The Willamette River Valley
The Willamette River and its watershed basin are located in Northwest Oregon.   Its headwaters begin in the Cascade Mountains and flow approximately 140 miles until merging with the Columbia River. About 100 miles of the river flows through Willamette valley basin.   The river is situated in center of the 11,460 square mile Willamette Valley .   Its course through the Valley flows north through fertile agricultural land, numerous municipalities , including the state's largest cities, and past some six hundred industrial plants.  Thirteen major tributaries flow into the mainstream.  It is the tenth largest river in the United States based on its annual average discharge flow.    The river has been the centerpiece of development within the valley.  Approximately 70 percent of all Oregonians reside within the valley, and is the place of production for about 75 percent of Oregon's economy.

Growth and Pollution: State Actions to Restore the River
         Throughout this century the impact of population growth and economic development have had tremendous impacts on the health and integrity of the river.  Industrial and sanitation wastes were dumped directly into the river in early 1900's. Raw sewage from 20 communities, pulp and paper wood residues, chemicals, and food processing wastes were discharged into the river with little or no restrictions.

  By the mid-1930's Valley residents raised concern that the contamination was reducing the quality of the waters and the quality of life of its aquatic ecosystem.    Legislation to reduce and control river wastes had been enacted as early as 1938 . This legislation was placed on the November 1938 ballot, passing three to one; it was the first of its kind in the nation .  The degradation of the river became one of the largest factors involved in the changing attitudes towards the ways in which we live, work, and use the land throughout the Valley.
By the 1950's, the Willamette River was known to be one of the most polluted rivers in the nation.   Industrial chemical waste, agricultural pesticide runoff, and urban source point  and non-source point pollutants had continued throughout the century to heavily contaminate the river.  "The river was filled with raw sewage sludge and toxic industrial waste."   Aquatic species, riverside vegetation, and humans alike were suffering from the devastating effects of increasing pollution and outright neglect of the health of the river and basin ecosystem.

Again, 30 years later, the state government began to establish restrictions and goals to clean up the Willamette River. Whereas the previous strategy, since the 1938 legislation, had focused on the river's assimilative capacities and point source pollution? mostly city sewers and pipes from industrial waste; state officials and citizens began to focus on non-point source pollution-? animal wastes from farms, woody debris and resins from pulp mills, and urban run-off.   In 1966, the idea was first introduced into the legislative assembly to create a parks system along the river corridor  as one idea representative of this new focus.

The Willamette Greenway Proposal and
Willamette River Park System Act
By 1967, two things happened.  First, in March of 1967, ex-Governor Tom McCall, executed the issuance of Executive Order 67-2; Willamette Greenway Proposal .   This order recognized that clean up of the Willamette River need be the state's highest priority.  The goal was to establish a committee, which was the State Highway Commission, dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the Greenway along the Willamette River.  It states,
 It is further ordered and directed that the committee shall recommend the boundaries for the Willamette River Greenway, legislation and appropriations needed to carry out the purposes of the committee, and priorities and means for acquisition of undeveloped lands and easements through lands.

           The greenway corridor was seen as one solution to reduce our impact by creating a buffer zone between agricultural lands, industrial and urban development, and the river to better preserve its assimilative capacities and overall ecological health.   Secondly, this executive order was enacted into law through the passing, in June of 1967, of The Willamette River Park System Act.  Section 390.320 establishing the park system states,
  The Legislative Assembly in furtherance of the state policy established pursuant to ORS 390.010 recognizes and declares that, in order to protect and preserve for present and future generations of citizens the natural scenic and recreational value of the Willamette River, it is in the public interest to acquire and develop along the Willamette River a recreational system to be known as the Willamette River Park System.

 This Act was later revised into the Willamette Greenway Act, but its original intent of preserving the land along the Willamette River remained intact.

Greenways Lead the Way for Oregon's Land Use Planning
The preservation of the Greenway along the Willamette was actually one of the first steps in the formation of Oregon's land use planning.   "Citizens united to reduce pollution from cities and large industries, to manage and plan for growth in the valley, and to establish a "greenway" along the river."    The designation of the Greenway was a solid first step in land preservation towards establishing growth management planning policies for the Willamette Valley.

