POLL SHOWS WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR ROGUE RIVER WILDERNESS
Southwest Oregon voters favor additional protections for the Rogue River, according to a new poll by the public opinion research firm Moore Information.
Document Actions
More than 75 percent of respondents in Josephine, Douglas, Jackson and
Curry counties support protection of the Rogue for its importance to the economy, scenic beauty and the health of fish and wildlife populations.
When asked specifically about a pending legislative proposal to
designate new Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections along
the Rogue, voters were supportive of the measure by a clear majority.
“The majority of voters clearly favor additional protection along the
Rogue, including boaters, hunters and anglers and hikers,” said Bob
Moore who conducted the survey. “Voters in the Rogue River valley were
especially supportive of the proposal.”
Senators Wyden and Merkley and U.S. Representative DeFazio recently
introduced legislation in Congress that would expand permanent
protection along the Rogue’s well known multi-day rafting and fishing
stretch near Galice, Oregon.
The new protections would designate 93 miles of river as Wild and
Scenic and nearly 60,000 acres as Wilderness. If passed, the
legislation would preserve a pristine area that benefits clean water,
salmon and the local economy. Recreation on this portion of the Rogue
generates $30 million in annual economic output and creates 445 jobs.
“This poll demonstrates that the people of southwestern Oregon deeply
value the Rogue River and want to protect this treasure for future
generations,“ said Chad Woodward of American Rivers, which
commissioned the poll. “The new legislation will conserve one of
Oregon’s greatest natural wonders and allow the Rogue River to remain
a vibrant and central part of the local recreation and tourism
economy.”
The survey of 300 voters in Josephine, Jackson, Douglas and Curry
counties was conducted in the first week of January.
