Welcome to our final Currents of the year with more on the Drift Creek dam proposal, Harney Basin groundwater, a funding initiative for Oregon wildlife, and Monday's deadline to submit comments opposing Endangered Species Act rollbacks. Please be careful with flooding around the state this weekend!

The deadline to submit comments in support of new instream water rights for Oregon's North Coast and Mid-Coast basins, including the western 13 miles of the Nehalem River and important tributaries of the Alsea, Siletz, and Siuslaw rivers, is tomorrow at 5 p.m. Weigh in with your support now!

WaterWatch's 2025 Accomplishments Report is in mailboxes now, and one highlight is our ongoing work to secure new instream water rights for our state's world-class rivers and streams, including our current effort to support 44 new instream applications in Oregon's North Coast and Mid-Coast basins.

The window to submit comments in support of 44 new instream water rights applications in Oregon's North Coast and Mid-Coast basins, from the Nehalem River to the tributaries of the Siletz River, closes this Thursday, Dec. 18th, at 5 p.m. Please submit your comments NOW ahead of Thursday's deadline!

We're thrilled to announce our 2025 Accomplishments Report will arrive in mailboxes next week, and a PDF of is online now. There's no doubt it's been a difficult, challenging year, but WaterWatch has been successfully working across Oregon this year to secure lasting accomplishments for our rivers.

Join WaterWatch Thurs. the 11th from 3 to 6 p.m. at Patagonia Portland at 1106 W. Burnside St. as we celebrate the holidays with shoppers and spread the word about our work in support of Oregon's rivers! Street parking is available, along with a wealth of public transit options. tinyurl.com/3ybdyp96

ODFW has filed applications to establish 44 new instream water rights in our North Coast and Mid-Coast regions, and with the public comment period closing at 5 p.m. next Thursday, Dec. 18th, we need your help now to ensure legal protections for these beloved coastal rivers and streams are secured.

Look for an action alert next week in support of instream water rights for 44 Oregon coastal rivers and streams, submit comments NOW to oppose rollbacks to the nation's Endangered Species Act by Dec. 22nd, and join WaterWatch this Thursday the 11th as we return to the Portland Patagonia location.

As you consider your #GivingTuesday choices, remember WaterWatch continues to stand up to powerful moneyed and political interests that seek to dam and drain our waters, and whittle away our rivers and streams. Strengthen our legal work and policy advocacy with a matched gift! tinyurl.com/yc2vpttz

We could use your support as we prepare to go to court to help defend instream water right applications in the Umpqua Basin, plus the Trump administration is targeting wetlands with a newly-proposed EPA rule, our 40th anniversary video is online, and we'll be at the Portland Patagonia Dec. 11th.

Over the last several years WaterWatch has supported up to 550 new instream water right applications in coastal basins, the Willamette watershed, and Umpqua and Rogue basins, but as we go to court to help defend several ODFW instream applications challenged by Douglas County, we need your support.

We're thrilled to share hundreds of photos from our 40th Anniversary Celebration earlier this month at our website and Flickr account. We've also included a link here to our newly-produced WaterWatch 40th Anniversary video, which had its debut at our anniversary event on Nov. 1st. All included here.

WaterWatch's 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction arrives at Castaway Portland this Saturday! Doors open at 5 p.m., and we can't wait to see you, your friends, and family for a fun night celebrating WaterWatch's first four decades with a fantastic dinner and abundant auction packages.

Join us for a chance to win a two-night stay for up to 12 people at the Mount Tom House near Eugene and a chance to purchase Fish Flank Pilsner Glasses from Montana artist and angler Derek DeYoung, with special thanks to event sponsor Northwest Nature Shop in Ashland! Ticket sales close at midnight!

As bad as things are, good things are happening with Oregon's waters as detailed in Currents, including fantastic news on Klamath River salmon, Gov. Kotek's executive order this week accelerating climate protections, the one-year anniversary of our successful Pomeroy Dam removal, and much more.

We're now two weeks away from our 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction at Castaway Portland at 1900 NW 18th Ave. on Saturday, Nov. 1st. Purchase your tickets now as we "welcome back" our Yellowstone Gateway Adventure package as a live auction option, featuring two night at the Sage Lodge.

We're one month away from our 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction on Saturday, Nov. 1st, at Castaway Portland at 1900 NW 18th Ave. A few weeks ago in Currents we teased a brand new live auction package, and we're thrilled to announce the incredible destination here! Get your tickets now!

