September 8, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief in this case challenging Oregon Water Resources Department’s orders approving Bridge Creek Ranch’s requests to create an additional point of diversion for irrigation. The orders would permit Bridge Creek Ranch to divert water from Bridge Creek even when flows fall below 10 cubic feet per second, leading to lower flowers and higher temperates and further threatening Endangered Species Act-protected mid-Columbia River steelhead.
December 15, 2025 — Advocates for the West filed petitions for judicial review in the Court of Appeals of the State of Oregon challenging a decision by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to allow private irrigator Bridge Creek Ranch LLC to exacerbate already low flows in Bridge Creek, an important tributary of the John Day River that provides critical habitat for Endangered Species Act-protected steelhead. The change allows the irrigator to divert water from Bridge Creek even in times of low flow. Bridge Creek serves as an important spawning stream for mid-Columbia River steelhead, and has become a celebrated model for beaver-assisted river restoration. But OWRD’s decision threatens instream flows that are crucial for sustaining this freshwater habitat, protecting steelhead, and combating the effects of climate change.