Mining in the headwaters of the Smith River? Not on our watch!!

This photo shows the Nickel Mountain Mine near Riddle, Oregon. It was operated by Glenbrook Nickel and closed in 1998. However, while operating in the 1990's the Glenbrook smelter was often in the top three of the largest toxic polluters in Oregon. Nationwide, US EPA reports that the metal mining industry is by far the largest toxic polluter.

Outstanding National Resource Waters Designations Under Consideration

California and Oregon are initiating processes to consider designation of the Smith River as Outstanding National Resource Waters. The designations identify high quality waters of exceptional recreational or ecological significance. As an ONRW, such high quality water is managed to provide the greatest protection possible under the Clean Water Act. If approved, these designations will prevent strip mining in the North Fork Smith watershed.

The Oregon process has been initiated for the North Fork Smith River and all of its tributaries within Oregon. The California process would potentially designate some part of the Smith River and its tributaries within the boundaries of California. Please follow the links below for more information and stay tuned for Alerts from SRA and our partners re comment opportunities.

CA North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
OR Department of Environmental Quality

California has two ONRWs; Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake.

Salmon and River Science – Two Recent Reports

2014-2015 Salmonid Redd Abundance and Juvenile Salmonid Spatial Structure in the Smith River Basin, California and Oregon

This annual progress report summarizes the fourth year of data collection on salmonid populations in the Smith River basin...
Read more | Download Report

2015 Mill Creek LCM Station – Juvenile Coho Salmon Out-migrant Trapping Project, Smith River, California

This annual progress report describes out-migrant trapping data collected by Mill Creek Lifecycle Monitoring Station partners... 
Read more | Download Report

Smith River Clean-up highlights + appreciations

Cleaning up illegal dumping and trash around the watershed is a year-round job. Thanks to support from the Del Norte Resource Advisory Committee and over forty volunteers our fall 2015 clean-up recovered over one ton of trash. Special thanks to the HSU Natural Resources Club for their outstanding support.

Please send your name, email and telephone # with the subject "clean-up" to volunteer@smithriveralliance.org if you'd like to participate in future clean-up projects.

Sundance Kayak School recovers entrapment hazard

Scaffolding which was lost during a bridge construction project proved to be a much more difficult recovery project. Click below for the photos and story of the multi-part recovery and recycling effort. Special appreciation and thanks to Sundance Kayak School for directing the effort and for the help of SRA's Salmon Survey Team. Sundance is also one of SRA's River Guardians.

http://www.sundancekayak.com/river-conservation/smith-river-clean

Bay to Breakers + Supporting the Smith River!

Paul and Diane Ennis love the Smith River and they've linked that love with the 2016 zappos.com Bay to Breakers Footrace in San Francisco, CA on Sunday, May 15, 2016. Please click here to share in their inspiration and help raise $10,000 to protect and restore the Smith River: