Public Lands Management

More than half of the 3.3 million-acre Rogue watershed is managed by the federal government—either the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. How public forests are managed has a huge impact on streams and rivers. Historic logging operations destroyed riparian forests, which perform critical functions for stream health including shading creeks to keep temperatures cool for salmon.

Current logging operations on public lands have more safeguards to protect aquatic resources, but these activities can still harm water resources if not designed or implemented correctly. An extensive logging road system that federal agencies do not have the budget to maintain dumps tons of sediment into salmon-bearing streams every year. With the increase in gold prices, we have seen an increase in mining proposals on public lands, which have significant impacts on streams and fish.