OWRD is moving to designate the Harney Basin a "critical groundwater area" after groundwater levels in some areas declined by more than 100 feet. But one Oregon state representative has filed a counter rulemaking petition to reject the state's proposal and allow for significantly MORE pumping.

A returning live auction package for our 40th Anniversary Celebration on Nov. 1st is our Ashland Dining and Show Getaway, featuring a two-night stay at the Ashland Springs Hotel, dinner at MÄS Restaurant and Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine, and two tickets for next year's Oregon Shakespeare Festival!

Early bird ticket pricing for our 40th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Auction ends TONIGHT at midnight. That means you only have a few hours to purchase your tickets and tables at the early bird rate of $125 per ticket before the price returns to the regular rate of $150 per ticket at midnight!

Drought conditions are increasing, "early bird" pricing for auction tickets is ending, and the deadline to comment on the proposed Roadless Rule repeal is next Friday, Sept. 19th. We're also thrilled to learn ODFW will file for 44 new instream water right applications on coastal rivers and streams.

WaterWatch's 40th Anniversary Celebration is Saturday, Nov. 1st, as we christen Castaway Portland as our new auction location. We're thrilled to welcome back Sokol Blosser Winery as an event sponsor, as well as Oakshire Brewing. Take advantage of our early bird ticket pricing by Monday, Sept. 15th!

Depletion of groundwater accounts for 68 percent of water loss in increasingly arid areas. Based on 22 years of satellite data in expanding "mega-drying" regions, with one going from the western U.S. through Mexico to Central America, the culprits are fossil fuel use and overpumping of groundwater.

As we wrap up our August Matching Campaign we've announced the winner of our guided fishing trip raffle, who will join Nick Rowell of Anadromous Anglers in search of wild steelhead along the northern Oregon Coast. Thank you to everyone who made donations to WaterWatch as part of our August campaign!

There's still time to enter our guided fishing raffle to win an epic trip targeting wild steelhead along the Oregon Coast this winter with longtime WaterWatch of Oregon supporter Nick Rowell of Anadromous Anglers! Make a donation of at least $50 to WaterWatch before 12 midnight tonight to enter!

WaterWatch's Mary Lou Soscia was profiled in the Aug. 1st High Country News about her years with the EPA and groundbreaking work with the Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama, and Nez Perce tribes. "We built a diverse collaboration for the whole Columbia Basin, but a lot of good people have left the EPA."

You may have seen Columbia Insight on the Drift Creek decision that upheld instream water rights, we have a Winchester Dam update, WaterWatch's board president was profiled in High Country News, we surpassed our August Matching Campaign goals, and we've linked WaterWatch success sites around Oregon.

Thanks to your support during our August Matching Campaign, we crushed our initial donation goal of $5,000 by mid-month, which prompted our donor to step up again and DOUBLE their match to $10,000! Now, with only a few days left in the month, we're only $400 away from our $10,000 fundraising goal!

Join WaterWatch on the Rogue River all day this Saturday the 23rd with anglers, Spey casters, fly fishing guides, casting instructors, and exhibitors from around the Pacific Northwest at the first-ever Rogue Spey Clave, all day Saturday at Josephine County Griffin Park south of Grans Pass.

In this edition of Currents, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld instream water rights in the case over a proposed dam along Drift Creek, a bad water bill that made it out of the legislative session was just vetoed, and our August Matching Campaign has been doubled for the second half of the month!

In a win for WaterWatch and instream water rights, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld most of a 2023 Court of Appeals decision that affirmed a 2019 Oregon Water Resources Commission decision to deny a permit to construct a 70-foot high dam and 384-acre reservoir on Drift Creek in Marion County.

Tell the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) by 5 p.m. TODAY to support strong rules to preserve groundwater-dependent ecosystems, species, and habitat in the Harney Basin. Go to this "take action" page to submit a pre-formatted note to OWRD, but do so now ahead of today's 5 p.m. deadline!

We blew past our initial August matching goal of $5,000, so our anonymous donor has generously offered to DOUBLE the match. Now we're aiming to raise $10,000 this month for Oregon's rivers! That means ALL donations to WaterWatch during August will be matched 100 percent up to a total of $10,000!

No other restoration effort provides a bigger return on investment than barrier removal, and one of the most enduring and positive environmental stories of this summer is directly connected to one of the most enduring environmental stories of LAST summer: the removal of the lower Klamath River dams.

