Friends,

SB 857 has passed at the Senate Rules Committee and this is NOT GOOD, so now it will go to the Senate for a VOTE! . They have 7 work session days before the vote!  That gives us a very short window to send a TON OF EMAILS!  I have emailed all of them with this petition, but additional emails are CRITICAL.  We need to get another round of emails sent to the Senators on the Rules Committee, moderate Democrats in the Senate, and House Rules Committee members as well. (See the email lists below). Thankfully we have heard that the more emails they get in opposition to these bills the more likely they will vote against them so please take some time to send emails in the next few days!  They have also suggested an -7 amendment, and the talking points on that are below as well. 

Please see draft below possible ideas of email to modify to make it your own or write your own heartfelt message. Please note that during a work session, there is not a segment for public testimony so emailing is our only opportunity for our voices to be heard. The email addresses for the Senate Rules, moderate Senate Democrats and House Rules members are below. Please make sure you do not include the email list in their emails to legislators. 

Below is also a letter we have submitted to the Senate that is from an ecological company stating they definitely need to do research before concluding that banks are eroded by waves of large boats!  See letter below!

Please continue to share with friends and hopefully we will get the attention of all of these Senators and help them to hear from us and remind them of their job to represent us and VOTE NO ON SB 857.  

Thanks to everyone for your support!!

Sincerely,

Jenny Wiepert

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO STOP SB 857!

SB 857 was passed in committee in the Senate Rules Committee on June 15 at 1:00 pm. We need your help to remind legislators that the House version of this bill already died with bipartisan opposition earlier this session and would negatively affect thousands of Oregonians who enjoy towed watersports with their families on the Willamette River.

Please help us let legislators on the Senate and House Rules Committees know that there is no need to rush policy through the legislature without giving all stakeholders a chance to provide
input. Talking points and a sample email are below:
Talking Points:
1) Oregon families have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into boating—decisions with a large financial impact on thousands of Oregonians should not be rushed!
2) The House version of the bill died with bipartisan opposition. These bills are not ready for the legislature and do not have support.
3) The boating community was not involved in discussions leading up to HB 2725 or SB 857. All stakeholders should have the opportunity to provide input on policy that affects them to create fair, long-term solutions.

Please see below for talking points about what the -7 amendments do. While the -7 is being described as a compromise, it goes farther than the original bill:

1) The weight increase from 4,000 lbs to 5,000 lbs barely changes the amount of boats allowed on that portion of the Willamette River. There are currently 443 towed-sports endorsement decals issued. Of those, 217 will still be banned under the 5,000 lbs limit—so roughly 50% of Oregonians with permits will still lose access and their investment. 

2) The Newberg Pool Congested Zone is also being expanded in the -7 amendment by 8.4 miles. The original bill lists the zone as from miles 30 to 50 and the -7 amendment would expand this zone to miles 26.6 to 55. 

3) The definition of wake surfing is being expanded in the -7 to include both paddleboards (which are not motorized) and hydrofoils. 

Sample E-mail: (please personalize and add your own reasons)

Dear Senator/Representative X,
I am writing to you today asking you to oppose SB 857— the House version of the bill (HB 2725) died with bipartisan opposition in committee. The boating community was not involved in discussions leading up to HB 2725 or SB 857. All stakeholders should have the opportunity to provide input on policy that affects them to create fair, long-term solutions.

I stand with over 4000 other Oregonians that oppose this bill, at www.change.org/willametteforall and we all ask you to VOTE NO ON SB 857 in order to allow access to this public waterway for all Oregonians. 

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Senate Rules
Sen. Rob Wagner - Sen.RobWagner@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Ginny Burdick - Sen.ginnyburdick@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. James Manning - Sen.jamesmanning@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Fred Girod - Sen.fredgirod@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Kim Thatcher - Sen.kimthatcher@oregonlegislature.gov

Moderate Senate Republicans
Sen. Betsy Johnson - Sen.betsyjohnson@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Floyd Prozanski - Sen.floydprozanski@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Lee Beyer - Sen.leebeyer@oregonlegislature.gov

House Rules
Rep. Barbara Smith Warner - Rep.barbarasmithwarner@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Christine Drazan - Rep.ChristineDrazan@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Paul Holvey - Rep.PaulHolvey@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Daniel Bonham - Rep.DanielBonham@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Julie Fahey - Rep.JulieFahey@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Andrea Salinas - Rep.AndreaSalinas@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Jack Zika - Rep.JackZika@oregonlegislature.gov

Letter already sent -

Ecological Engineering, LLC
Water Resources and Habitat Restoration Engineering

June 7, 2021
Chair Wagner, Vice-Chair Girod, and Members of the Committee,
Senate Bill 857 has been written to place new and significant restrictions on boating activity on the Willamette River within the Newberg Pool Congested Zone. Much of the basis for this legislation are the
unsupported claims that heavy and large wake-forming motorized watercraft are the primary cause of bank erosion within this reach of the river. It is imperative that the Senate table SB 857 until such time as
all affected parties can conduct the necessary site specific research and analysis that will provide a solid scientific foundation to support and justify the changes proposed. SB 857 should not be passed by the
Senate until it is certain that its decision is based on solid scientific evidence.
I toured a large portion of the Newberg Pool Congested Zone on June 4, 2021 to conduct a high level inspection of the river banks within the Zone. Some areas of the river in this reach contain significant
residential development that extends down the bank well below the ordinary high water line. Human activities below ordinary high water include dock construction and vegetation clearing. Some areas in this
reach of the river are in agricultural uses with no development and little or no erosion. However, during my tour I was able to observe multiple instances of bank erosion and bank failures. The preponderance of the
erosion and bank failures appeared to be located in, and associated with, residential development.
The bank failures that extend to the top of the river bank may be the result of the placement of uncompacted fill material to facilitate residential lot development and/or the inadequate management of
stormwater runoff from the residential impervious surfaces. Failure to keep stormwater from saturating steep banks greatly increases the probability of bank failure. Other bank failures observed appeared to be
associated with poor riparian vegetation management by property owners. Riparian woody vegetation such as willows and dogwoods dissipate the erosive energy of waves and higher river flows and their roots help to stabilize the soil. Poor management of the riparian vegetation by riverside homeowners may be a primary contributing factor to the erosion and bank failure they are experiencing. Undeveloped areas with healthy riparian vegetation do not appear to be experiencing the erosion that the developed areas are.
A more proactive approach to resolving bank erosion within the Newberg Pool Congested Zone, rather than hastily passing SB 857, would be for the Senate to support a scientific evaluation of the existing bank conditions and their causes. If, for example, riverside homeowners stormwater and vegetation management practices are the leading cause of bank failures, a better remedy than SB 857 would be a bill
that supports a higher level of outreach to homeowners to provide education and technical assistance to enhance the stability of river banks throughout this reach. Enhanced river bank stability would also
provide higher quality habitat for threatened species of native fish. It would be a shame to unduly restrict boating on the river to reduce erosion if the real cause lies elsewhere. SB 857 should be tabled until it is supported by solid scientific evidence.
David Gorman, PE
Principal, Ecological Engineering