Issue Position: Water Solutions
Issue Position
The goal: Work across the Second District to bring together tribes, landowners, environmentalists, and local governments to develop solutions that are good for farmers, fish, and local comunities.
Greg Walden's Bipartisan Oregon Water Resources Management Act
Signed into law last year, the bill aids water conservation in central, southern and eastern Oregon.
Water for farms and fish in central Oregon. The Oregon Water Resources Management Act ensured the continuation of the Deschutes River Conservancy's relationship with the federal government, which has already accomplished:
* 100 miles of stream restoration
* More than 250,000 plants and trees planted to improve habitat
* Increased Deschutes River flows to benefit endangered bull trout and summer steelhead
* Increased irrigated farmland while conserving water on the Crooked River
Improving safety at Wallowa Lake Dam. The Oregon Water Resources Management Act allows the Bureau of Reclamation to work with stakeholders in Wallowa County to resolve issues at the Wallowa Lake Dam.
Increased water capacity in southern Oregon. The regionally-supported Water for Irrigation, Streams, and the Economy (WISE) project will dramatically improve the water resources infrastructure within the Bear Creek and Little Butte Creek watersheds in Jackson County, increasing local water storage capacity and making reclaimed effluent available for use in agriculture.
Work on watersheds
Greg Walden has been a long-time supporter of watershed restoration efforts and the federal partnership that has helped these collaborative efforts throughout Oregon:
The Salmon Recovery Fund. Specifically, Greg has been a long-time supporter of the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, which helps facilitate recovery of Pacific salmon populations.
Supporting watershed councils. Greg has seen first hand the collaborative work undertaken by watershed councils to restore watersheds. He realizes how federal investment from the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, together with state and local resources, has led watershed councils to restore habitat on nearly 650,000 acres and open 4,299 miles of streams throughout Oregon.
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