There is a short window to protect the Rogue river and you can help!
Click here to ask your representatives to pass the Wild Rogue Legislation in this congress!
The “Save the Wild Rogue” campaign is so close to working. The proposed protections have broad community support. Earlier this year, in an historic agreement, the main timber industry lobby group agreed to drop their opposition to protecting this 58,000-acre Wilderness.
However, the elections are over and if Oregon’s elected leaders in Congress don’t take action in the next two months, all of the progress to safeguard these special places may be lost for years to come.
The Wild Rogue Wilderness proposal would safeguard the salmon bearing streams and forested slopes in Oregon’s second highest producing salmon watershed. Once again, these proposed protections have broad community support. Earlier this year, in an historic agreement, the main timber industry lobby group agreed to drop their opposition to protecting this 58,000-acre Wilderness.
Don’t let the Wild Rogue get lost in the Congressional wilderness! Click here to contact your member of Congress today and tell them to protect the Wild Rogue before the year is out.
Read more about the campaign below:
The Lower Rogue River
Save the Wild Rogue:
The Rogue is one of America’s most famous wilderness rivers. A coalition of local and national outdoor industry businesses, rafting and angling companies and conservationists launched a campaign in 2007 to strengthen protections for the Lower Rogue River. The “Save the Wild Rogue” campaign proposes to protect the tributaries of the Zane Grey Roadless Area. For those who have been on the river these tributaries are the beautiful, cool, side streams that we stop at to hang out by and swim in. In June 2009, bills were introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to add 143 miles of Rogue tributaries to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This legislation would safeguard tributaries that provide important cold water to the Rogue River and valuable fish habitat for salmon that migrate upstream from the Pacific.
Recent economic studies by ECONorthwest found that, in 2007, recreation on the river provided $30 million in economic benefits to the state of Oregon through fishing, rafting and hiking. In total, the studies determined that Rogue River salmon runs provide more than $1.5 billion in economic benefits to West Coast Residents each year, including the ‘non-use value’ of these fish. This is essentially the monetary value people place on the existence of a natural resource, the ability to pass it on to future generations, and the option to use it in the future.
The “Save the Wild Rogue” campaign is so close to working. A compromise was made with the timber industry to use a wilderness designation as opposed to a Wild and Scenic designation. It is a little confusing – the wilderness designation offers even better protection, but it is a precedence issue for the timber industry. Now, there is no organized opposition to the proposed legislation to expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness – this includes the American Forest Resource Council; a timber industry coalition who’s president said “It’s something that makes sense — we won’t oppose this,” It is another win-win situation and the only thing keeping it from happening is that Congress has yet to introduce the legislation.
Check out www.savethewildrogue.org for more info.
Once again this is something where there is no local organized opposition – we are just waiting on Congress – a little push from all of us might be all it takes!
