Restoring Ecological Function: Habitat restoration is a significant need along the Willamette River, and can lead to a river that functions more naturally and can better enable native fish and wildlife to sustain their populations. A host of government agencies and non profit organizations are working to improve the condition of riparian habitat, and to create more complex projects, such as side channel reconnections. See our Restoration Program for more information on these efforts.

Dams: The 13 major US Army Corps of Engineers dams on the Willamette’s major tributaries and forks create barriers to fish passage, making upstream movement of returning adults seeking to spawn in the upper watersheds almost impossible. In addition, the downward movement of juvenile fish is also hampered. A key need is to figure out better ways to provide fish passage, such as fish ladders at some of the dams. Dams also play a large role in regulating water temperature. Temperatures in the summer are too low, while those in the fall are too high. Temperature control structures can be—and are being—installed in existing dams to better mimic natural water temperatures.

Curbing pollution: Today there is a need to address a range of pollutants, which find their way into both river water and sediments, and then into wildlife that live along the river. This can be done by strengthening water quality standards, regulations, and the existing permitting process, although this is pointless unless we also allocate the appropriate resources and funding on a national, state and local level to do so.

There is also a need to understanding emerging issues, such as the impact of new toxics. One example of this is Polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE. This substance is a flame retardant that is mixed into the plastics and fabrics of many products to reduce flammability. The problem is that the PBDE leaches out of these products and gets into our water and soil. In fact, the levels of PBDE are increasing, and the fear is that this compound has the same impact as PCBs. This kind of issue calls for early, precautionary, action to phase out the use of PBDEs in our household products.