I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3574 
To continue the work to enhance access to the Willamette River that has 
been initiated by the Willamette River Basin communities, State, re-
gional, local, and Indian tribal governments and non-government partner-
ships, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 
Ms. HOOLEY (for herself, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. WU) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To continue the work to enhance access to the Willamette 
River that has been initiated by the Willamette River 
Basin communities, State, regional, local, and Indian 
tribal governments and non-government partnerships, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Willamette River United Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Purposes. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
Sec. 5. Grant authorization. 
Sec. 6. Private property protection and lack of regulatory effect. 
Sec. 7. Tribal Rights and Interests. 
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 9. Agency partnership authorization. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Willamette River basin has been inhab-
ited by humans for at least 12,000 years, providing 
natural resources for the cultural life-ways for the 
Native American tribes of the Willamette Valley, 
Euro-Americans, pioneers, and other citizens. The 
area has sustained a cultural history that predates 
the Ice Age Floods of Missoula, Montana. 
(2) The Willamette River Basin comprises al-
most 12,000 square miles, is home to almost 70 per-
cent of Oregon’s population, and generates approxi-
mately 75 percent of the economic activity of the 
State. 
(3) By 2050, an additional 1,700,000 people 
are expected to inhabit the Willamette River Basin, 
bringing the total population to approximately 
4,000,000. 
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(4) The Willamette River is the 13th largest 
river, based on stream flow and produces the most 
runoff for its land area of any river in the Conti-
nental United States. Thirteen major tributaries 
feed into the mainstem Willamette. 
(5) The river and surrounding tributaries are 
home to a wide variety of fish and wildlife. In par-
ticular, the river is part of a migratory route for a 
variety of anadromous fish and provides spawning 
grounds for coho salmon, lamprey, sturgeon, spring 
and fall run chinook, and steelhead and cutthrout 
trout. 
(6) The Willamette River is one of 14 rivers 
designated an American Heritage River in 1998. 
The American Heritage Rivers initiative is an inno-
vative response to help river communities that seek 
Federal assistance and other resources to meet 
tough challenges, without imposing new regulations 
on private property owners and businesses. 
(7) State, local, and tribal governments and 
local private for-profit and non-profit organizations 
have provided significant resources and technical as-
sistance to address natural resource and environ-
mental protection, economic revitalization, archae-
ological resource protection, and historic and cul-
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tural preservation through collaborative partner-
ships. 
(8) None of the accomplishments realized by 
the Willamette River through the American Heritage 
Rivers initiative could have occurred without the 
strong commitment of the Federal Government 
agencies to facilitate cooperative conservation actions 
that relate to use, enhancement, and enjoyment of 
natural resources, protection of the environment, or 
both, and that involve collaborative activity among 
Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, private 
for-profit and nonprofit institutions, other non-gov-
ernmental entities and individuals. 
(9) The natural resource federal agencies pro-
vide critical studies, analysis, technical assistance 
and expertise such that the scope of work that can 
be accomplished by local river communities is limited 
when these agencies are not adequately funded. 
(10) Despite continued population growth, on-
going cleanup efforts have resulted in improvement 
toward several measures of watershed health, but 
more must be done to restore the river’s long-term 
health. 
(11) Nature observation and sightseeing are 
among the fastest growing recreation activities in 
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the Willamette Basin, increasing by 254 percent and 
69 percent respectively, in the last 15 years. 
(12) The Willamette River is experiencing re-
newed investments of State, regional, and non-gov-
ernment funding to capitalize on this increasing in-
terest in the river from visitors and residents. 
(13) Such investments include a $227,400,000 
bond measure voters approved in 2006 to protect 
natural areas and lands near rivers and streams 
throughout the Portland metro region, safeguarding 
the quality of water while managing the impacts of 
growth and maintaining the area’s quality of life for 
future generations. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are: 
(1) To continue the work to enhance access to 
the Willamette River that has been initiated by the 
Willamette River Basin communities, State, re-
gional, local, and Indian tribal governments and 
non-government partnerships, and for other pur-
poses. 
