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 »
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
By Marcy Cottrell Houle | May 14, 2025 | Los Angeles Times We are on the cusp of losing the integrity of one of the most significant environmental acts ever enacted in the United States. Why should this matter? As the Pulitzer Prize-winning evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson put it: “We should preserve every scrap of
The Endangered Species Act Faces Its Own Existential Threat Read More »
The White House is threatening the integrity of the federal Endangered Species Act by proposing to remove the regulatory definition of “harm.” As part of its ongoing campaign attacking long-standing U.S. environmental laws and policies, the White House is threatening a critical underpinning of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) by proposing to remove the regulatory definition of “harm,” which is
At no other moment since the first Earth Day 55 years ago has our nation’s conservation legacy been so threatened. Earth Day is a special day for everyone who loves and appreciates life on our planet as we celebrate habitat, species, vast landscapes, clean air, and the water that renews and recharges our rivers, streams,
Critical Support Needed for Rivers This Earth Day Read More »
Nov. 7, 2024 WaterWatch of Oregon was at the Oregon Supreme Court today for oral arguments to defend our victory last year at the Court of Appeals on an instream water right on Drift Creek, a tributary of the Pudding and Molalla rivers. These arguments are the latest in a case dating back to 2014, when
By Michael Kohn | July 12, 2024 | Bend Bulletin On the last day of 2020, eight irrigation districts in Central Oregon and the city of Prineville entered into a landmark agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Their accord, the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), spelled out in hundreds of pages of
Challenges and Gains for Water Conservation Plan Read More »
By Susan Hiland | July 3, 2024 | Grants Pass Daily Courier A work crew last week moved logs into place along the edge of Evans Creek, creating new habitat for small critters to hide and eat in. Just days before, the spot was the site of the old Williams-Whalen Dam, which stood for 128
Williams-Whalen Dam Removal Restores Evans Creek Flow Read More »
By Shaun Hall | July 1, 2024 | Rogue Valley Times Another small dam has been removed in Southern Oregon to improve fish habitat. The 150-foot-wide, five-foot-high Williams-Whalen Dam on Evans Creek was demolished last week about 12.7 miles upriver from its confluence with the Rogue River. “This is great news for salmon and steelhead
Third Dam Removed, Fish Passage Improved on Evans Creek Read More »
May 17, 2024 All this week WaterWatch of Oregon has been spotlighting wildlife in the lead-up to today’s observance of Endangered Species Day, highlighting the importance and value of the landmark 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the plight of threatened aquatic species in Oregon. Since the ESA was signed into law on Dec. 28,
By Jim McCarthy | Oct. 30, 2023 | The Osprey At least 550,000 juvenile Pacific lamprey were killed this summer due to the botched repair of Winchester Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River. On October 6th, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) filed a $27.6 million claim for recovery of damages in the
Oct. 6, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Jim McCarthy, jim@waterwatch.org Tommy Hough, tommy@waterwatch.org Department of Fish and Wildlife Cites “Significant and Preventable” Fish Kill in $27 Million Complaint Against Winchester Dam Huge financial penalty among the largest issued by an Oregon state agency. Salem, Oregon — Citing the “significant and preventable” death of at least
By Shaun Hall | Oct. 6, 2023 | Rogue Valley Times Fish have a bit more room to roam now that a 13-foot-high dam has been removed from a tributary of the Illinois River near Selma in Josephine County. The dam was removed in recent days from a property that decades ago operated as a
Fish-Blocking Dam Removed from Takelma Ceek at Ranch Frequented by John Wayne Read More »
By Jane Vaughan | Sept. 27, 2023 | Jefferson Public Radio Dam repair work on the North Umpqua River in August and early September led to hundreds of thousands of lamprey dying. There are now questions about accountability for the repair work that was done at the Winchester Dam near Roseburg. Representatives from the Oregon
After Fish Kill, a Search for Accountability at Winchester Dam Read More »
By Alanna Mayham | Sept. 11, 2023 | Courthouse News Service Monday’s order upholds the notion that irrigators’ rights come after the Bureau of Reclamation’s obligations to protected fish species and tribal rights in the Klamath Basin. A magistrate judge in Oregon sided with the Klamath Tribes on Monday in finding that the U.S. Bureau
Judge Finds Feds Violated Law by Favoring Irrigators in the Klamath Basin Read More »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2021 Contacts: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, (541) 941-9450 Brian Barr, Rogue River Watershed Council, (541) 621-7226 Harboldt Dam before and after removal images here: https://tinyurl.com/eaz9kswe Credit photos to Crystal Nichols, Rogue River Watershed Council Three Priority Dam Removals Completed in Rogue’s Applegate Subbasin Collaborative project benefits salmon and steelhead while meeting private
Three Priority Dam Removals Completed in Rogue’s Applegate Subbasin Read More »
By Kelly House | Aug. 26, 2016 | The Oregonian: Draining Oregon Government agencies have spent more than $2.8 million in taxpayer money on this tiny Columbia River tributary since 2004. Workers have planted shade willows on the banks, lined its rocky bottom with logpile hiding places, and fenced off cattle from the sensitive habitat.
By Courtney Sherwood | Edited by Eric Johnson | July 27, 2015 | Business Insider This article originally appeared on Reuters news wires. Unseasonably hot water has killed nearly half of the sockeye salmon migrating up the Columbia River through Oregon and Washington state, a wildlife official said on Monday. Only 272,000 out of the
Half of the Columbia River’s Sockeye Salmon Are Dying Due to Hot Water Read More »
By Molly Harbarger | May 16, 2015 | The Oregonian 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, who originally bought the land after emigrating from Switzerland in 1900. Jaquet doesn’t want to sell, and he doesn’t want four
Farmer v. Farmer: Future of Oregon Water at Center of Fight Over New Dam Near Silverton Read More »
By Mark Freeman | March 4, 2013 | Medford Mail-Tribune Wimer and Fielder dams are cited as two of the state’s top 10 impediments to fish passage. The 100-year-old Wimer Dam that spans Evans Creek near this community is a classic example of a structure doing far more harm than good to the wild salmon
Evans Creek Dams Are on State’s List of Worst Impediments for Fish Passage Read More »
Oct. 8, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch Staff Attorney, (541) 778-3310 John DeVoe, WaterWatch Executive Director, (971) 322-5635 Rogue River Runs Free at Savage Rapids Storied Salmon Stream Undergoes Historic Restoration Tomorrow, the Rogue River will move freely for the first time in nearly a century on a stretch
By Mark Freeman | Sept. 14, 2009 | Medford Mail-Tribune Budgets, timetables on par with deadline to take out the structure. Five contractors have told Jackson County they can complete the necessary environmental assessments and remove Gold Ray Dam from the Rogue River within budget and in time to meet the county’s needs. The companies
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
Demolition Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam Read More »
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
Coastal Cutthroat Trout to Be Considered for Endangered Species Protection Read More »
