The current moratorium provides temporary protection for wild salmon, clean water, and quiet recreation across the state. This moratorium was part of legislation passed in 2013 thanks to a champion for the Rogue, the late Senator Alan Bates. On January 2nd, 2016, a five-year moratorium went into place banning suction dredge mining on salmon bearing rivers and streams in Oregon. Why is long-term suction dredge reform important? Championed by the late Senator Alan Bates from southern Oregon, the bill takes a measured approach to protecting rivers and streams that are the most vulnerable to pollution from this mining practice. This bill is the result of many years of research and collaboration. Outside of these areas, suction dredge mining can occur under an approved permit from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Suction Dredge Reform bill protects Oregon’s rivers and the communities that rely on them by prohibiting suction dredge mining in essential salmonid habitat. What will the new suction dredge reform law do? The Oregon Senate passed the Suction Dredge Reform bill (SB 3-A Engrossed) by a bipartisan vote of 21-9 on April 10, 2017. On the Oregon House of Representatives passed the bill 38-20, also with bipartisan support. This type of hobby mining traps and kills young fish and eggs, smothers spawning gravel for salmon, and stirs up legacy mercury from historic mining operations.īipartisan Support for Suction Dredge Reform

Suction dredge mining is a type of recreational gold mining that is particularly concentrated on Oregon's Rogue and Umpqua Rivers. The new law permanently places rivers and streams that provide habitat for sensitive salmon and lamprey off limits from suction dredge mining.

On June 14, 2017, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a Suction Dredge Reform bill into law, after passing out of the Oregon Legislature with bipartisan support.

Modern dredge post ban