WILLAMETTE BASIN VIDEOS

Beavers have long been punished by farmers because of their knack of flooding croplands and altering landscapes. But biologists are now trying to put those same skills to use on public lands -- for the benefit of salmon.

Life-threatening spinal deformities are appearing in large numbers of juvenile fish in a stretch of the Willamette River called the Newberg Pool. This portion of the river stretches from Newberg to Oregon City. Scientists are trying to unravel the mystery by studying both the fish and contaminants in the river

Following a disastrous food in 1996, the community of Hood River comes together to create an innovative fish screen design that’s turning out to be a win-win for all involved.

An 8 minute video created by the Pacific Northwest Ecosystem Research Consortium to illustrate past, present and possible future conditions in western Oregon. To do so, it focuses attention in the southern part of the Willamette Valley, at the northern edge of the Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area. The video presents this place to you as if you were looking out the window of a low-flying plane. Large version of video.

The Nature Conservancy has partnered with the US Army Corps of Engineers to establish more natural flows through dams operating in the Willamette Basin.

Salmon in the Willamette River are counted visually as they pass Willamette Falls on their way upstream to their spawning grounds. Scientists find that forty percent of those salmon don't make it all the way upstream. To find out why, they attach radio transmitters to a sampling of the salmon.

Pacific Northwest Ecosystem Research Consortium. From the PNW-ERC Datasets page, select 'Related data" then vizualizations.

A 39 minute silent film on water pollution taken in late 1930's and early 1940's on the Willamette River beginning near Springfield and ending in Portland. Side trips to the Pudding River and the South Santiam River are included. Shows tests concerning the length of time small fish can survive in the water and a chemical test.

There are some serious problems with the Willamette River's water quality. The river has been cleaned up considerably since the 1960s, when it was basically an open sewer, but more subtle problems persist.