February 23, 2023

We are excited to announce that Senator Ron Wyden has re-introduced the Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act into the 118th Congress! 

As a quick refresher, this piece of legislation includes the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Protection Act, which protects the headwaters of southwest Oregon’s finest Wild and Scenic rivers, including the Illinois, Rogue, and North Fork Smith. These watersheds have been threatened with irreversible pollution and risks of hard-rock strip mining. Community members like you have already helped secure a temporary moratorium on mining in the Baldface, Rough & Ready, and Hunter Creek watersheds in Josephine and Curry Counties; and Senator Wyden’s bill seeks to make those temporary protections permanent. 

The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act would also add protections for the Wild and Scenic Rogue River by establishing the 98,000 Wild Rogue Canyon Recreation Area and expanding the Wild Rogue Wilderness. The bill will also help to protect clean drinking water for downstream communities, conserve important aquatic habitat for salmon and steelhead, and safeguard outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities, including swimming, camping, fishing, hiking, and boating, for the future. 

Please help us thank Senator Ron Wyden for his continued advocacy and support for wild rivers & public lands in southwest Oregon. We would also like to thank Senator Merkley for his co-sposorship of the bill.

In thanking your Senators, we have provided a template and some talking points, but please feel free to personalize your letter and remind our elected leaders of your love for rivers and the communities, both wild and human, that rely on them.