Senate Bill 10: Oregon's First Planning Standards
By 1969, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 10, which put forth 10 statewide planning standards.  It called upon each city to establish comprehensive land-use plans and that if they failed to comply by 1971 the state would intervene with its own statewide plans.  The bill accomplished little because of fundamental administrative flaws.  No money was allocated for the implementation process, nor was any agency established to implement the goals on a statewide level.   Despite the fact that such initial land-use planning legislative efforts were inadequate, it represented that Oregonians had come to the realization that land-use planning was a very necessary step to assure more comprehensive control on urban and rural growth to protect and preserve the natural environment in order to maintain current quality of life throughout the state.

The Scenic Waterways Act
          Civic efforts continued for the creation of new laws and new studies regarding the protection of Oregon's natural resources.  In 1970, citizens pushed for and voted in "The Scenic Waterways Act".  Within the Act it is stated,
 The people of Oregon find that many of the free-flowing rivers of Oregon and lands adjacent to such rivers possess outstanding scenic, fish, wildlife, geological, botanical, historic, archeological, and outdoor recreational values of present and future benefit to the public.

Project Foresight: Choices for the Future
In 1971, a group of state officials, planners, environmentalists and citizens created a project group called "Project Foresight" to analyze the problems of environmental degradation throughout the Willamette valley and other key resources in the state.  The results of this group were two fold.  First, statewide education on growth and growth management, and environmental conservation was fairly successful by the group.  They accomplished this task through town meetings around the state with slideshow presentations and review cards for citizens to participate in the educational processes.  Second in 1972, the results of Project Foresight were published in a review on the Willamette Valley.  Entitled, "Choices for the Future", the guide covered two scenarios of life in the Valley over a thirty -year period.  The report provided an analysis of two scenarios of the future.  The first scenario described the consequences of unplanned growth and non-conservation-oriented use of the valley's natural resources.  Increased traffic, massive losses in agricultural lands, and decreased quality of the Willamette River water quality, due in large part to urban sprawl, population growth, and unhindered economic growth, were a few of the predictions.  The second scenario described alternatives which included density design, or clustering in urban settings, reduced traffic, more localized economic development, effective city planning, natural resource conservation, pollution control standards and protection of the Willamette River by use of the Greenway corridor.

The point of the guide was to show that Oregonians have choices.  The authors felt that commitment to land use planning and land-use education offered viable solutions to maintaining the surrounding forest lands, retaining the Valley's fertile agricultural lands from urban growth consumption and continue to restore and protect the Willamette River and watershed.  Without such a system of integrated land use planning, the current growth patterns, the health of Oregonians and the integrity of the natural environment of the valley would be severely compromised.

Tom McCall's Senate Bill 100: Comprehensive Land Use Planning
Oregonians were essentially calling for a new land ethic.  This new ethic called for comprehensive  ideas that included citizen participation and detailed environmental policies.  The next, and most famous step, was the passing of Ex-Governor Tom McCall's Senate Bill 100.  This bill, now ORS Chapter 197 , began Oregon's system of statewide land use planning, known to this day to be one of the most comprehensive state planning processes in the nation. "In order to assure the highest possible level of livability in Oregon, it is necessary to provide for properly prepared and coordinated comprehensive plans for cities and counties, regional areas and the state as a whole."   SB 100, set out to resolve the deficiencies of SB 10.   It established the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD)  as the state's land-use agency, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) , a Joint Legislative Committee on Land Use , a State Citizen Advisory Committee , the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) , and  Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals .    The establishment of these bodies was to provide for a solid base of administrative, legislative, and citizen-based interaction to implement land use planning.   Previous to this bill, land use policy standards didn't exist at the state level.  Except for general zoning provisions, all decisions were made at the local and municipal levels.

Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals
After one year of lengthy review processes, the DLCD and the LCDC prepared and enacted Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals .  The land use planning goals consisted of nineteen goals(see insert), which are the fundamental standards for which all other state, county, and municipal land-use plans and policies need to comply with.   "The goals…constitute the framework for a statewide program of land-use planning.  They are state policies on land use, resource management, economic development, and citizen involvement." .   The LCDC's mission was to, "prescribe planning goals and objectives to be applied by state agencies, cities, counties and special districts throughout the state."    Thus, the LCDC, along with enacting the planning goals, has to acknowledge each and every plan of 241 cities and 36 counties, to make sure that they comply with the standards of the goals.   The main idea was to establish locally created planning policies for each municipal region and to have them connected to large statewide land use policies to ensure comprehensive planning.   "Oregon is thus not covered by one plan, but by a mosaic with 277 pieces".

Statewide Goals Relating to the Willamette River
A number of these goals were set up to institute protections and preservation mechanisms for the corridor along the Willamette River.  Goal 5: Open Spaces, Scenic and Historic Areas, and Natural Resources; Goal 6: Air, Water and Land Resources Quality; Goal 7: Areas Subject to Natural Disasters and Hazards; Goal 8: Recreational Needs; Goal 9: Economic Development; Goal 14: Urbanization; and most directly Goal 15: Willamette River Greenway.  Each one of these goals affects the preservation and/or growth along the river in different capacities.  For example, Goal 5 programs are to insure open space to conserve natural resources, protect water quality and encourage development of open space in urban areas .  Goal 6 states that programs should manage land conservation and development activities in a manner that accurately reflects the community's desires for a quality environment and healthy economy" .

Goal 15: Willamette River Greenway
          Goal 15's program mandates consideration of scenic qualities and views, the vegetative fringe, urges development away from the river, and requires a greenway setback.  The goal states that, "[d]evelopment shall be directed away from the river to the greatest possible degree;"  and the greenway setback is to be established to achieve the intent of the program(See insert).   The program authorizes the Department of Transportation to establish greenway boundaries, which all local and county plans need to comply with.

Citizen Participation: A fundamental element
            Another necessary function for local comprehensive planning to be effective in implementing these statewide goals was having citizen participation as a component of the planning process.  Goal 1, "Citizen Involvement" , established guidelines for the dissemination of technical information, allocation of processes and level of communication necessary for citizens to have current and correct information to be effective within the process throughout the state, at every local level.    This would be accomplished through the Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC), a state agency created from Senate Bill 100.  From the guidelines of the citizen involvement program it is interesting to note the role of educational institutions;
 Universities, community colleges, secondary and primary educational institutions and other agencies and institutions with interest in land-use planning should provide information on land-use education to citizens as well as develop and offer courses in land-use education which provide for a diversity of educational backgrounds in land-use planning.

           Furthermore, the benefits of offering information and education on land conservation are reciprocal.  Engaging the education system in land-use planning and implementation is a fundamental tool to create a more cohesive and participatory community, that would in return engage with an educated perspective into the planning process to improve their community.

The Oregon Land Use Story
              In January of 1974, Governor McCall authored, " The Oregon Land Use Story"  as an explanation of Oregon's Senate Bill 100 and land-use planning as a movement.  Tom McCall fostered a huge civic movement, which encouraged citizen engagement in local decision-making on city and county efforts to implement the state's planning goals. McCall viewed in retrospect the changing attitude of Oregonians in regard to preserving their valley's immense natural resources.  He reflected that,"A major goal--now realized-- was to return the polluted Willamette River to its former condition."

A Canary in the Coal Mine
The Willamette River was a definite focal point in preservation and restoration issues. The Willamette River, because of its constant use by rural and urban centers in the valley became the "canary in the coal mine".  The river became the judge on the quality of life in the valley.   Just as canaries were used by miners to judge the levels of toxins in the air of the mine shafts, the native vegetation, the fish, and the water of the Willamette became the judge of human urban and rural impacts? urban run-off, agricultural soil erosion and clear-cutting's soil erosion, increased the decline of the river's aquatic species and water quality.
Throughout the century, and moreso in latter half, Oregonians began to realize the detrimental impacts of uncontrolled urban and economic growth on the natural environment and responded with an environmentally-based land use planning program.

