October 6, 2003

For more information please contact:

Phillip Wallin, Western Rivers Conservancy, (503) 241-0151

Score One for the Salmon: Illinois River Protected in Land Purchase

Curry County, OR - A five-year effort to protect one of Oregon's premier salmon rivers paid off today. Western Rivers Conservancy, a non-profit group headquartered in Portland, announced that it has purchased 871 acres along the Illinois National Wild & Scenic River in southwest Oregon. The land is located near the point where the Illinois flows into the Rogue River, 50 miles east of Gold Beach in southwest Oregon.

Phil Wallin, President of Western Rivers Conservancy, said that the group has conveyed the land to the Siskiyou National Forest to be managed as part of the Wild & Scenic River. The area that was purchased lies directly across the Illinois River from the popular Oak Flat recreation area near Agness. Wallin said that Western Rivers had worked for five years with the landowner, Bill Sweet and the Siskiyou National Forest to get this land into public ownership.

The purchase was made possible by an appropriation of $2,250,000 from the federal Land & Water Conservation Fund. Senator Gordon Smith, who took an active role in seeking the appropriation, stated "This purchase is not only important habitat for salmon and steelhead. It is also a critical link in the public recreational lands on the lower Rogue and Illinois Rivers. As more and more people come to enjoy Oregon's spectacular rivers, we need to provide them with access and protect the natural treasures they come to see." Senator Smith said that the appropriation was another "team effort" by the entire Oregon delegation. He also gave credit to the landowner, Bill Sweet of North Bend, OR, who "showed tremendous patience and public spirit in sticking with us throughout the long process of federal land acquisition."

Senator Ron Wyden seconded the comments of Senator Smith and added: "Over the years the federal Land & Water Conservation Fund has been a fantastic resource in protecting the magnificent rivers, mountains and shores of Oregon and in making those special places accessible to the public. This is vital, not only to the environment, but also to rural economies which benefit from recreation and tourism dollars. The Illinois is a great stream for fishing and boating and I am proud to have helped protect it."

The project took place in the district of Congressman Peter DeFazio, who also played a role in the appropriation. "The Illinois River is a spectacular part of Oregon's natural heritage. We are fortunate that this piece of the river was owned by a man as public-spirited as Bill Sweet, who was willing to work patiently and cooperatively with Western Rivers Conservancy and the Forest Service to get this land into public ownership." DeFazio noted that Mr. Sweet had even purchased additional river shoreline and held it until the public could acquire it from him.

Romain Cooper of the Siskiyou Regional Education Project, located in the Illinois River Valley, attested to the ecological importance of the river. "The Wild and Scenic Illinois deserves this type of attention because it's a premier Western river with strong wild salmon and trout populations, no hatchery program or high dams, and with much of its watershed in wilderness and roadless areas. This is truly a river worth protecting. The return to public ownership of such a large private parcel along the Illinois River is a noteworthy achievement."

Western Rivers Conservancy is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Portland whose mission is to conserve the most outstanding river ecosystems in the Western United States, primarily through land acquisition. In the Pacific Northwest the group has carried out major land conservation projects on such rivers as the Chetco, the Hoh, the Icicle, the Sandy, the Willamette, the Snake and the Skagit.

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