Drought and Water

April and May combined for the 4th wettest on record for Oregon.  But that doesn’t mean the region is done with drought.  Dr. Joe Casola, NOAA’s Western Regional Climate Services Director, said all of that moisture helped. “Streams had a lot of ...

It’s a new group of ag organizations, with a goal of tackling drought concerns threatening both livelihoods and potentially the food supply.  The newly formed Oregon Agricultural Water Alliance include the Oregon Farm Bureau, the state Cattleman’s Association, Dairy Farmers Association, Water Resources Congress, as well as the Oregon Association of Nurseries.  The OAN’s Jeff Ston...

Oregon’s U.S. Senators are praising plans by the Biden Administration to increase federal wildland firefighter pay to a minimum of 15 dollars an hour.  The President is also establishing a wildland firefighter health and wellbeing program. Senato...

According to the latest Drought Monitor Numbers, over half of Oregon is designated as severe, extreme or exceptional drought.  Farmers and ranchers in many portions of the state are already worried they won’t have enough water this growing season.  And some prod...

The cool, wet spring may have many across the Pacific Northwest feeling like this wildfire season won’t be too bad.  But, firefighters remind you it only takes a few days of hot weather to dry out vegetation, making it susceptible to a fast moving fire. So, be...

Oregon’s senior Senator wants federal agencies to take a bigger step in improving the water situation in the west, amid ongoing drought. In Tuesday’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in Washington D.C., Senator Ron Wyden used Oregon as an example of the dire circumstances. “The su ...

Thanks to snow and rain this spring, the drought picture has improved noticeably in Washington. According to the latest USDA numbers, only 17% of the state is under a D-1, or Moderate Drought designation, which is roughly half of the figure reported last week ...

With temperatures warming up and kids soon out of school for another summer, area rivers and streams will become more popular in the coming weeks. Catherine Caruso, with the Forest Service, said many rivers across the Pacific Northwest have higher flows than normal for this time of year, thanks to recent rain ...

Irrigation water should not be an issue in the Yakima Basin, at least according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau’s June 2022 total water supply available forecast indicates the water supply will fully satisfy all senior and junior users this irrigation season. Rec ...

Producers in Central Oregon has an opportunity to participate in a weekend  camp focused on equipment and irrigation. Producers are encouraged to join Rogue Farm Corp (presented by Rogue Farm Corps) June 11th & 12th for this intensive weekend, with three stops at area farms vegetable focused farms of varying scales: Mahonia Gardens in Sisters, Sungrounded Farm in Terrebonne, and Boundless Far