WaterWatch of Oregon

Act Now! HB 4101

Help stop another attack on Columbia River fish and jobs!

HB 4101 will undermine key protections for struggling Columbia River salmon and steelhead and threaten more abundant runs which support jobs, economic activity, and food production throughout our region.

This bill is scheduled for a hearing and possible work session in the House Energy, Environment and Water Committee for this upcoming Tuesday, February 14. 

HB 4101 Background [PDF]

Click here for more information and to read the full RiverAction Alert.

Tour Descriptions

Spend a Day Exploring the New Sandy River
Sunday May 20, 2012 All day
Donors:  Keith Jensen and Blue Sky Rafting
Price per person: $60
Rafting in the shadow of Mt Hood! An incredible, once in a lifetime experience!
In 2007, Marmot Dam was removed from the Sandy River Gorge and this designated wild and scenic river changed forever. Up to 12 people spend a day learning the geomorphology and politics of dam removal and the impact on the Sandy. The day will include whitewater rafting in the gorge and a tour of the dam site to see and hear about how the river has changed.  Your guide to the politics and geomorphology is long time river runner and Waterwatch board member Keith Jensen. Keith grew up on the Sandy, knows its history and intimacies well and also served on the study group that crafted the settlement plan for dam removal.  He knows the whole “dam” story like few others.
The trip will include class III rapids and one class IV rapid that can be portaged. There is no experience necessary.  Actual put-ins and take-outs may differ depending on water level and the skills of the group.  Blue Sky Rafting will provide two paddleboats with experienced captains.

Bald Eagles & Sandhill Cranes of Sauvie Island with Mike Houck
Rescheduled to the morning of Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Donors: Mike Houck and Mary Lou Soscia     Price per person:  $50
Mike Houck, Director of the Urban Greenspaces Institute, will take you, your friends and family on an early morning winter outing on scenic Sauvie Island to view Bald Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Peregrine Falcons, Red-tailed Hawks other birds of prey. Mike, co-editor of Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine, will take successful bidders to watch Bald Eagles, Sandhill Cranes by the hundreds and the thousands waterfowl that make the island home during the winter months. Houck will provide spotting scopes for close-up views. You bring your binoculars and be ready for great winter birding adventure! Participants will carpool.

For you history buffs who want a different perspective on Oregon’s rivers –
A Steam Up Event for Your Group on the Sternwheel Steamer Portland!
The event will be from 0900 to 1100 on a Saturday morning;
schedule to be determined (March or later 2012; arrangements made one month in advance).
Donated by Dean Runyan and the Oregon Maritime Museum     Price per person: $25
You will be treated to a visit to the Sternwheeler Portland while she is steamed up and in operating condition. Your host will be US Coast Guard Commander Jim Spitzer (retired), who will introduce you to the boat and its volunteer crew. The boiler will be steaming, the equipment running and the whistle blowing, which all takes place while the boat is tied up at the dock on Portland’s Willamette River Esplanade. We will also have a brief lecture on the boat and the history of steam navigation, and coffee/tea and some great refreshments.

Clackamas River Float Tour
Trip will take place during July – August low-flow period, summer of 2012
Price per person: $40
Join WaterWatch staff on a half-day float trip on the lower Clackamas River to view the river riparian corridor as well as the 5 water diversion structures that currently withdrawal water from the Clackamas River for the communities of Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Tigard, West Linn, and Gladstone. The trip will depart from the County Boat ramp at Carver, and take off the river at the confluence of the Clackamas and the Willamette Rivers at Clackamette Park. During the trip we will be able to discuss the Clackamas River and its fish and water issues, and view the water diversion structures that are poised withdrawal almost half of the dry season flows in August and September if proposed water rights are granted to local cities and water districts. The Clackamas supports four runs of ESA listed fish who absolutely need minimum stream flows during the summer and early September.  However the Water Resource Department refuses to put any limitations on the rights of these municipal entities to divert water during this time period to ensure that critical fish flows are met. Come see this conservation issue for yourself!

9th Annual Celebration of Oregon Rivers Sponsors

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