Riverscape Newsletter

What a summer already. While the weather has been less than stellar (and yes I did grow up here), we have been quite busy.

Of late we have been devoting a lot of resources to making our project at Willamette Mission State Park a reality, even in the face of an overly-long permitting process with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Had the Corps spent this much time analyzing the impact of putting their dams on the Willamette tributaries, or evaluating their plans to riprap the vast majority of the outside bends of the Willamette River, the river would likely be in a much better position today. How ironic that bureaucratic meanderings of a massive agency evaluating a project on public lands should take a year or more. At this point, Willamette Riverkeeper and its partners look forward to implementing this really nice restoration project in August.

The Oregon State Parks & Recreation Department deserves our thanks for their efforts to improve the ecological function of the Willamette. With their signature parks, and large undeveloped Greenway parcels, they have added a lot to the Willamette's health. Their willingness to engage in restoring ecological function, in the face of sometimes irrational local politics, is noteworthy. This is an excellent use of public lands along the Willamette, and from my perspective, is a big aspect of upholding the Public Trust along the river.

Willamette Riverkeeper works hard to uphold the Public Trust doctrine. In its essence, the doctrine, which goes back centuries in different legal forms and is today represented in the Clean Water Act, holds that our rivers belong to the public, and they they must be protected as such. That means that we should not pollute them, or degrade them. Of course, through history these resources have been degraded piece by piece, even in the face of new laws to protect the public's resources. Too often such efforts do not go far enough to protect the waters and lands along the Willamette or are simply not well implemented. We need only look at the toxics that are found in the river and the habitat that has been ever fragmented and eliminated along the river. The good news is that State agencies are improving their implementation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act and other laws to protect our air and water. They are also devoting resources to restoration. More must still be done. Habitat degradation happens far upriver, and in the Portland Metro area as well.

GWC.Durheim

On this note, the City of Portland seems to be changing its tune, in some ways, in relation to habitat protection. Recent efforts to protect West Hayden Island at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette are not all that strong, and seem to be riddled with behind the scenes political compromise and negotiation, and the newly created North Reach Plan has already been altered with the recent agreement at Siltronic. This large undeveloped island holds much promise for restoration and is utilized by a wide variety of wildlife. It could also be utilized for mitigation for habitat loss, as part of the Portland Harbor Superfund Cleanup. Perhaps there needs to be a collective reassessment of what people really mean when they say they are for protecting the river's health? Perhaps this assessment could start with some leaders within City Government.

What I can say is this: Willamette Riverkeeper will not shy away from upholding the Public Trust. We will seek to uphold the Clean Water Act, and other environmental laws. In the past two years we have filed **over forty 60 day notices under the federal Clean Water Act** in Eugene and Springfield, and beyond, working to protect the waters of the Upper Willamette Basin. This is under the Citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act that enables organizations or individuals to sue an entity when its breaks the law (in this case, permits that are being violated). Just recently, we resolved a case against a local city where their waste water treatment plant was routinely breaking the law. As part of this work we will also be vocal advocates for habitat protection and restoration. That's right, we can both uphold the law, and actively restore habitat where it is degraded.

WR will continue to work hard to protect and restore the Willamette's water quality and habitat. You can join our efforts today! Participate as a water quality monitor, get involved in a restoration work party, or simply get out on the river with us in the ever sustainable vehicles - canoes and kayaks - to get a first hand look at the river and what lives there, and to better understand the key issues that affect it.

What you find just might surprise you.

For the River,

Travis Williams
Riverkeeper and Executive Director

photos: fishing on the river (top), Willamette River gem- agate (bottom), taken by Huck on Paddle Oregon 2009