May 11, 2004

Contact:

Phil Wallin, President, Western Rivers Conservancy, 503-241-0151

Western Rivers Conservation Award Goes to PGE Staff for Sandy River Work

Portland, OR ~ Western Rivers Conservancy recognized today the dedicated work of two Portland General Electric (PGE) staff to remove dams and protect habitat on the Sandy River.

The organization presented the Western Rivers Conservation Award on May 11 to Julie Keil and John Esler of PGEs Hydro Licensing & Water Rights division. The ceremony coincided with an office-warming celebration for Western Rivers Conservancy at its new location in downtown Portland.

Keil and Esler initiated a partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) in 1999 that created a vision: removal of hydropower facilities from the Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers just east of Portland to make those waters free-flowing from the glaciers of Mount Hood to the Columbia River. The vision grew to include the creation of a 17-mile corridor of protected habitat for fish, wildlife and recreation in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). With removal of Marmot and Little Sandy Dams in 2007-2008, not only will natural flows return to the Sandy but the Little Sandy River will flow continuously for the first time since 1907. The protected corridor, which will be managed by the BLM, follows the Sandy River upstream from the city of Sandy. The Little Sandy River corridor lies upstream from the confluence with the Bull Run River.

Representing PGE, Keil and Esler worked indefatigably as a team for over seven years to bring to pass one of the great conservation achievements in Oregon history. They worked with local, state and federal government agencies, politicians, engineers, lawyers, conservation organizations, angling groups, local residents and many others to overcome controversy and achieve a consensus. In November 2002, PGE submitted an application for surrender of license to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that was endorsed by 23 organizations and agencies. Also as a result of their efforts, PGE donated 2,000 acres of sensitive lands on the Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers to Western Rivers Conservancy to be included in the conservation corridor that WRC and the Bureau of Land Management are assembling.

"Thanks in large part to Julie and Johns vision and hard work, Portland General Electric has created a great conservation legacy for the Portland metropolitan area," said Sue Doroff, Vice President of Western Rivers Conservancy. "Portland will be the only city in the country, perhaps the world, with a natural, free-flowing salmon stream in its backyard. We are proud to be partners with PGE in such an outstanding conservation initiative."

Western Rivers Conservancy has established the annual Western Rivers Conservation Award to honor an individual, organization or corporation that has taken decisive action to conserve an outstanding river in the Western United States. The award to Keil and Esler is the first such award to be made.

WRC moved in March to 71 SW Oak St. in the historic Dielschneider Building, owned by John Russell. Built in 1852, it was the first building constructed in Portland after Oregon became a state.

Western Rivers Conservancy is a private, non-profit organization with offices in Portland and Santa Rosa, CA. WRCs 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 Sandy, Willamette, Chetco, Hoh, Icicle, Snake and Skagit.

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