WaterWatch Presents Photographer Amy Gulick March 5th
Mark your calendars now and join us in Portland on Tuesday, March 5th, at 6:30 p.m. for an in-person presentation with author and photographer Amy Gulick to discuss her book The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind, on the relationship between salmon and the native populations of southeast Alaska. It's a companion piece to her earlier book Salmon In the Trees, about the life cycle of the Tongass rainforest and how salmon DNA is found at the tops of the tallest trees in the region. More details coming soon!

Winchester Dam: "Setting a River Free is a Noble Deed"
The removal of the Winchester Dam remains a front-burner issue for residents of Douglas County and those who love the North Umpqua River, as one Roseburg resident wrote this week in an opinion piece in the Roseburg News-Review: "The historical value of a river that has been flowing for millennia far outweighs any historical value in a badly maintained, useless dam. The river has supplied humans and wildlife with clean, flowing water, habitat in riparian areas, and habitat for what was once plentiful fish."

John DeVoe on Data Center Water Use in Oregon
In a follow-up to concerns over excessive water use by data centers with little financial or environmental return for affected communities and waterways, WaterWatch's John DeVoe appears with The Oregonian's Mike Rogoway on the Berkeley Technology Law Journal podcast to discuss water use and private corporations like Google funding public entity litigation designed to defeat Oregon's public records laws. The program is linked here via SoundCloud, but available on other podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Celebrating Black History Month in Oregon
Oregon initially excluded Black people from settling in the state, but many nonetheless lived, worked and raised families in the region from the mid-1800s on, as detailed in OPB's Oregon's Black Pioneers. And while Black educators and students led the way highlighting historical figures and events of the African diaspora for years prior to the recognition of Black History Month, dozens of organizations around the state carry those values today at the intersection of racial and environmental justice, including several profiled at Here is Oregon.

Deadline for Powder River Comments Extended 
As noted in last week's Action Alert, the Powder River flows through a major agricultural region that deposits high levels of bacteria into the waterway. We'd like you to submit comments to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to express your concern that the Powder River be made safe for native species and recreation, as well as agriculture, and good news — the deadline has been extended to Thursday, March 8th. We've provided copy points at waterwatch.org, and the DEQ email address is powdertmdl@deq.oregon.gov.

Over Allocation of Klamath Water Grounds Winter Wings
Sad news as one of Oregon's most reliable eco-tourism events and the nation's oldest birding festival, the annual Winter Wings gathering in the Klamath Basin, was cancelled in an example of how poor water management can result in economic impacts. "The Klamath Basin has been in the grips of a severe drought for years," said organizers. "Over allocation of remaining water resources have left Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges bone dry. Now migratory waterfowl and the raptors that feed on them have bypassed the Basin."