An Update from Your Friends at DRA

What a challenging spring we are having. It seems as though everything around us is in some sort of upheaval.In is hard to believe that a few short months ago we were hosting our best auction to date. We want to express our most sincere thanks to everyone who participated in what was an incredible and fun day. As we all know, so much has changed since then.One of the strengths of the DRA is our ability to be nimble and adapt. We are doing just that while continuing to fulfil our mission. Like many we are adapting to a new work world of social distancing and telecommuting. Everyone at the DRA has demonstrated a high degree of flexibility in how we work and that has allowed us to continue on our path of doing both scientific and legal work and our advocacy for the Deschutes River Basin. We, like many of you, are now making Zoom a method to meet and get things done. We have agreed as a group to always wear pants when using Zoom.Meanwhile our work has continued. In the coming months, we will be publishing three science reports covering the water quality in both the lower Deschutes and Crooked River and our annual lower Deschutes River Aquatic Insect Hatch Report.Our water quality instruments have been deployed in the lower Deschutes River and in the Crooked River, thus allowing us to continue to be the much-needed watchdogs of the basin.Our Legal Team has been hard at work moving forward with our case in Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We will be submitting briefs to the Appeals Court in a few weeks. PGE and CTWS have appealed the decisions we won in District Court. Once again, we will be fighting to defend the right of U.S. citizens to enforce the Clean Water Act.Times of challenge can make you more appreciative of being a highly efficient organization able to maximize work product with relatively limited resources. Our culture has made adapting to these new times somewhat easier.We really appreciate each and every one of you. So please, be safe and be well.If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.