If we’re ever going to restore the Willamette River basin, it’s going to cost a huge chunk of money.
Anywhere from about $593 million to $1.2 billion, according to Oregon DEQ.
In a new report, DEQ says decades of farming, logging and urban development have degraded the basins streams and rivers.
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Oregon’s Senator Merkley and Rep. Blumenauer are introducing legislation to reduce pollution in the Columbia River.
At a cost of about $40 million a year, the bill creates a team at the EPA office in Portland that will work with states, tribes, local governments and other federal agencies across the Columbia River Basin.
It gets a...
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During Thursday’s Klamath Basin signing ceremony, one group was conspicuously absent, Oregon’s environmental community.
Groups such as Oregon Wild and Water Watch, say they were kicked out of the talks that produced the two historic deals on Klamath Basin water sharing and dam removal. National groups such as American Rivers and Trout Unlimited did sign...
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Judging by the love fest inside the Capitol Rotunda this morning, it’s hard to imagine that the Klamath water wars ever existed.
The room was filled with smiles, applause and some humor courtesy of Governor Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger joked it was finally time to say, “Hasta la vista to the dams.” The crowd ate it up.
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Portland’s City Council got plenty of advice, but no consistent message, from people testifying Wednesday night about a plan to restore the North Reach of the Willamette River. Businesses worried about how much it will cost and urged the council to move slowly. Environmental groups said the time for action is now.
Running from downtown...
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Interesting or newsworthy events from today until Sunday.
THURSDAY:
Klamath Basin Agreements
Decades of fighting over water, salmon and dams in the Klamath Basin could come to a close Thursday in Salem. Governor Kulongoski, Governor Schwarzenegger and Interior Secretary Salazar will take part in a ceremony to sign two agreements that are designed to make sure...
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Cruise the Willamette downstream from central Portland and you’ll soon realize this is not the wild river our city founders knew. Shipping terminals, cargo vessels, scrapyards, oil tanks, warehouses and gazillions of imported cars line the riverbank. This area, as city officials like to describe it, is a working river. An important area for...
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One of the first environmental actions taken by Portland’s new city commission was to create an Office of Healthy and Working Rivers.
That was less than two months ago, so it’s not surprising that a public meeting about the new office was short on details. City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who’ll oversee the office, says plans...
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Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz is holding meetings next week to outline her plans for the new Office of Healthy Working Rivers.
Creating the office was one of the first acts of the new administration at city hall. All of the city’s various efforts to protect and improve the Willamette were combined into one...
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