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-Whelan 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,
WaterWatch Endangered Species Day Gallery Read More »
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: Tommy Hough, tommy@waterwatch.org Jim McCarthy, jim@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.
