Thanks to voters in Everett, Washington, the Snohomish River watershed now has legal standing.

Anna V. Smith March 1, 2025

The law is the latest attempt in two decades of concerted efforts at the tribal, city and international level to codify a different legal relationship between people and their environment — one in which water, wildlife and land are not just resources to be used and abused by humans. In the U.S., several similar “rights of nature” laws have failed legal challenges, and Everett’s law could meet the same fate: In late January, a group of local developers and business owners filed suit against it. But according to Ludwig, the campaign learned from past experience, and the new ordinance is designed to survive. “Even though it’s this emergent strategy,” she added, “I think people are ready to embrace something new, and to try something new.” READ MORE.

Tribe, Partners Restore Klamath River’s Reservoir Reach As Dams are Removed

The massive revegetation project is part of a multifaceted, tribe-initiated effort to remove four dams and restore the ecological void left in their wake. The years-long revegetation component seeks to strengthen habitat to support struggling native fish stocks, such as fall Chinook salmon, ESA-listed spring Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead trout and Pacific lamprey. READ MORE.

by Dan Bacher (Daily Kos)

More than 6,000 fall-run Chinook salmon have returned to the Klamath River and tributaries above the former Iron Gate Dam site since dam removal was completed this October, according to preliminary SONAR camera data released by conservation organization California Trout. Read More.

The future is the quintessential “Silent Majority” who has no voice and isn’t here to stand up for itself. Who among us will stand up for the future and stand with water?

We appreciate everyone who showed up for this eye-opening event on Sat. Oct. 26th. Thank you to our speaker, Christopher Hall of The Water League!

By Cassandra Profita
Video captures four Klamath River dam sites before and after a $500 million removal operation.

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Oct. 2 on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Four dams were taken out, allowing adult salmon to swim all the way up the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean and into more than 400 miles of newly reopened habitat.

Watch it Here!

Thank you to everyone who came out on a Saturday for this special event. We had lots of great questions and conversations. A big thank you to those on our panel and to our supporters for attending!

By Alex Baumhardt (Oregon Capitol Chronicle) / Sept. 19, 2023 11:08 a.m

About one-third of forests across 80 drinking watersheds serving coastal cities have been cut during the last 20 years, NASA found

Oregon’s coastal communities that rely on drinking water from forested rivers and creeks have lost substantial tree cover during the last 20 years, a recent NASA analysis found. That’s bad news for residents and the environment. Read article Here.

By Soumya Karlamangla / Photograph by Loren Elliott
Aug. 27, 2024

The Klamath River was once so flush with fish that local tribes ate salmon at every meal. The nation’s largest dam removal project is nearly complete after a lengthy campaign by Native tribes to restore the river at the California-Oregon border.
Read the article Here.

BY: ALEX BAUMHARDT – SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 5:45 AM

The 133-year-old Winchester Dam, which essentially provides a private lake for 100 “influential” people near Roseburg, has a history of environmental violations. “The folks that own the dam are extremely anti-regulatory, very wealthy and influential, and they’ve been able to mysteriously repair a 450-foot wide, 17-foot tall dam on a major river in the state of Oregon for years and years and years using amateur repair methods and without permits,” said McCarthy.
Read the article Here!

Jefferson Public Radio – The Jefferson Exchange

Jim McCarthy, Southern Oregon Program Director at WaterWatch of Oregon, joins the Jefferson Exchange to discuss the controversy over incomplete repairs of the 134-year-old Winchester Dam and the growing movement to remove it altogether. By Mike Green, Natalie Golay