On the 48th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, we’re reflecting back on the impact of this fundamental environmental and public health law. On October 18th, 1972, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act. Since then, we’ve come a long way from rivers catching on fire, raw sewage discharged directly into rivers, and the unbridled destruction of wetlands and streams. In a changing climate, with less consistent rainfall, less stable snowpack, and increased drought, the presence of cold, clean water becomes even more critical for communities in our region. Now more than ever, it’s critical to consider the future of these fundamental protections.
Each year at this time, Chinook salmon make their way from the Pacific Ocean up the Rogue River and back to the very place they were born. The anadromous salmon is born in fresh water and then makes its way to the ocean where it lives for several years feeding before returning to its home waters. Once back in its birthplace, the fish spawn and then die, returning their bodies as nutrients to the water and land.
One immediate way to help folks who have been displaced by wildfires here in southern Oregon is to donateto the Rogue Valley Relief Fund. This fund will be used to purchase tents, meals, gas, and other supplies for those most in need. In the long term, this fund will be used to support people who have lost their homes as they start to rebuild their lives. In the next weeks and months as local communities begin the long process of rebuilding, the Rogue Riverkeeper team will shift our focus to ways we can help minimize harmful impacts of these fires on Bear Creek and the Rogue River. Learn more about how fires impact rivers.
Our hearts are with everyone in the Rogue Valley and across Oregon dealing with the severe climate fires that are impacting our loved ones, supporters and communities. The Almeda, Obenchain and Slater fires have devastated large portions of the Rogue Basin and local communities leaving many without their homes and businesses. Recovering from the impacts of these wildfires will be a community effort. If you can safely do so, we encourage anyone who is able to support direct relief efforts that are being organized across the Rogue Valley. Here are some immediate resources to help support communities in southern Oregon impacted by the Almeda, South Obenchain, and Slater Fires.
Last week, the Rogue Riverkeeper team took a socially distanced trip to get out on the river and check out the proposed site of the Jordan Cove LNG pipeline crossing near Shady Cove. The cold, clear water and the other boaters floating past made it hard to imagine that this could ever be the site of a massive Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) cutting through bedrock deep below the river to build a 36-inch, high pressure fracked gas pipeline. Learn more about what you can do to help stop Jordan Cove LNG this summer!
On June 26th, the Oregon legislature passed bipartisan legislation that adopts common sense reforms for current practices on private industrial timber lands in Oregon. This vote is the result of decades of hard work by community members, organizers, and scientists calling for change. It is also just the first step in what will be a long process over the next two years to secure lasting protections for healthy forests and clean drinking water for all Oregonians.
Each summer, Rogue Riverkeeper works with volunteers to collect water samples at popular recreation sites across the Rogue Basin to test for E Coli bacteria and let you know where it is safe to recreate. And it’s that time again! Waterkeepers across the country, including us, are making significant changes to their water quality monitoring programs to address the potential risks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On June 3rd, the Oregon Board of Forestry voted unanimously to improve stream buffer standards for southern Oregon streams. This decision brings protections for approximately 320 miles of small and medium salmon and steelhead streams across 1 million acres of private forest lands within the Rogue watershed up to the same standards applied to the rest of western Oregon in 2017. Although this temporary rule is a step in the right direction, it does not fix the significant threats to clean water from harmful forest practices in Oregon that are decades behind other states.
On June 1st, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new regulation gutting the Clean Water Act to fast track harmful fossil fuel projects, such as the Jordan Cove LNG project proposed in southern Oregon. This new regulation was finalized in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
On May 27th, we joined with Rogue Climate and eleven other community and environmental organizations to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) conditional approval of the Jordan Cove LNG project. Last week, a group of impacted landowners along the pipeline route filed their own challenge to the project.
With two denials from the state of Oregon, Jordan Cove LNG should never have made it this far. Today, we’re challenging FERC’s conditional approval of this harmful project that has already shown it can’t meet state standards that protect clean water and the health of our communities.
The Rogue has always been a popular destination for rafting, fishing, camping, and hiking. Our beloved home river is a recreational escape for many. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic - and the resulting closure of facilities, reduced parks and agency staff time - we are seeing increased pollution in these special places.
While our communities continue to stay home to save lives during the global coronavirus pandemic, efforts from Pembina (the Canadian corporation behind the project) to move the Jordan Cove LNG project forward haven’t slowed down. Here’s a review of what’s happened since January 2020 and how you can make a difference in stopping the Jordan Cove LNG project once and for all!
Currently, streams in southern Oregon are left with a less protective stream buffer standard under the Oregon Forest Practices Act that allows logging closer to streams that support salmon and steelhead than in the rest of western Oregon. Cutting trees near streams means less shade and warmer, dirtier water, which can harm salmon and put clean water at risk. The Oregon Board of Forestry needs to update its rules to require the more protective stream buffer standard for the Siskiyou region that applies to the rest of western Oregon. The Board will decide whether or not they need to change these rules in July.
In the middle of a global health crisis, it might be a little hard to answer that question. Even a month ago, most of us had no idea how our world would change with the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Although fifty years later Earth Day 2020 looks a little different than in 1970 when 20 million Americans gathered together at protests and rallies, the heart of this day remains the same. No matter where you are, you can make a difference. Will you join us?
How well do you know your neighborhood creeks? If you can safely get outside while following the Governor’s stay at home order and public health requirements, now is a great time to get to know your local waters. Like the roots of a tree, the small headwater streams and wetlands that flow into larger creeks and rivers are critical to the health of the entire Rogue River. But right now, some of these smaller waterways will lose protections under the Clean Water Act if a Trump Environmental Protection Agency rule is finalized. Learn more about how you can help take action to protect these waters!
How can you connect with others and make a difference when in-person events are off the table? It can be done! Here are some of the ways you can take action from home.
Celebrate Earth Month! There’s never been a better time to “Think Globally but Act Locally”. While we all deal with the current global pandemic by Staying Home to Save Lives, Rogue Riverkeeper is bringing our usually packed month of events online to you! Check out our blog to see what’s coming….
Since most of us are home, doing our best to stay healthy and safe, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite resources for home activities with YOU! Each staff member has picked some of their favorite activities for making the most of staying home. Enjoy!
While the focus of our communities over the past few weeks has been on staying healthy and supporting each other in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decided to conditionally approve certification for the Jordan Cove LNG project yesterday on March 19, 2020. This federal approval does not give the “go ahead” until the project receives critical permits from the state of Oregon.
