PHOTO: In March 2025 the streamgage on the Williamson River Near Klamath Agency, Oregon recorded significant flow for the first time since March 2020. The aluminum cylinder on the right houses the gage equipment. View the data page. (Credit: USGS ORWSC)
Announcements
May Science Seminar and End-of-Year Networking: Join us on Thursday, May 15 at PSU Urban Center’s Parson’s Gallery (Room 212) for the last UPP Science Seminar of the year and networking event. Liam Schenk, a USGS Science Advisor, will be presenting his work on the Klamath Dams from 3:30 - 4:30 pm. Afterwards, attendees can head up to the Urban Center terrace for food, drinks, and great conversations. RSVP today and share with your networks!
Missed the previous bulletin? Check out the UPP blog to catch up on recent publications from our affiliates and water news in Oregon. Read the February bulletin!
Heejun Chang receives Outstanding Service Award: Heejun Chang, Geography faculty and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in CLAS, received a 2025 Outstanding Service Award from the Spatial Analysis and Modeling Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. Congrats, Heejun!
Partner Publications
Elise Granek (PSU) and Max Nielsen-Pincus (PSU) contributed to the paper “Perceptions about potential microplastic interventions: a study on knowledge, concerns, and willingness to pay.” Microplastics are a growing pollution problem, and washing machine filters could help stop some of them from getting into waterways. Elise, Max and other researchers asked Oregon voters and environmental groups what they know about microplastics and whether they’d be willing to pay for these filters. Fewer than 25% said they’d pay full price, but more people were interested if the cost was partly covered by the government. These insights can help guide programs aimed at encouraging early adopters and shaping policy solutions.
Kelly Gleason (PSU) contributed to the paper “Latitudinal gradients of snow contamination in the Rocky Mountains associated with anthropogenic sources.” This study looked at snow collected in 2018 from 49 sites in the Rocky Mountains to understand how clean it is and where pollution might be coming from. They found that natural dust plays a big role in the southern Rockies, while metals linked to pollution, such as mercury, cadmium, zinc, and antimony, were more common in the northern Rockies. In the north, anthropogenic activities like mining and smelting are likely sources of the pollution, which aligned with other long-term data and weather patterns, suggesting these pollution sources have been consistent over time.
Water News in Oregon
The Pacific Northwest's iconic rivers, long shaped by dams, are now seeing significant changes as some major dams are being removed. The latest episode of OPB Politics Now explores the politics and implications of this shift. Listen now! After decades of conflict over water and environmental degradation, farmers and Indigenous tribes in the Klamath Basin are now cautiously working together to restore salmon habitat following the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. Four major dams on the Klamath River have been taken down, reopening over 400 miles of habitat to migrating salmon for the first time in over a century. However, two dams, Keno and Link River, still block the upper reaches of the river in Southern Oregon, limiting fish passage and exacerbating long-standing water conflicts between agriculture and tribes. While hatchery spring chinook have been reintroduced, the surrounding landscape, which is dominated by farms and suffering from chronic drought and pollution, poses ongoing threats to salmon survival. Tribes and farmers now see fish recovery as essential to the region’s future, but tribal leaders emphasize that without further dam removals and serious investment in water quality and habitat restoration, salmon may still struggle to return home.
On April 8, Oregon’s House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment advanced HB 3932, a groundbreaking bill that would prohibit the killing of beavers on public lands in impaired watersheds, aiming to improve water quality and ecological health. Sponsored by Representative Marsh and a bipartisan group of legislators, this bill represents a historic effort to protect beavers for their vital role in ecosystem restoration. Beaver dams naturally enhance water quality, reduce stream temperatures, store water, prevent flooding, and create critical habitat for wildlife. If passed, Oregon could lead the nation in beaver-based conservation policy.