October 12, 2023 9:20 a.m.

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians has issued a statement regarding the $27.6 million lawsuit filed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife against the Winchester Water Control District for recent repairs on the Winchester Dam.

Communications and Marketing Director Lindsay Campman said the tribe is, “…expressing hope for justice for the estimated half a million dead Pacific lamprey in the North Umpqua River, and hope for improved regulations that will protect our native fish species from the devastation in the future”.

The release said, “Pacific lamprey are an important component of the cultural lifeways of the Cow Creek Umpqua people, who have been stewards of the North and South Umpqua rivers since time immemorial”.

Campman’s statement concluded by saying, “The Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe believes that protection of fish, lamprey and other native species to the area is of the utmost importance, and that impacts to those sensitive populations can have a wide range of harmful effects”.

On October 6th, the ODFW filed the lawsuit, saying it is one of the largest damages claims for the illegal killing of wildlife that has been filed in the state.

More information on the Winchester Dam repair project is linked: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/passage/winchester_dam_repair.asp