Rivers Articles

State's Water Strategy under Review

Stream near Cape Perpeuta.\Photo by Heron Marychild. Oregon’s statewide plan for water management and allocation is known as the Integrated Water Resources Strategy. It is currently up for review and updating. A survey and series of public meetings have been conducted to give the public an opportunity to weigh in on how we manage water for people, plants,...Read more
Alsea River in winter.

Lindly Park Plan Raises Resource Management Questions

Alsea River in winter.\Photo by Bonnie Moreland. The future of Don Lindly Park, a largely natural area bordering the Alsea River in Lincoln County, is being decided. Members of the public have two opportunities to weigh in, on Feb. 28 and...Read more
Nestucca River scene.\Photo by Dennis White.

Fish and Wildlife Priorities Will Be Subject of Town Halls

Nestucca River scene.\Photo by Dennis White. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is offering a series of “town halls” around the state, to give members of the public an opportunity to weigh in on the agency’s priorities as it develops its proposed 2019-2021 budget. A particular concern is the lack of funding in the department’s initial plans for...Read more
Housing and Haystack Rock. Photo by Sonja Peterson.

NOAA Completes Evaluation of Oregon Coastal Management Program

Housing and Haystack Rock. Photo by Sonja Peterson. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has just released the findings that emerged from its review of Oregon’s Coastal Management Program. For the most part, the findings are very positive—and the biggest black mark against Oregon’s coastal program isn’t something that coastal planners and...Read more
Coos Bay's North Spit. Photo by Alex Derr.

FERC Issues Final Denial of Jordan Cove LNG Export Plan

Coos Bay's North Spit. Photo by Alex Derr. Great news arrived today (12/9/2016). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final denial of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal on Coos Bay’s North Spit. This may not be the final conclusion to the story, but it is a major breakthrough for the coalition that has opposed LNG...Read more
Site of proposed Oregon LNG export terminal. Photo by Tiffany Boothe.

Oregon LNG Threat in Warrenton Appears to Have Ended

Site of proposed Oregon LNG export terminal. Photo by Tiffany Boothe. In surprising and extremely hopeful news, Oregon LNG has withdrawn its application to develop an LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility on the Skipanon Peninsula in Warrenton. Oregon LNG informed both the city of Warrenton and the state's Department of Environmental Quality on Friday,...Read more
Photo of Mike Martin standing atop Coalbank Slough debris slide.

Battle to Assure Cleanup of Coalbank Slough Continues

The long-running saga of Coalbank Slough isn’t over yet. A year ago, we announced that we had successfully settled our Clean Water act lawsuit over a 2012 debris slide that had severely polluted the slough, a tributary of Coos Bay. It had been a long struggle to that point, over a year and a half, but we thought we had obtained an agreement from Johnson Rock Products (JRP), the perpetrators of...Read more
Pistol River meets the sea. Photo by Mureen Walker.

Public Meetings Will Consider Mineral Withdrawal for South Coast Rivers

The headwaters of Hunter Creek, the North Fork of the Pistol River, the headwaters of the Illinois River and the headwaters of the North Fork of the Smith River (rising in Oregon and reaching the coast in California) are all threatened by proposals to conduct nickel mining on Forest Service lands. In 2014, Oregon Shores joined many south coast groups and individual activists in unsuccessfully...Read more