KWSO News 07/08/26

WSTC Approves Feasibility Study for Mt. Hood Rest Area Relocation 

Through ongoing coordination with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, local, county, state, and federal agencies, and the Oregon Travel Information Council (OTIC), as well planning partners, have been considering the relocation of the Mt. Hood/Government Camp Rest Area farther south and east on Highway 26.

So far, two areas of interest were identified on Mt. Hood National Forest along Highway 26 southeast of the mountain, including one near the Warm Springs Reservation. No final decision has ben made yet about the rest area’s newest location.

CTWS Tribal Council met with planning teams and passed a unanimous resolution to explore the feasibility of this new Highway 26 rest area on Warm Springs. It was considered in favor of the possibility that it’d serve the reservation’s best interests in the following:

• Improve local traffic safety
• Provide a designated place to dispose of trash for travelers
• Address public urination that occurs along the highway
• Support local small business development in the long term

Tribal members can expect to see tribal and other specialists examining areas along Highway 26 on the Warm Springs Reservation during the 2027 field season.

Recall Election for Madras Aquatic Recreation Center

The Recall Election for 4 of the 5 board seats for the Madras Aquatic Recreation Center (MACRD) is set for August 4th.

The Jefferson County Clerk website says that the last day to register or update registration to vote in the recall election is July 14th, and ballots will be going out the next day.

Deadline to vote is 8:00 PM on August 4th, and ballots postmarked by election day will be counted if it is received up to seven days late.

Major Cuts to Oregon Health Plan

Big cuts are coming to the Oregon Health Plan – the state’s free healthcare program that covers 1.4 million children and low-income adults.

An advisory group to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek presented many options for how to fill the programs budget gap of $421 million dollars. That budget hole is the result of Congress passing the biggest federal funding cuts in the history of the Medicaid program.

Cutting $421 million dollars will likely result in limiting insurance coverage for some state programs, like adult dental and/or behavioral health.

Tina Kotek’s advisor’s are also considering more broader cuts, such as a 2% drop in all payments to Medicaid contractors. But advisros say that it could lead to some providers to stop seeing patients on Medicaid.

Fewer sockeye are returning to Upper Columbia

Fewer sockeye are returning to the Upper Columbia than previously expected, and it is the reason why Washington isn’t allowing sockeye fishing this season.

Washington had closed its hatchery to protect the salmon as Fishery managers said that they were shocked so few sockeye had swam past the Bonneville Dam since June.

Around 275,000 sockeye were estimated to return to their spawning grounds, but it’s closer to 80,000.

Chad Jackson is a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. He says sockeye naturally have booms and bursts, but with this recent report of fewer fish?

“The concern is what’s gonna get back to the spawning grounds and what kind of juveniles are they going to produce in the future that will result in a future adult run back.”

Jackson thinks either too fish spawned four years ago, or that their young had to compete for food and didn’t get to make it to the ocean. For now though, it’ll take time before what happened is truly understood.

Economy and Production Costs Devastating Northwest Pear Industry

Lots of pear farmers in the Northwest say they’re about to get into some deep debt, or getting out of the business. This is concerning as it is given that 87% of all fresh U.S. pears come from the Northwest as according to the Bureau Northwest.

Governor Tina Kotek sent out a recent letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, requesting a federal disaster designation and market relief for Columbia Gorge pear growers.

Lesley Tamura is one of many pear growers near Hood River, Oregon. She’s grown pears just like her family has. Her orchards are settled between the Columbia River and Mount Hood. But like many pear growers throughout Oregon and Washington, Tamura is going into debt.

“All day everyday, everything that I’m trying to do, I have that feeling that I just can not get rid of, that I may not be in this much longer.”

Tamura says consolidation in supermarkets drive down farmers’ prices, and that cost of labor, diesel, propane, and fertilizer are also pressing margins.

Bonneville Power Administration Planning to cut Hatchery Salmon Program

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is planning to cut funding for a program that raises millions of hatchery salmon.

For more than 30 years, the BPA has helped fund the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement Program. It supports the hatcheries that provide much of the annual catch for Oregon’s recreational and commercial fisheries.

However, the federal agency says this program isn’t making enough progress in improving fish populations – that includes endangered salmon – now it plans to pull more than $2 million it provides each year.

But a bipartisian group of Oregon coast lawmakers say the move could place the program and millions of hatchery fish at risk.

The BPA says it puts more than $300 million toward work to support fish populations across the Columbia River Basin.

The agency did not return a request for comment.

KWSO Forecast

Tonight: Mostly clear with a low around the 50s.

Tomorrow: Sunny with a high near the 90s.