Good news as the Oregon Supreme Court has affirmed most of a lower court's ruling protecting Drift Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River in Marion County, from a proposed 70-foot dam and 12,000 acre-foot reservoir covering some 380 acres that would block migratory fish and drown family farms.

Tell the Oregon Water Resources Dept. to support strong rules to preserve groundwater-dependent ecosystems, species and habitat in the Harney Basin, where groundwater supports a variety of fish and wildlife habitats incl. redband trout and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Deadline is Aug. 13th.

Make a donation to WaterWatch this month to take advantage of our monthlong Matching Donation Challenge. Thanks to an anonymous donor ALL August donations will be matched 100 percent, up to $5,000 total, with each unique donation of $50 or more entered into a raffle to win a guided fly fishing trip!

Join WaterWatch and a cast of anglers, Spey casters, fly fishing guides, casting instructors, and exhibitors from around the Pacific Northwest at the first-ever Rogue Spey Clave on Saturday, Aug. 23rd, at Griffin Park along the Rogue River south of Grants Pass for a fun day of fishing camaraderie!

WaterWatch advocated for Oregon rivers in deliberations on over 120 water bills, a dozen rule bills, and two agency budgets during this year's long legislative sesion in Salem. Despite the difficult pace and tenor, we helped pass common sense proposals and ensure better river and aquifer protection.

After an extensive, multi-year process, Oregon has issued proposed rules to establish a critical groundwater area in the Harney Basin that would ultimately allow the Water Resources Dept. to limit pumping to achieve stable groundwater levels. Support strong rules for the Harney Basin today!

Thank you to everyone who joined WaterWatch on Saturday at Muir Blueberry Farm in Hillsboro and helped make the farm's daylong blueberry-picking benefit event for WaterWatch such a big success! We truly appreciate it! It was great seeing everyone, and the volume of blueberries was beyond belief.

Make a donation to WaterWatch this month to take advantage of our monthlong Matching Donation Challenge. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, ALL August donations will be matched 100 percent, up to $5,000 total, with each donation of $50 or more entered to win a guided fly fishing trip!

It may be the middle of summer, but no matter the season blueberries are always a welcome treat, and you and your family are invited to join us Sat., Aug. 2nd, for a daylong blueberry picking benefit at Muir Blueberry Farm in Hillsboro as Muir Farm donates all its sales from the day to WaterWatch.

Tickets to our 40th Anniversary Celebration of Oregon Rivers are on sale! WaterWatch members, supporters, family, and friends are invited to join us for our annual gala and auction event Sat., Nov. 1st, at Castaway Portland at 1900 NW 18th Ave. Silent auction bidding begins at 5 p.m. as doors open.

If you're in Portland join us at Oakshire Brewing's air-conditioned Portland Beer Hall at 5013 NE 42nd Ave. for their daylong Oakshire Inspires benefit in support of WaterWatch as our .org receives $1 from each core pint sold and 10 percent of the day's food sales. We'll be on-site from 4 to 7 p.m.

Join us tomorrow at Oakshire's Portland Beer Hall for their daylong Oakshire Inspires benefit for WaterWatch! Our staff and board will be on-site from 4 to 7 p.m., but the benefit runs throughout the day as WaterWatch receives $1 from each core pint sold and 10 percent of the day's food sales!

Join us July 15th for an Oakshire Inspires benefit for WaterWatch at the Portland Beer Hall at 5013 NE 42nd Ave. Part of Oakshire's support for area nonprofits, WaterWatch will receive $1 from each core pint sold, and 10 percent of food sales ALL DAY. Staff and board will be on-site from 4 to 7 p.m.

A bill that would make major improvements to Oregon fish and wildlife conservation funding is close to passage but needs a final push NOW. HB 2977 passed the House of Representatives on Friday, now it needs approval from the Oregon Senate. Let your Oregon state senator know you support this ASAP!

We've got a packed issue of Currents for the first day of summer with our final push in support of SB 1153, cuts at state water agency programs, Indigenous youth explore the lower Klamath River by kayak, an angler survey on aquatic insects, a summer block party next Saturday in Portland, and more!

Today marks the 160th anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform the last group of enslaved Black people of their freedom, which led to the commemoration of the first Jubilee Day. Over decades, these annual celebrations evolved into the Juneteenth holiday.