal Denied for Dam Near Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park Read More »
By Monique Merrill | Aug. 21, 2025 | Courthouse News While a controversial southern Oregon dam may delay the migration of a threatened species of salmon, the impact isn’t significant enough to violate federal environmental laws, a federal judge in Portland ruled on Thursday. “This court concludes that plaintiffs have not proven by a preponderance of
WaterWatch Continues its Efforts to Remove Winchester Dam Read More »
WaterWatch will be on the Rogue this Saturday, Aug. 23rd, along with anglers, Spey casters, fly fishing guides, casting instructors, and exhibitors from across the Pacific Northwest at the inaugural Rogue Spey Clave. We hope you’ll join us at Griffin Park on the Rogue River and learn more about WaterWatch’s laser focus on ending the
Rogue Dam Removals and This Saturday’s Rogue Spey Clave Read More »
Aug. 13, 2025 In a win for WaterWatch of Oregon and instream water rights, the Oregon Supreme Court last week upheld most of a 2023 Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a 2019 Oregon Water Resources Commission decision to deny a permit to construct a 70-foot high dam and 384-acre reservoir on Drift Creek, an 11-mile tributary of the Pudding River in Marion
Oregon Supreme Court Protects Instream Water Rights Read More »
By Bill Poehler | Aug. 12, 2025 | Salem Statesman Journal The Oregon Supreme Court remanded the Oregon Water Resources Commission’s denial of water rights by the East Valley Water District. The Oregon Water Resources Commission must reconsider its denial of a proposed dam in farmland south of Silverton, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled on
Oregon Supreme Court Rules Water Rights for Proposed Dam Were Improperly Denied Read More »
Aug. 8, 2025 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact:Tommy Hough, WaterWatch of Oregon, tommy@waterwatch.orgBrian Posewitz, WaterWatch of Oregon, brian@waterwatch.org Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Key Ruling for Drift Creek Instream Water RightThe state’s highest court affirmed most of a lower court’s ruling protecting a tributary of the Pudding River from a proposed 70-foot dam and
Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Key Ruling for Drift Creek Instream Water Right Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Aug. 8, 2025 | Capital Press Read WaterWatch of Oregon’s corresponding press release on the Oregon Supreme Court decision. An irrigation district must get another chance to persuade Oregon water regulators to approve a new Willamette Valley reservoir, according to a recent state Supreme Court ruling. The East Valley Water District’s
Oregon Supreme Court Orders Reconsideration of Irrigation Reservoir Denial Read More »
Join WaterWatch of Oregon and a giant cast of anglers, Spey casters, fly fishing guides, casting instructors, and exhibitors from across the Pacific Northwest at the inaugural Rogue Spey Clave on Saturday, Aug. 23rd, at Griffin Park on the Rogue River. Organized by longtime Oregon fly fishing guides and Spey casting instructors Jon Hazlett and Dax Messett, the Rogue Spey Clave takes inspiration from events
Join WaterWatch at the Inaugural Rogue Spey Clave Aug. 23rd Read More »
By Nathaniel Perales | Aug. 1, 2025 | High Country News “My vision was to build a healthy ecosystem for all who live in it.” Mary Lou Soscia is a Columbia River advocate and a 38-year employee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “When I came to work at the EPA, it was still
WaterWatch’s Mary Lou Soscia Profiled in High Country News Read More »
Thank you to WaterWatch members, supporters, and friends for your responses in letting the Oregon Water Resources Department know you support the adoption of strong rules to sustain groundwater, habitat, and species in the Harney Basin over the last month. After an extensive, multi-year, multi-stakeholder process and in-depth scientific study, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) issued
By John DeVoe with Tommy Hough The Deschutes, Rogue, and Klamath rivers. The Willamette and the McKenzie. Much of WaterWatch’s work protects and restores cold water habitat on these iconic Oregon rivers. But that’s not all WaterWatch does. WaterWatch has a 40-year tradition of protecting and restoring smaller, more intimate and remote streams no less
As part of WaterWatch’s 40th anniversary, we’re featuring articles in Instream and at WaterWatch.org that highlight our work and success over the last four decades, and profiling some of the people who played key roles in building WaterWatch’s legacy. By Tommy Hough WaterWatch staff, board, and alumni often offer unprompted credit to Karen Russell for
Instream: In Conversation with Karen Russell, a WaterWatch Original Watchdog Read More »
By Jim McCarthy The Rogue River has historically supported the largest runs of wild salmon and steelhead in Oregon outside of the Columbia Basin. In turn, this abundance has supported commercial and recreational fishing jobs throughout our region, seafood production, and world class recreational opportunities. Unfortunately, Rogue Coho salmon are now listed as threatened under
