For Immediate Release: August 08, 2001

For more information contact:
Regna Merritt, ONRC, (503) 283-6343 ext. 214

Bull Run/Little Sandy Legislation Passes Senate

PORTLAND, OR - Conservationists today applauded passage of a Senate bill that will protect both salmon and the drinking water supply for the Portland metropolitan area. Senators Wyden and Smith co-sponsored the Little Sandy Protection Act. Companion legislation, championed by Rep. Blumenauer in the House of Representatives, passed July 23, 2001.

Legislation for the Little Sandy complements legislative protections won for the Bull Run Watershed in 1996. The Bull Run currently supplies Portland with some of the purest drinking water in the country. The Little Sandy River is part of the larger Bull Run Watershed Management Unit, but was excluded from protection in the 1996 legislation. Passage of today’s legislation corrects that exclusion.

The legislation will protect the Little Sandy by restricting logging except in rare instances where it can be proven to protect or enhance water quality.

“With this legislation, our congressional delegation is helping to assure clean drinking water for Portlanders well into the next century,” said Regna Merritt, Executive Director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council. “Protecting forests protects drinking water.”

“Our national forests are the anchors for clean drinking water across much of Oregon,” said Merritt. “Unfortunately, continued logging and road construction puts drinking water for most Oregonians at risk.”

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Statement by Regna Merritt, Executive Director, Oregon Natural Resources Council

The Oregon Natural Resources Council applauds the efforts of Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten, Representative Blumenauer and Senators Wyden and Smith who have with determination sought to protect the long-term drinking water source for Portland-area residents. The path to protection for our drinking water has been a bumpy one. Through much trial and error, we have learned that logging is simply incompatible with protecting our drinking water sources. We appreciate the leadership demonstrated by Rep. Blumenauer and Sen. Wyden in recognizing that protecting our forests protects our drinking water. And we appreciate that Sen. Smith recognizes the importance of clean drinking water to the people of Portland.

We are at the dawning of a new relationship with our public forests. Our forests are far more valuable to us as properly functioning watersheds and wilderness than solely as tree farms for commodity production. Although this legislation will protect a smaller area that that advocated by Portland residents in the City of Portland’s Resolution No. 35203, this initiative is a huge step in the right direction. With it will come enhanced protection of our drinking water.

Like Portland, the communities of Lake Oswego, West Linn, Salem and Sandy have called for increased protection from logging and road building to protect their drinking water supplies. We look forward to the delegation’s continued commitment to protection of our forested wildlands, source of our cleanest drinking waters.