Tag: Illinois River

Make a Gift Today to Support Our Work Freeing the Rogue

Dec. 20, 2024 As we showcase our 2024 End of the Year Accomplishments report, one campaign where WaterWatch continues to get big results is our long-standing effort to Free the Rogue from artificial barriers to native fish in order to bolster salmon and steelhead populations, enhance recreation and fishing opportunities, and increase resiliency to climate change. For decades, WaterWatch […]

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Sharing Our End of the Year Accomplishments Report

Dec. 6, 2024 With 2025 less than a month away, we’re happy to report WaterWatch of Oregon had another big year with several key accomplishments and landmark wins in our mission to protect and restore Oregon’s rivers, streams, lakes, and aquifers. From a major victory for long-term water sustainability with the state’s adoption of new

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WaterWatch of Oregon 2024 End of the Year Accomplishments

As we reflect on the past year at WaterWatch, we have much to be proud of and much to be thankful for. We are especially grateful for supporters like you who continue to make it possible to protect and restore Oregon’s rivers, streams, lakes, and aquifers for the fish, wildlife, and people that depend upon

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Double Your GivingTuesday Impact for WaterWatch with a Huge Matching Opportunity — Today Only!

With Thanksgiving behind us, the holiday season has arrived. And with it, the arrival of GivingTuesday today through 9 p.m. this evening! Since its inception in 2012, GivingTuesday has grown into a global generosity movement that inspires people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity in efforts to transform their communities and the world. You can

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On the Illinois River, Pomeroy Dam is Now Just a Memory

By Chrissy Ewald | Nov. 27, 2024 | Grants Pass Daily Courier Demolition is complete of a concrete dam that used to arc 270 feet across the Illinois River near Cave Junction and blocked access to 100 miles of spawning grounds for salmon, steelhead, and other migratory fish. The removal of the Pomeroy Dam marks

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WaterWatch Thanksgiving Message from Executive Director Neil Brandt

Nov. 27, 2024 Dear Friend, Going into this long holiday weekend, we at WaterWatch would like to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have much to be grateful for, and I hope each of you can enjoy the next several days with family, friends, and loved ones. Here at WaterWatch, we’re especially thankful for

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Pomeroy Dam Removal Complete, Construction Continues Into 2025

By Cade Stirling | Nov. 26, 2024 | KOBI-TV News With the successful removal of Pomeroy Dam, the Rogue Basin’s highest-priority barrier to native fish has come down. WaterWatch of Oregon, the statewide water conservation group, worked with state and national partners like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the U.S. Forest

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A 126-Year-Old Dam Comes Down on the Illinois River

By Roman Battaglia | Nov. 26, 2024 | Jefferson Public Story The Pomeroy Dam was first built in 1896 for irrigation. The current concrete version of the dam was built in the 1940s. Since then, it’s prevented fish like salmon and steelhead from going upstream to spawn in one of the Rogue River’s major tributaries.

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Rogue River Basin’s Highest Priority Barrier to Native Fish Comes Down

Nov. 26, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact:Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, jim@waterwatch.orgScott Wright, River Design Group/SWCA Environmental Consultants, scott.wright@swca.com Pomeroy Dam, West Side Road culverts before and after images here:https://tinyurl.com/3ebb76cmPlease credit photos to Crystal Nichols/Dustin Saigo Rogue River Basin’s Highest Priority Barrier to Native Fish Comes DownOngoing multi-barrier collaborative effort benefits salmon

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Accolades and Salmon Follow Another Rogue Basin Dam Removal

Oct. 31, 2024 A year has passed since WaterWatch completed a priority fish barrier removal project on Takelma Creek in the Illinois River subbasin of the Rogue, and positive responses continue to pour in from both the local salmon population and the region’s scientific community. The multi-faceted Takelma project opened access to 3.5 miles of

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Instream: WaterWatch-Led Fish Barrier Removal Project Wins Award

Oct. 24, 2024 By Jim McCarthy We’re thrilled and honored to announce the WaterWatch-led Takelma Creek Barrier Removal Project, completed in 2023, has won the 2024 Western District American Fisheries Society Award of Excellence in Riparian Management. This multi-faceted project is primarily located on Siskiyou Field Institute property in the Illinois River subbasin of the

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Fish-Blocking Dam Removed from Takelma Ceek at Ranch Frequented by John Wayne

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

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Crews Demolish Dam in Takelma Creek, Restore Access for Salmon

By Izzie Lund | Oct. 4, 2023 | KDRV News Crews have finished demolishing a 13-foot-high, 70-foot-wide dam in an effort to restore salmon and steelhead habitat in Takelma Creek, according to a news release from WaterWatch of Oregon. “(The project) opened access to approximately 3.5 miles of formerly blocked spawning and rearing habitat for

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Second Rogue Basin Dam Removal Project in One Year Nears Completion

Oct. 4, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFor information, please contact:Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon Steve Soesbe, Siskiyou Field InstituteScott Wright, River Design Group Takelma Creek Dam before and after removal photos are available here: https://tinyurl.com/3fjd8dfm Please credit photos to River Design Group Second Rogue Basin Dam Removal Project in One Year Nears Completion Collaborative effort in

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Evans Creek Dams Are on State’s List of Worst Impediments for Fish Passage

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

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