Dear River Friends -
 
Over the years people have tried in a variety of ways to protect habitat and water quality in the Willamette and in rivers throughout Oregon.
 
In recent memory, there have been good efforts to protect the remaining open space and natural areas either in our rivers, in the case of islands, or adjacent to the river, in the floodplain. Such areas provide valuable habitat for fish and wildlife, and have been greatly diminished over the years for development. WR has sought to protect such lands from Eugene to Portland in a variety of ways. A good recent example, just at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, is West Hayden Island (WHI). 
 
While this island is not technically "in" the Willamette Basin, it is very, very near. Because of the Superfund Cleanup in Portland Harbor, which is in the last few miles of the Willamette near the Columbia, West Hayden Island has been viewed as a viable natural resource that could prove valuable for mitigation in relation to the Superfund Cleanup (because of the destruction of habitat in Superfund sites, in addition to cleaning up pollution, there is a requirement to restore some portion of the lost habitat). 
 
The Port of Portland has been hell-bent on developing West Hayden Island, and this past Wednesday night, the Portland City Council passed a resolution that marches us closer to future development by directing that 300 acres of the 800 acre natural area should receive additional study for development. The Council will receive a development proposal at the conclusion of the additional study. This was an unfortunate vote in my view. Political compromise should not always be the order of the day. Sometimes you just have to indicate that something simply should not be done - for good reason. Unfortunately, the Portland City Council did not take that step. 
 
This is how the game is played sometimes, with the idea that there is always a "win-win" situation, "balancing" development and protection of undeveloped land. While this may be true in some cases, it is not true in each and every case. In our view, the Port of Portland should not develop West Hayden Island. They cannot even tell us what they want to create on the island, their economic forecasts are overly optimistic, and they have not fully evaluated how they can use existing lands in Port ownership that could serve the same purpose on a smaller footprint. In addition, for any development on the island, an expensive bridge must be built at a very high cost. 
 
If you fly over the Portland area at a low elevation, or perhaps simply use Google Earth, you can see why West Hayden Island is meaningful - it is large, completely within the floodplain, and at a vital confluence. There are very few places like this in the Portland area, and even far upstream on the Willamette, that provide the habitat benefits that this island provides or the opportunity for people to recreate to a natural area. Such areas are greatly needed in urban environments.
 
Developing West Hayden Island simply does not make sense. In the coming months we will be working with Portland Audubon and others to direct this message to the Portland City Council - that we need to protect what we have. 

Former Oregon Governor Tom McCall said of the Willamette River in 1967, "We must be astute enough to see that preservation is far easier than correction..." We should apply this notion to West Hayden Island and other such proposals along the Willamette and its adjacent rivers today. 
  
For the River,

 

Travis
 
Travis Williams
Riverkeeper and Executive Director

 

*See our latest WHI press release: Port of Portland Disposing of Contaminated Dredge Material on WHI*
  

photos: last month's Salem River Discovery trip (top left), residents of WHI courtesy of Friends of WHI (right), view of WHI courtesy of Save WHI (bottom right)

Lynn Weygandt on last month's River Discovery trip captures the spirit of the day!

Mekong River, by Andrew Stone

This week we enjoyed a special visit from a global partner in river and habitat protection...  
 
Nopparat Lamun is Editor of the Mekong Post, and MekongLover.com. The organization works in Thailand, Lao, and Cambodia to build community, educate and advocate around the Mekong River Watershed- including land use, food, economic, and environmental issues. He visited the Willamette Riverkeeper office last week. 
 
Nopparat was a print and television journalist in Bangkok for 10 years before moving to northern Thailand to work on river issues. He was invited to the United States by the U.S. Consulate in Thailand to study watershed issues. Among government agency representatives from Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao, and Thailand, he was the only non-governmental representative. He met with Federal, State, Corps of Engineers, and academic professionals in Washington D.C., Louisiana, Arizona, and Oregon.
 
The Mekong River runs 2700 miles from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea. It is subject to intense development pressure. China has planned more than 10 major hydroelectric dams in the lower Mekong and its major tributaries in Lao, Thailand and Cambodia. There is also a push to make the Mekong navigable, demolishing or damming areas of existing rapids and waterfalls. Pacific Northwesterners familiar with the history and culture of Celilo Falls can imagine literally dozens of Celilos at risk.
 
