Celebrating and Expanding Wild & Scenic Rivers

The Rogue River is one of original eight US rivers designated as Wild & Scenic in 1968. It’s outstanding fish, wildlife and recreational values bring thousands of people to southern Oregon every year and are a driving force for the Rogue Valley’s tourism industry.

Since 2008, there has been a concerted effort to expand the Rogue Wilderness from its 58,000 acre size to nearly double that amount. This would protect the majority of the surrounding public forest lands in the Wild & Scenic Rogue River corridor which are essential to the overall health of the Rogue. Increased protections would safeguard cold water tributary streams, wildlife and fish habitat, and ensure a healthy Wild & Scenic Rogue River.

In March 2019, Congress passed the Natural Resources Management Act (S. 47), a public lands package that includes the Oregon Wildlands Act (S. 1548) and the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act (S. 513/H.R. 1308). This legislation designated 140 miles of tributaries that flow into the lower Rogue as Wild & Scenic. It also added more 1.3 million acres of public land to the National Wilderness Preservation System, 621 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Rogue Riverkeeper works with local outfitters, guides, fishermen, and community members to continue to support wilderness expansions and Wild & Scenic designations.

Wild & Scenic Rogue River

50 Years of a Wild & Scenic Rogue

The lower Wild & Scenic Rogue River is one of the most stunning watersheds in the United States. The Wild Rogue provides freshwater habitat to massive ocean-going salmon and steelhead runs and hosts a diversity of flora and fauna unmatched nearly anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. It is one of the premier multi-day whitewater rafting trips in the country and draws thousands of visitors every year to fish, raft, hike, and explore its remote river canyon. 

Designated "Wild & Scenic" in 1968 under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, 84 miles of the Rogue from the mouth of the Applegate River to Lobster Creek are protected under this milestone act. In 1978, 58,000 acres of forested wildlands received protections under the Wild Rogue Wilderness Area designation. While both of these protections are crucial in safeguarding clean water, healthy forests, and abundant wildlife, much of the Wild Rogue canyon is still vulnerable to old growth logging, mining, development and other impacts. 

Efforts have been in place for over a decade to increase protections for this Oregon treasure. The Oregon Wildlands Bill seeks to nearly double the wilderness area, add over 100 miles of Wild & Scenic designations to tributary streams, and include a National Recreation Area designation.  

Now is the time to protect the rest of the Wild Rogue’s roadless lands and free-flowing streams for ours and future generations.