bureau of reclamation

Oregon projects aimed at increasing water efficiency will receive $198,668 in federal funding.  The grants, announced last week by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, will help the Arnold Irrigation District in Bend, the Van Brimmer Ditch Company in Klamath Falls, and the West Extension Irrigation District in Morrow County.   “Reli...

On Friday, senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley pressed the Bureau of Reclamation to prioritize Oregon when it comes to drought relief.  A letter sent by the two lawmakers, said, in part, “we strongly urge the Bureau of Reclamation to provide critical funding to areas in Oregon that have been devastated by the historic, multi-year, extreme drought conditions."   ...

The Klamath Irrigation District in Southern Oregon plans to defy a U.S. government order issued last week for a halt to water deliveries to farmers in the drought-stricken basin.  The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manages the Klamath Project, which includes Klamath Irrigation District and serves 266 square miles of farmland around the Oregon-California border.  A ...

With the Crooked River at near record low levels, Central Oregon’s Prineville Reservoir is at just 28%, the lowest level ever recorded this time of year. The Bureau of Reclamation’s Christine Schuldheisz, said the reservoir filled to just 62% capacity last year, contributing to the current shortfall. “So, we’ ...

In an effort to help farmers and ranchers conserve water and build drought resilience in their communities, the USDA in investing $21 million on a variety of projects across the Pacific Northwest. The effort is part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) collaboration with the Department of Interior’s (DOI) WaterSMART Initiative. According to U ...

Last month, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced a reversal of a Trump Administration decision to relocate leadership of the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction, CO. Haaland said at the time, “the bureau must have the appropriate structure and resources to serve the American public.” Bu ...

On Thursday, Representative Dan Newhouse applauded the Bureau of Reclamation’s announcement that  three Central Washington irrigation district projects that have been selected to receive federal Small Scale Water Efficiency Grants. These grants, ...

Early next month, the Bureau of Reclamation will begin its annual “flip-flop” operation. The effort it intended to aid in successful spawning and incubation of chinook salmon eggs and to improve winter reservoir storage in the Yakima basin. This mean ...

Late last month, several federal agencies, including the Army Corp of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and BPA signed an Environmental Impact Statement keeping the four lower Snake River dams in place. Last week, several environmental groups announced plans to file a suit against the federal government saying not enough was being done to protect salmon and steelhead at risk by those dams ... Read

Earlier this week, several federal agencies signs the Environmental Impact Statement regarding management of the Columbia and Snake River systems. The draft EIS, which was released earlier this year, said removing the Snake River dams would destabilize the power grid and increase greenhouse emissions ...