In the Media

Farmers and ranchers have been warned of impending water curtailments. The Deschutes Basin Board of Control announced last week that dwindling levels on the Deschutes will mean lower water availability.

Scholars say access to safe drinking water and reliable sanitation is a problem for nearly half of Indigenous people in the U.S. But the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Tanana said, brought new attention to health issues on reservations and long-standing problems with safe water.

The higher-than-normal snowpack in Oregon this year isn’t translating to more irrigation water. And that means Deschutes Basin irrigation districts are preparing to curtail water as early as mid-July due to reduced natural flow on the Deschutes River.

The first of four hydroelectric dams slated for removal on the Klamath River is coming down. Crews recently began demolishing Copco 2 — the smallest of the four dams — officially kicking off what has been described as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

The Trust for Public Land has worked with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure 97 acres of riverfront access along the Wild and Scenic Crooked River are protected for public use, they announced Friday.

Summer chinook fishing will close on the Columbia River on Friday evening from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upriver to Priest Rapids Dam in Washington.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, a D-Ore., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Thursday he secured major investments in Oregon agriculture, rural housing, food assistance, and rural business priorities in the FY24 Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill, including more than $5 million in funding for Oregon community-initiated projects.

Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, jointly introduced the Deschutes River Conservancy Reauthorization Act to the U.S. Senate on Thursday and referred it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Oregon’s U.S. Senators have introduced legislation to reauthorize federal money for the Deschutes River Conservancy, which used to receive $2 million a year from the Bureau of Reclamation.