WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) announced Thursday the Bureau of Land Management finally plans to implement his Crooked River Collaborative Water Security and Jobs Act. The law moves the boundary line for the Crooked River Wild and Scenic Area and was unanimously approved by Congress in 2014, following three years of efforts.
"It means jobs for Crook County, which has very high unemployment and a high poverty rate," Walden said in 2014. "It means better water quality for fish because we change a designation on a dam that will allow the water to come out in a better way; by adding hydro, renewable hydropower can be generated off of this dam." According to Walden, moving the scenic boundary a quarter mile downstream from Bowman Dam also will provide more water for the city of Prineville.
In January, he wrote to the Director of the BLM, expressing his concern over the delay in implementation, saying he was “very disappointed” that it was taking so long for the agency to act.
Photo: Walden explains his Crooked River legislation on the House Floor in 2014.
