Write a letter of support for the Sandy River!
With the removal of the Bull Run Hyrdopower Project underway, Western Rivers Conservancy is working to create a wild river refuge in Portland, Oregon's very backyard along the Sandy River and its tributary, the Little Sandy River. These rivers are natural treasures on Portland's eastern edge, linking the glaciers of Mt. Hood with the Columbia River. With scenic deep gorges, runs of wild salmon and steelhead, and a string of public parks and nature preserves, the Sandy has been a favorite playground and sanctuary for Oregonians for over a century.
Today, the Sandy River is in need of further protection. All told, wild runs of anadromous fish on the Sandy are only 5-10% of historical numbers. Winter steelhead, spring and fall Chinook, coho and chum are all listed as "Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The coastal cutthroat trout is "Proposed" for listed status.
In the summer of 1999, Western Rivers Conservancy and Portland General Electric (PGE) formed a partnership to remove the hydropower facilities on the middle Sandy and Little Sandy and restore these rivers to health. PGE has begun dismantling its hydropower projects on the Sandy, Little Sandy and Bull Run Rivers. PGE is donating just over 1,500 acres to Western Rivers Conservancy over the course of the project. Western Rivers Conservancy's commitment is to acquire an additional 3,500 acres of private lands in order to assemble continuous river corridors along thirteen miles of the Sandy River and four miles of the Little Sandy. The Little Sandy River corridor will continue upstream into the Mt. Hood National Forest. These corridors will become refuges for fish and wildlife and a public resource for hikers, floaters, anglers and viewers of salmon and wildlife. The new natural resource and recreation area will be managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Assembling this refuge is a multi-year project for Western Rivers Conservancy. More than thirty landowners are involved, both individuals and corporations. To date, WRC has acquired more than 2,900 acres of high-quality habitat along ten river miles in the Sandy basin. This includes 789 acres of forested properties donated by PGE. Purchase of the historic Koch Ranch on Mensinger Bottom included nearly two miles of river frontage where the owner had proposed a major sand and gravel mine, vehemently opposed by local residents. Along the Sandy's spectacular Inner Gorge, WRC acquired 356 acres with approved building permits, preventing home site development along a critical reach. WRC has completed protection of the Inner Gorge, which provides some of the most thrilling whitewater in northwestern Oregon as well as deep pools and rearing habitat for threatened salmon and steelhead.
Western Rivers Conservancy also has acquired 450 acres on the Little Sandy River, once a blue-ribbon steelhead stream, and 200 acres on Wildcat Creek. Conservation of the Wildcat Creek lands and other lands in the upper Sandy basin are helping to create a north-south habitat connection between the old growth forests of the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit and the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness Area.
Land protection, combined with PGE's removal of dams and diversions in the basin, will give the Sandy and Little Sandy's runs of wild salmon and steelhead the best possible opportunity to recover.
Critical support for the Sandy River Project has been provided by the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Foundation, Autzen Foundation, Collins Foundation, Flintridge Foundation, Zuniga Forbes Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, Jane and Howard Glazer Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, Jackson Foundation, Carl J. and Alma Johnson Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, Jubitz Family Foundation, Lamb Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Newman's Own Foundation, Portland General Electric's Habitat Fund, Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, Catherine and Mark Turner Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation and Wessinger Foundation.
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