MAY RIVERSCAPE

Hello River Folks - 

I hope you are all as well as can be. 

Right now the Willamette and its tributaries are big! The massive amount of recent rain, combined with snowmelt, has brought river levels up and up over the last few weeks. Yesterday as I drove over a bridge in Salem, the river was big, and moving fast. 

Of course, in just a few days we will see summer-like temperatures. That is springtime in Western Oregon!

As always, WR’s work continues. The recent great news about the listing of the Willamette River as impaired for trash by the State of Oregon was a big win for future regulation addressing garbage in the river under the Clean Water Act - and it was WR’s work with volunteers across the basin made that happen! Then, the recent setback of a massive industrial chicken facility on the N. Santiam, along with a major grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board supporting a major restoration project at Minto Brown State Park, only added to our sense of optimism for the river system.

While WR has been undergoing a leadership transition, our efforts continue to manifest accomplishments that have been in the hopper for years. In the meantime, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes and will be announcing some exciting plans by the end of the month. Good things take time! Rest assured, WR's legacy will keep on going, and growing! 

Over the past 24 years I’ve been so very thankful for all of you, and the support you provide for our work. Just yesterday we received a multi-thousand dollar anonymous gift, along with other generous contributions that have come in during this time of transition. 

Let’s keep that rolling through the rest of the month as we work toward our $100k goal by the end of June! 

Thanks so much again for all that you do for the Willamette River! 

YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

Why support Willamette Riverkeeper? Because we ADVOCATE, EDUCATE, AND TAKE ACTION to protect OUR Willamette River water quality and habitat! You can make positive change today by supporting our work in a variety of ways:

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• Mail a donation to WR at 1210 Center St., Oregon City, OR 97045.

• Make an online donation at www.willametteriverkeeper.org 
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• Make an IRA distribution, and direct it to the same address above 
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• Donate stock to WR. Contract Travis for our account information. 
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• You can donate property of different types in support of our work.

• You can also place WR in your will as part of our legacy planning program.

• Please contact us for more information. Thank you for your consideration and continued support!

In fall 2022, Willamatte Riverkeeper, along with Farmers Against Foster Farms and Friends of Family Farmers, brought the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Agriculture to court, filing a petition to contest the permit given to J-S Ranch to raise 3.5 million chickens a year along the North Santiam River. While this operation would surely contaminate surface waters, the agencies decided that J-S Ranch only needed a groundwater permit.

Twice the state attempted to kick our surface water claims out, filing two motions for summary judgment. In 2024, the court denied the state's motions, allowing all issues to go to trial. Rather than proceed to trial, the state filed notice on April 19 that the permit is being withdrawn for reconsideration. While the permit is being reconsidered, no new construction may begin and the case is paused. While we are hopeful that the state will do the right thing and deny the permit, we are prepared to continue legal action in the fall. Center for Food Safety and Sugarman Dahab law firm are representing the plaintiffs in this action. 

In the meantime, the Oregon Dept. of Environnmental Quality has finally listed several segments of the Willamette River as impaired for pollution - this action was taken specifically as a result of Willamette Riverkeeper's efforts to complile almost a decade of data showing how much trash volunteers have collected over the years during cleanup efforts. While this designation alone won't solve the issue, it does open the door for next steps, including the creation of TMDL regulation, which will require communities within the designation to comply with restrictions pertaining to human generated garbage found along the riverbank. Willamette Riverkeeper is currently leading the TMDL process with DEQ. While it may take years for these laws to manifest officially, communities across the watershed have already begun taking action to address the immediate need to clean up riparian areas, as well as implementing preventative solutions addressing homelessness and trash receptacles located on site in areas with heavier use impacts.

More "in the news" with Willamette Riverkeeper here:

• OPB: Oregon could place limits on river trash, ocean acidification
• Willamette Week: Willamette River Is So Full of Trash the State Proposes to Regulate It Under the Clean Water Act
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RESTORATION UPDATES

It’s been an exciting past month for our Restoration Program at Willamette Riverkeeper! At the end of April, WR was awarded an Oregon Water Enhancement Board grant to continue our work at Minto Brown Island Park for the next five years. This project focuses on the 45 acre Oxbow Slough which is nested within the park. This side channel of the Willamette is infested with Ludwigia and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) and the adjacent riparian acres continue to degrade habitat with invasive species like reed canary grass, Himalayan blackberry, English ivy and others. 

In 2023, WR completed four years of restoration work at Minto Brown on Willamette Slough so this is an incredible opportunity to protect our past efforts and continue this critical work. We are very grateful to OWEB and the City of Salem to continue this work and our incredible partnerships.

WR has also been working with partners to plan our early dectection rapid response AIS work on 130 miles of the river this summer - stay tuned for our "Paddle & Pull" event registration announcement next month - we invite all of our friends and members to join us this summer to paddle and pull aquatic invasive weeds while enjoying a day on our beautiful river!

COMING THIS FRIDAY, MAY 10TH: Enjoy some of the most inspiring independent paddling films featuring an international exploration of some of the world's most beautiful rivers! This series of short films will leave you in awe and yearning for your own day out on the river!

Please join Willamette Riverkeeper at WildCraft Cider Works in Eugene, OR for our first ever Paddling Film Festival World Tour - all proceeds to benefit our programs across the Willamette watershed. Food and drink available on site. Doorprize drawing included with ticket purchase.

2024 PINOT PADDLE

Seriously... Need we say more? Come paddle with us, revel in Willamette Valley wines and feast on gourmet local foods on Grand Island along the beautiful Willamette Water Trail! Click the button below and REGISTER FOR PINOT PADDLE TODAY!

RIVER STEWARDSHIP EVENTS

Come PADDLE & PULL invasive aquatic weeds with WR's Restoration Team! We'll be reviving back channel habitats to help restore cooler temperatures and oxygenated habitats for native flora, fauna, and wildlife! We'll have two opportunities this year... these outings are free of charge and include all the boating gear needed; canoes, PFDs, and paddles. Space is very limited; please register early to ensure a seat in one of our canoes, or bring your own boat (please be experienced paddling in moving water if you are bringing your own boat).

REGISTRATION COMING SOON! SAVE THESE DATES:

Willamette Riverkeeper, Benton SWCD & Oregon State Parks in Corvallis/Albany area: Friday, July 19th and Saturday, August 3rd

RIVER GUARDIANS programs will continue throughout 2024, with planned efforts in Eugene, Corvallis, Albany, Keizer, and Salem. If you are interested in learning how to sponsor getting a program started in your community, please contact Michelle Emmons. WR also welcomes employee groups at any of our regularly scheduled cleanups. To see what we've got coming up soon, please check our event calendar, or register for one of our upcoming events below.

May 14: Trashy Tuesday Eugene: ON-WATER REGISTRATION

May 30: Trashy Thursday Corvallis: ON-WATER REGISTRATION

June 11: Trashy Thursday Eugene: ON-WATER REGISTRATION

June 13: Trashy Thursday Corvallis: ON-WATER REGISTRATION