of discussion

Gazette-Times

The Corvallis Environmental Center and Institute for Water and Watersheds is inviting the public to a "State of the Willamette" river panel discussion 7 p.m. Thursday at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave.

Todd Jarvis, the associate director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds, is expected to moderate. Panelists include Travis Williams, the executive director of Willamette Riverkeepers; Mark Taratoot, the water resources specialist for the City of Corvallis Public Works Department; Mindy Simmons, the Willamette program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Jared Rubin, Willamette Basin coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Karen Hans, a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife specializing in salmon and trout enhancement.

This panel is presented in conjunction with the Willamette River Water Quality map, which provides access to a wealth of information about water issues in the Willamette River basin, which is is home to more than two out of every three Oregonians. A joint project of the Institute for Water and Watersheds and the Corvallis Environmental Center, the map is available online at http://water.oregonstate.edu/projects/willwq.htm. Printed copies are available for $10 and can be purchased from the OSU Bookstore or by contacting the Corvallis Environmental Center, 541-753-9211 or sending e-mail to info@corvallisenvironmen

talcenter.org.

"If people want to know where their garbage ends up, what water quality issues we face or the effect of dams on streams, they will find it in this map," said Jarvis "This is basically part of a public awareness campaign, an effort to help inform the public about the importance of water quality in our lives and what they should know about it."