Tag: Natural Resources and Rural Development

Merkley, Wyden, Walden Deliver Resources to Address Klamath Water Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with Representative Greg Walden (R-OR 2), today announced that resources for Klamath-area irrigators and tribes are included in the 2018 spending bill, providing some resources to help communities cope with imminent drought and ongoing water challenges. “As we look

Federal spending bill to tackle “fire borrowing”

A federal spending bill has a chance to solve one of wildland firefighting’s longstanding problems. The $1.3 trillion federal budget bill, approved after midnight Friday morning, includes a provision that sets aside around $20 billion over 10 years to create an emergency fund for wildfire prevention. Proponents, including Oregon’s two

Merkley, Wyden Secure Funding for Oregon’s Coastal Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced funding for critical priorities for Oregon’s coastal communities in the 2018 spending bill released yesterday. “I fought to make this bill really deliver for Oregon’s coastal communities, and it does,” Merkley said. “This funding supports core programs, from

Wyden, Merkley, Walden: Klamath Water Agreement is “Attainable”

Washington, D.C. – Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Greg Walden said today that a long-term water agreement in the Klamath Basin can be achieved with the continued help of the Interior Department. The three Oregon lawmakers said in their letter to Deputy Commissioner Alan Mikkelsen, senior advisor

Oregon Democrats Call for Extension to Public Comment Period on Off-Shore Drilling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05), along with Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Peter DeFazio (OR-04) sent a letter to the Department of the Interior calling for a 60-day extension of the public comment period for the 2019-2024

USFS: Mineral withdrawal to stay unchanged

The U.S. Forest Service has announced it will not revisit a mineral withdrawal hundreds of citizens in Curry and Del Norte counties fought for last year. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Rep. Peter DeFazio, introduced the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act in 2015 to protect

Senator focuses on offshore drilling, environment

“Just say No!” That is what Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon has fired back at members of the current administration along with his colleagues in the U.S. Senate over plans to allow drilling off the Oregon coast – and most of the United States. That is also his message to

Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio Preserve Southwestern Oregon Mineral Withdrawal

Washington, D.C. – Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio today announced that the U.S. Forest Service has told them it will not revisit a southwestern Oregon mineral withdrawal protecting more than 100,000 acres from development. That good news in a letter from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who oversees

Wyden, Merkley Push Zinke for Response to Five-Month-Old Sagebrush Request

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today asked the Interior Department for a positive response to their Sept. 22 letter urging approval for a program that has inmates produce sagebrush plants to help restore sage grouse habitat after fires.  Today’s letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke comes

Western Senators Press Interior Department on Zinke’s Efforts to Dismantle Plans to Manage Sage Grouse Habitat, Mitigate Climate Change Impacts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., today pressed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about the agency’s recent efforts to dismantle land management plans to protect sage grouse habitat and mitigate climate change

en_USEnglish