McKenzie River

Advocates Ask Feds to Make EWEB Consider Volitional Fish Passage at Trail Bridge Dam

April 22, 2026 by Noah Angell

The Trail Bridge dam sits at the end of the frame. The dark blue water of the Mckenzie runs with green trees on the shore.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2026 Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (541)-534-1463 Jennifer Fairbrother, Native Fish Society Lindsey Hutchison, Willamette Riverkeeper Eugene, OR — Today, on Earth Day, Advocates submitted a petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting a cost and viability comparison of volitional passage at the Trail Bridge Dam on the McKenzie River, and interim improvements … Read more

Press Release: Eugene Water and Electric Board’s Unanimously Votes to Decommission Leaburg Hydroelectric Project on the McKenzie River

February 19, 2026January 4, 2023 by Josh

January 4, 2023 — Following years of extensive research, analysis, and outreach, the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) Commission voted unanimously to initiate a plan to decommission the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project on the McKenzie River at its January 3 meeting. The Board of Commissioners formally approved EWEB General Manager Frank Lawson’s December 6 recommendations to decommission the project, which discontinued electricity generation in 2018, and remove the aging Leaburg Dam.

Cascadia Wildlands Statement on Eugene Water and Electric Board’s Recommendation to Decommission Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie River

February 19, 2026December 7, 2022 by Josh

December 7, 2023 — Following two years of extensive research, analysis, and outreach, the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s (EWEB) General Manager and staff presented a recommendation to decommission and remove the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project and Dam at the December 6 Board of Commissioners meeting. In agreement with the recommendation, the Board directed EWEB staff to convert the recommendation to an action item for the Board to vote to approve early next year.

Press Release: Over 100 “Kayaktivists” and Community Members Protest Old-Growth Logging

February 19, 2026October 8, 2022 by kaley

October 8, 2022 — Today, a “kayaktivist” flotilla of over 100 concerned community members rallied on the McKenzie River to protest an old-growth logging sale in the Willamette National Forest. The Flat Country project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service, targets over 2,000 acres of old-growth and mature forests for logging across the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The agency could auction the old growth to be cut at any moment. Attendees held up signs from boats and kayaks, and unfurled a large banner declaring “Forest Defense is Watershed Defense”, to draw attention to the logging sale’s impact on downstream drinking water.

Press Release: Mature and old-growth logging sale undermines Biden climate policy; threatens McKenzie River, habitat

February 19, 2026August 2, 2022 by kaley

August 2, 2022 — Today, old-growth forest and wildlife advocates provided the U.S. Forest Service the means to reconsider the pending Trump-era “Flat Country” timber sale in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest. The vast majority of the proposed logging would be in mature and old-growth forests, with over 1,000 acres of clearcutting, even though President Biden this year ordered his administration to prioritize conserving these forests as a crucial climate protection.

Press Release: Sensitive Wildlife Habitat and Drinking Water Supply Protected Above McKenzie

August 1, 2025March 27, 2013 by Josh

March 27, 2013 — United States District Court Judge Anne Aiken has found that the United States Forest Service broke the law in seeking to carry out the
controversial Goose logging sale near McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, without a detailed analysis of potential environmental damage. This logging sale has drawn intense opposition from local residents and landowners concerned about harm to wildlife and nearby streams. Represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, the conservation organizations Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands filed a legal challenge against the planned logging in 2012.

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