Oregon High Court Upholds Instream Water Rights
In a win for WaterWatch of Oregon and instream water rights, the Oregon Supreme Court last week upheld most of a 2023 Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a 2019 Oregon Water Resources Commission decision to deny a permit to construct a proposed 70-foot high dam and 384-acre reservoir on Drift Creek, an 11-mile tributary of the Pudding River in Marion County near Silverton that hosts cutthroat trout, coho and chinook salmon, Pacific lamprey, and winter steelhead. See our news release here.

Good News as a Bad Water Bill is Vetoed
A big thanks to Gov. Tina Kotek for vetoing Senate Bill 1047, a special interest bill that put a Curry County golf course at the front of the water right application line. While SB 1047 started out as an innocuous study bill, Sen. David Brock Smith advanced a "gut and stuff" amendment that allowed the golf course to pump groundwater without a water right. While the final bill was narrowed after pushback from WaterWatch and others, it still set a horrible precedent. We applaud the veto and celebrate the bill's well-deserved death.

Thank You for Your Harney Basin Comments
We saw an impressive number of replies to our Harney Basin "take action" page following our initial action alert on July 31st, and with the comment period now closed we would like to offer our thanks to WaterWatch members, supporters, and friends for submitting remarks advocating for the adoption of strong rules to preserve groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Harney Basin, following an extensive, multi-year, multi-stakeholder process and in-depth scientific study by the Oregon Water Resources Department. Thank you!

40th Anniversary Event Invites Arriving Soon
Keep an eye for stunning new mail invitations to our 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction arriving in your mailbox this month, designed by WaterWatch's Monet Hampson. We'll begin the rollout of our live and silent auction packages shortly, so be nail down and secure your tables and tickets today for the biggest river celebration of the year! Silent auction bidding begins as soon as doors open at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1st, at Castaway Portland at 1900 NW 18th Ave., with event parking available across the street.

WaterWatch August Matching Challenge Doubled
Make a donation to WaterWatch this month to take advantage of our monthlong Matching Donation Challenge. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, ALL donations to WaterWatch during the month of August are now being matched 100 percent up to $10,000 total. Also, each donation of $50 or more will result in one unique entry into a raffle to win a guided fly fishing trip with Nick Rowell of Anadromous Anglers for a professionally-guided fly fishing trip for one or two targeting winter steelhead on the northern Oregon coast.

Rogue Spey Clave is Next Saturday
Look for WaterWatch of Oregon at the first-ever Rogue Spey Clave fly fishing event at Griffin Park south of Grants Pass next Saturday, Aug. 23rd. Organized by long-time southern Oregon guides and casting instructors Jon Hazlett and Dax Messett, anglers of all abilities are welcome for this fun, daylong celebration of fly fishing with casting instruction, tackle demos, fly tying demonstrations, exhibitors, and presentations from veteran steelhead guides. Visit our Events page for more, and be sure to carry some cash for parking and food.

Salmon Festival Celebrates Klamath Recovery
To mark the first anniversary of last summer's final demolition and removal of the four lower Klamath River dams, Yurok tribal members, including many of the teens who participated in last month's heavily-covered kayaking excursion down the now-dam free lower Klamath, will celebrate the rewilding of the Yurok Tribe's ecologically distinct stretch of the Klamath River during the 61st Annual Yurok Salmon Festival, happening tomorrow at the mouth of the Klamath River south of Crescent City in Klamath, California.