Oregon

Priority Waters

• North Coast

  The Salmon SuperHwy, a collaboration among Trout Unlimited, state and federal agencies, county government, and the agricultural community, is reconnecting 95 percent of historic fish habitat and building durable road infrastructure by replacing culverts and other fish migration barriers across six river basins draining into the Tillamook and Nestucca Bays. Beyond reconnecting key headwater spawning and rearing habitat, the Salmon SuperHwy is retrofitting tide gates and improving operations to expand and restore access to estuary habitat and restoring side channel and floodplain habitat. These watersheds are strongholds for Chinook, chum, and coho salmon, steelhead, and anadromous and resident cutthroat trout.

• Southwest

  To protect and rebuild the wild salmon and steelhead populations of the Rogue and Umpqua watersheds, TU is working alongside diverse regional stakeholders to advocate for conservation-minded fishery management, improved monitoring, and hatchery practices guided by the best available science. TU staff work to ensure adequate instream flows and protect coldwater refugia, and work with water users to improve water quality throughout the two basins. We work closely with regional partners to advocate for improved forestry practices, expanded Wild and Scenic protections on the Rogue, and the designation of Steamboat Creek as an Outstanding Resource Water of Oregon.

• Upper Klamath

  After two decades of advocacy, the Klamath Dams came down and salmon are returning to the upper basin for the first time in over a century. TU’s ongoing habitat restoration and instream flow protections in the Upper Klamath benefit native Bull Trout, Redband Trout, and endemic suckers (C’wamm and Koptu in the Klamath language), along with the Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and Pacific Lamprey now taking advantage of the recently reconnected habitat. We have partnered with state and federal agencies, regional tribes, private landowners, and other conservation partners to prioritize and implement key restoration, monitoring and fish passage projects with the highest impact for rebuilding anadromous and endemic fish populations.

• Deschutes

  A large tributary of the mid-Columbia Basin, the Deschutes supports immensely popular steelhead and redband trout fisheries. The river basin was severed 60 years ago by the Pelton-Round Butte hydroelectric project. TU staff and volunteers are working to balance water quality protections with salmon, steelhead, and resident trout protections and reintroduction efforts. Together we’re working with local stakeholders and state and federal agencies to restore habitat in key tributaries, improve water quality on the Crooked River and Lower Deschutes, improve monitoring and municipal and irrigation water use efficiency, and restore fish passage to cold, clean upstream headwaters habitat.

• Umatilla

  The Umatilla Watershed is an important tributary to the mid-Columbia Basin, supporting key populations of spring and fall Chinook, coho salmon, summer steelhead, and resident fish. We are partnering with regional tribes, state and federal agencies, other conservation organizations, and the agricultural community of the basin to improve and extend streamflow duration on key tributaries, improve water use efficiency and sharing, and improve fishery management. We’re also leading restoration projects to reconnect floodplains, decrease channel incision, and improve habitat complexity. TU sees a path forward that restores native fish, improves ecosystem function, and supports the communities of the Umatilla watershed.

• John Day

  A wild fish stronghold largely free of hatchery influence, the John Day watershed is a large tributary of the mid-Columbia Basin. It is home to key summer steelhead and spring Chinook populations, along with bull trout, redband trout, and westslope cutthroat. TU is working with a diverse range of partners to sustain funding and legal tools for instream flow restoration, especially in the basin’s headwaters. We are also leading extensive restoration efforts to reconnect floodplain and wetland habitat and advocating for more research and better fishery management. that prioritizes the recovery of the John Day’s wild salmon and steelhead runs.

• Lower Snake Tributaries

  The Imnaha River and Grande Ronde watershed are important tributaries to the Lower Snake River and critical natal streams for Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and resident trout. Alongside TU’s effort to breach the four lower Snake River dams, TU staff in Northeast Oregon are working closely with regional tribes, conservation partners, and landowners to restore critical habitat and protect instream flows to recover struggling salmon and steelhead populations. We are leading process-based habitat restoration on key tributaries, developing innovative water transactions and irrigation efficiency upgrades, and advocating for fishery and hatchery management that protects wild fish.

• Southeast Oregon Closed Basins

  Across their range, Lahontan cutthroat trout have lost nearly 99 percent of their historic lake habitat and nearly 90 percent of their historic stream habitat. Oregon’s Southeast closed basins in the Steens Mountains, the Willow-Whitehorse basin, and the McDermitt system are home to small remaining populations that are extremely valuable for sustaining genetic diversity. Working with agencies and private and federal landowners, we are reintroducing populations, improving fish passage, screening irrigation diversions, increasing habit complexity, and exploring genetic rescue efforts to sustain and rebuild these keystone populations. TU and the Owyhee Sportsmen Coalition are working together in eastern Oregon to advance long-term conservation policies that protect the Owyhee Canyonlands, support rural economies, and maintain hunting and angling traditions.