All these actions affect fish, traditional and commercial irrigation, and flood management adversely throughout the Mekong. Nopparat generalized about his experience with government, engineers, and academics in the U.S. as, "build smaller dams." "When will we learn," he laughed.
 
Nopparat's visit with Willamette Riverkeeper was the only visit to an NGO and local organizers and activists on his trip. It was not part of his official itinerary. He and a local friend arranged it. He said it was the most meaningful event of his trip.
 
Nopparat hopes to return to the U.S. to study more with local organizations. He is working on public outreach, private / non-profit and government collaborations, and international 'sister river' relationships. He envisions a staff exchange and education program between U.S. river organizations and those on the Mekong.

 

photo: Willamette Riverkeeper Restoration Manager Gerry St. Pierre with new friend Nopparat Lamun (right)

PEEPs campers help us remove Scotch Broom on Cedar Island

Ross Island's monthly restoration work parties are back! Come help the Friends of Ross Island restore this beautiful urban greenspace!

when: the 2nd Saturday of the month, 9:00am - noon (June-Sept) 

where: meet at the SE Portland Boathouse (1515 SE Water Ave)

 

Volunteers will paddle a short distance from the boathouse dock to Ross Island. Once on the island, we will

Along the way, you will learn about the history of the island, its ecological value, and the vision for its future. Canoes will be provided free of charge by Willamette Riverkeeper for those volunteers who do not have their own. Children are welcome when accompanied and supervised by an adult. Limited to 25 volunteers per work party. 

 

Registration is required! Please contact Marissa Dorais, Stewardship Coordinator at Portland Parks & Recreation: 503-823-7016. 

Comparing Water Quality Across Regions: look at our Volunteer Collected Data for Disolved Oxygen 

Have you ever wondered what stretches of the Willamette have the most suitable water chemistry for aquatic life? Perhaps you even have a hypothesis or two about where the coolest, clearest, and cleanest water is? Over the next few months, we'll use our volunteer-collected data from 2006-2009 to explore this question on a regional basis, beginning with dissolved oxygen data. How does your region compare?

 

 

Percent saturation compares the amount of oxygen actually present in the water to the amount of oxygen the water is capable of holding at that temperature. Values between 80 and 125% (in green) are considered to be excellent for most aquatic species, while values between 60 and 80% (in yellow) are acceptable. Values in red are considered to be unacceptable for aquatic life over extended periods of time. For young salmon and salmon eggs, the best chances of survival and proper development occur when dissolved oxygen levels are near 100% saturation. 
 
The horizontal line for each region indicates the median value, while the box indicates the middle 50% of values. Most other values fall between the error bars, with outliers indicated by asterisks. To see specific site locations in each region, visit here. Questions? Contact Water Quality Program Coordinator Julia DeGagne Julia@willametteriverkeeper.org  

        

 

Last month we led our first Camp Riverkeeper, a week long endeavor in partnership with Salem's A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village for 7-10 year olds. Through out the week, our happy campers created personalized River Guides, learned ecology lessons through field games and crafts, tested water quality parameters such as temperature and dissolved oxygen, and best of all, had an absolute blast in, and especially OUT, of their canoes! Many thanks to parents who didn't mind taking home soggy campers :)

There is just so much to look forward to!  Come and join us at these worthwhile, watershed friendly events!

 

Portland RiverFest 2010: August 20 - 22nd

 

Willamette Riverkeeper's 2nd Annual Great Willamette Clean Up: Saturday, October 2nd 

 

2011 Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival: Thursday, November 12th (hosted @ the Bagdad Theater in PDX by Willamette Riverkeeper, with support from Patagonia Portland)

 

The Century Paddle: August 30th - September 4th

 

8th Annual Down the River Clean Up on the Clackamas River: Sunday, September 12th

 

photo: The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummerslined up alongside of Alexandra Cousteau's Nat Geo biodeisel bus at our event at the Bagdad Theater last month. Simply put: they ROCK!