(2) To assist the State of Oregon and the com-
munities of the Willamette River Basin in restoring, 
preserving, protecting, promoting, and interpreting 
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these historic, recreational, and natural resources for 
the benefit of the Nation. 
(3) To authorize partnerships among Federal 
agencies, State, local, and Indian tribal govern-
ments, local communities, conservation organiza-
tions, and other non-Federal entities to carry-out the 
above-mentioned purposes. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—The term 
‘‘Indian tribal governments’’ means the governing 
body of one or more of the following federally recog-
nized Indian tribes: 
(A) The Confederated Tribes of the Grand 
Ronde Community of Oregon. 
(B) The Confederated Tribes of the Siletz 
Indians. 
(C) The Confederated Tribes of the 
Umatilla Indian Reservation. 
(D) The Confederated Tribes of the Warm 
Springs Reservation of Oregon. 
(E) The Nez Perce Tribe. 
(F) The Yakama Indian Nation. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
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(3) WILLAMETTE RIVER.—The term ‘‘Willam-
ette River’’ means the approximately 187 miles from 
the headwaters at three separate forks, (Middle, 
North and Coast Forks in the mountains south and 
southeast of Eugene) at the southern end of the Wil-
lamette Valley to the confluence with the Columbia 
River at St. Helens (north of Portland). 
(4) WILLAMETTE
RIVER
TRIBUTARIES.—The 
term 
‘‘Willamette 
River 
Tributaries’’ 
includes 
Calapooia, Clackamas, Coast Fork Willamette, Long 
Tom, Luckiamute, McKenzie, Marys, Middle Fork 
Willamette, Molalla, Pudding, Santiam, Tualatin, 
and Yamhill rivers. 
(5) WILLAMETTE
RIVER
BASIN.—The term 
‘‘Willamette River Basin’’ means the area in which 
all surface water, approximately 11,000 miles of 
wetlands, creeks, streams, and rivers feed the Wil-
lamette River mainstem flows from its headwaters in 
the Cascades and Coast Range. 
(6) 
CONSERVATION
PROJECTS.—The 
term 
‘‘conservation projects’’ includes— 
(A) projects to restore and protect the nat-
ural hydrologic functions of the Willamette 
River Basin; 
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(B) projects to restore and protect habitat 
for aquatic, riparian, wetland, and upland flora 
and fauna; 
(C) acquisition from willing sellers of con-
servation easements or title to land; and 
(D) projects to restore and protect water 
quality. 
SEC. 5. GRANT AUTHORIZATION. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.— 
The Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements 
with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and 
the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to provide for 
those entities to administer the grant program authorized 
by this section. 
(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Grants under this section 
may be made for recreation, historic, archaeological, and 
cultural preservation or conservation projects that— 
(1) provide restroom, dock, and trash facilities 
along the river; 
(2) provide safety education; 
(3) provide bicycle, pedestrian, and water trail 
signs on Willamette River and signs to commercial 
districts off the river; 
(4) provide non-motorized craft acquisition for 
State agency enforcement and river education; 
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(5) design, plan, create, or complete bicycle, pe-
destrian, and water trails and bridges, recreation 
areas, parks, and conservation and wildlife reserves 
on and along the Willamette River and its tribu-
taries and enrich their experiences; 
(6) enhance recreation, conservation, interpreta-
tion, and tourism to draw people to the Willamette 
River; 
(7) employ improved technologies, innovative 
partnerships, wetlands creation, and other creative 
devices to reduce pollution; 
(8) restore, enhance, and protect water quality 
and watershed health and function through restora-
tion and improvements by watershed councils, con-
servation districts, special districts, private land 
owners, tribal governments, local governments, and 
non-profit and non-governmental organizations, in-
cluding research activities to better understand the 
ecosystem needs to restore fish and wildlife; 
(9) provide outreach and education to promote 
and foster resource stewardship and to build social 
capacity to sustain and support environmental im-
provements; 
(10) acquire, under priorities and eligibility con-
ditions of the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor 
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