Please support flow protections for North Willamette streams!
Comments are due this Thursday, Sept. 26th, by 5 p.m.

The time to act in support of new instream water
rights in the Willamette Basin is NOW.

Act now to help WaterWatch establish new legal protections for instream flows for fish in Oregon's beloved Willamette River system. ODFW has applied for a total of 269 new instream water rights in the North Willamette (102), Mid-Willamette (68), and Upper Willamette (99) to protect natural flows in many of its cherished waterways.

Public comment on these instream rights will be in three batches, with the first comment period closing this Thursday at 5 p.m. for the 102 applications in the North Willamette basin — including segments of the Clackamas River, Tualatin River, Johnson Creek, Gales Creek, Eagle Creek, tributaries to the Molalla River, and many more.

Approval of these applications falls to the Oregon Water Resources Department, so it is extremely important for river lovers to weigh in with their support.

Instream Water Rights do not harm existing water rights, but do protect flows from new withdrawals going forward. Establishing protection for instream flows for fish is critical to maintain healthy rivers in the face of climate change. There's more at the ODFW StoryMap Overview and an ODFW Frequently Asked Questions page on instream water rights.

How to Comment

With public comment for the Upper Willamette instream water rights closing this Thursday by 5 p.m., you can either comment on the full slate of applications or an individual application.

To comment in support of the entire slate of applications, click the button below to create a comment email supporting ODFW's entire slate of instream water right applications.

Feel free to modify, change, or add your own words for a more personal comment, or add comments on specific rivers of interest to you. Comments written from your own point of view are especially impactful.

NOTE — If you chose to comment on the full slate of applications, it's important to have all the application numbers noted in the email. We've inserted these numbers into the email when you click the button below.

To comment in support of individual applications, go to this PDF of the instream water right applications with instream applications beginning on page four.

Once you find the streams you wish to comment on, click the live application link to open a page that has "submit a public comment" on the bottom left. Click on that live link to submit your comments.

Suggested Talking Points for Individual Comments

1. Please issue the instream water right (i.e., your specific stream of interest) in the full amount requested by ODFW. For many of these applications, OWRD is proposing to issue the water rights in amounts lower than ODFW has requested. The ODFW applications reflect the flows needed for fish and should be protected in full.
2. Please also make comments personal to you, like the value of healthy rivers to you and your family whether for fishing, boating, hiking, wildlife viewing, cultural values, or economic vitality.

PLEASE ACT TODAY! Comments are due by 5 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 26th.

Banner photo by Tommy Hough, map courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.