Within the Carrying Capacity
            A very important component of the planning goals, a statement of planning policy, regarding the specific plans of each goal's program, "such plans should not exceed the carrying capacity of such resources" .  The intentions to remain within the carrying capacity of resources implies a responsibility to the greater goal of Sustainability.  Caring for the Earth defines sustainable development as, "improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems."      "[C]arrying capacity is usually defined as the maximum population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a specified habitat without permanently impairing the productivity of that habitat."   Thus, all local and state agencies implementing land-use policies should give thorough review of the carrying capacity of the environment for major economic projects and controversial land-use issues.

It's Just the Beginning
The creation and implementation of a statewide land use planning program to maintain quality of life and the natural environment was an incredibly empowered response to urban sprawl and ecological degradation at the state level, nearly unprecedented in its time.   As with any new methods to better manage the natural environment, there are going to be missing pieces; there are going to be, as with Oregon's plans, fundamental questions never answered and perhaps never asked.

The Current Condition of the Willamette River
The Valley's economy has been primarily based in its diverse and abundant natural resources. Salmon, Steelhead and Trout fishing, clear cutting the conifer forests, intensive agricultural practices, and the river is showing many signs of deterioration from the economic exploitation of these natural resources over the past century.

The timber industry's method of clear-cutting in the Willamette Watershed have caused soil erosion, greatly raised the levels of turbidity, reducing spawning grounds for many salmon and native trout species.  Studies have shown that non-source point pollution is our greatest danger.  Pesticides and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) are exceeding the EPA's standards of safe drinking water.  Excess nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphorous from farming, are increasing nuisance plant growth and are killing the fish in the Willamette.  Dams and reservoirs, since their construction, have increased erosion in the Willamette River and its tributaries.  Unfortunately, our economy was, and still is, based in the use of these resources.  The main idea behind land-use planning was to create a system to balance the use of these resources, ultimately understanding that we, the people of this state, have to shift our lifestyles in ways that enable us to maintain the current quality of life for our future generations and for the environment we live within.

            As Governor Kitzhaber recently stated,
 The Willamette River Basin is an integral part of the "Oregon Mystique."  It is a very special part of our heritage.  It is bound up in our identity as Oregonians.  As such, it deserves every ounce of effort we can put forth to ensure that we transmit it as a fitting legacy for the future generations to come.

Governor Kitzhaber appointed the Willamette River Basin Task Force, which published their recommendations in 1997.  Their report identified three areas of concern regarding human health, seven areas of concern regarding ecosystem health, and four regarding Human Activities.   For each area, objectives and goals were established to improve management, reduce pollution and ultimately improve the quality of the Willamette Valley watershed.

American Heritage Rivers Program
             Furthering these efforts, President Bill Clinton nominated the Willamette River and thirteen other rivers across the nation for the American Heritage Rivers Program.  State agencies will receive federal assistance to carry out their plans to revitalize these rivers.  "The American Heritage Rivers initiative… recognizes and rewards voluntary and community-based efforts to restore and protect the environmental, economic, cultural and historic values of our rivers."

The Endangered Species Act
            The Willamette is now receiving other federal funds to improve its, continually deteriorating condition.  On March 16, 1999, the federal government announced the listing of nine salmon and steelhead runs, two of which are in Oregon, the Upper Willamette River spring chinook and the Upper Willamette River chinook, which spawns in the McKenzie- a major tributary of the Willamette River merging just north of Eugene.

           These are blatant signs that we have not met our goals, from all of our different policies, plans, and laws because the river's health is continuing to decline.   What more is needed for governments, institutions and individuals to realize that change is vital now.  We can not sustain quality of life for future generations or for current generations, unless we act now.  A very positive step is to preserve all undeveloped lands along the Willamette River; continuing to create the most effective Greenway possible.