About the Campaign
Oregon’s beautiful Willamette River Basin is home to many sensitive aquatic species and critical habitats. Stretches of this large waterway and its tributaries contain world-class recreational and fishing destinations. Unfortunately, the upper Willamette Basin is clogged by outdated and mismanaged dams.
The Willamette Project dams are the single largest threat to Oregon’s Upper Willamette Chinook salmon and steelhead populations—which are at high risk of extinction. Many of the 13 dams in question are “high head” dams, rising over 250 feet. These dams, most of which are not outfitted with fish passage, cause significant harm to these fish by blocking access to the majority of historic spawning habitat above the dams and degrading habitat below the dams.
Click here to learn more about our work in the Willamette River Basin.