{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/walden-merkley-get-bowman-dam-right", "Walden, Merkley get Bowman Dam right", "2014-12-13", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Walden, Merkley get Bowman Dam right \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSaturday, December 13, 2014\r\n\r\n\t\n\r\n\r\n\r\n  \r\n    By:\u00a0\r\n    The Bend Bulletin Editorial Board\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe designation of Bowman Dam near Prineville as \u201cwild and scenic\u201d reeked of nonsense. It earned its place in Valhalla as one of the worst jokes that the federal government has inflicted on Central Oregon.\r\nBut thanks to the efforts of Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the nonsense seems nearly over.\r\nCongress declared in 1988 that 17-plus miles of the Crooked River was \u201cwild and scenic.\u201d Development was prohibited.\r\nThen in 1993, someone drew a line right through the middle of Bowman Dam declaring that was the beginning of the wild-and-scenic stretch of the Crooked River. The dam was in essence declared wild and scenic.\r\nThat illogic didn\u2019t really matter until 2003. That\u2019s when an Idaho company proposed building a hydropower plant at the dam. It couldn\u2019t. Hydro power plant and wild and scenic do not mix.\r\nThe Bureau of Land Management talked about moving the boundary line. It never did.\r\nIt was not a simple fix for Congress, either. There are competing needs for the water behind Bowman Dam.\r\nIrrigators want certainty. The city of Prineville has concerns about its future water supply. Boaters and other recreational users worry about the levels in the reservoir. And there is also habitat for fish and wildlife to be considered.\r\nStriking the right balance between those competing interests took years. Earlier proposals struck the wrong balance by declaring release of \u201call remaining stored water quantities for the benefit of downstream fish and wildlife.\u201d The new compromise legislation passed by the House and Senate on Thursday does much better.\r\nPlease sign the bill, President Obama.\r\n\r\n \r\n           \r\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/walden-merkley-get-bowman-dam-right"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8086361233144999, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}