Water law

Vanport was the second largest “city” in Oregon prior to 1948.  Located within the Columbia River flood plain, the unofficial city housed thousands of war-time defense employees working primarily in the shipbuilding industry.  Its short-lived existence came to an end, however, in the spring of 1948 when uncharacterstic rain and warm weather caused widespread flooding […]

Congratulations to Finegan Farms, winner of the 2012 Agricultural Achievement award from the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce! Finegan Farms is one of Washington County’s most successful family farms, growing sweet corn, green beans, wheat and clover for export to markets around the world. Since the 1950’s Finegan Farms has been carefully passed down through the

This week Therese Ure, the managing attorney in our Reno office, is riding in the Reno Rodeo Cattle Drive. The horseback drive across northern Nevada’s high desert sagebrush country takes five days and covers about a hundred miles. Some folks may get mixed up and refer to the riders on the Reno Rodeo Cattle Drive

Each year there are significant updates in the field of water law. Schroeder Law Offices strives to keep the legal community and public up to date on any such changes. One of the ways Schroeder Law Offices does this is by drafting the “Updates in Oregon Water Law” chapter of the American Bar Association’s  publication

The Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division hosted meetings this month across Oregon discussing the Department’s agricultural water quality program. At the May 9th meeting, Lisa Hanson, Deputy Director, explained the current status of the water quality program, and sought input from attendees about how the Department can improve the program. Ms. Hanson explained

The Portland based conservation group, Oregon Wild, has filed suit against the Bureau of Reclamation alleging BOR has failed to adopt a Biological Opinion that will protect wild coho in the Little Butte Creek Basin. Oregon Wild alleges BOR was to provide the Biological Opinion by March 2010. Since 2003 Oregon Wild has sought changes

As many of you may know, Laura’s father William F. (Bill) Schroeder is an attorney and has been in the general practice of law with an emphasis in speaking, writing, and litigating public land, water, and natural resource issues in the Western United States since before 1960. Mr. Schroeder is rated among his legal peers

We are very pleased to announce that Jerry Erstrom of Vale, Oregon was granted the 2011 Watsave Award by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) for his work on the Willow Creek Piping Project. The Watsave Award includes a stipend of $2,000. The Willow Creek Piping Project addresses 35,000 acres within the Willow

On December 22, 2011, Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy (“IWRS”) Discussion Draft was distributed to the public for review and comment. The Discussion Draft’s purpose is to understand Oregon’s water needs and to articulate a strategy to meet those needs in the future. As outlined in Section 42 of House Bill 3369 (2009), the Oregon

On January 20, 2012 the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) issued a news release entitled “USDA Invites Applications for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects.” The news release announced that the USDA is seeking applications for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding for such projects is available through the 2008 Farm Bill. The

Revised Statute 2477 was passed by Congress in 1866 and provided an open-ended grant of “the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses.” Commonly called “R.S. 2477,” the statute facilitated most of the transportation routes of the West and remained in effect for 110 years. During

Each year, Schroeder Law Offices contributes to the American Bar Association’s Year in Review publication by drafting an update to the Oregon water law section. Schroeder Law Offices’ summary of the most significant updates in the field of Oregon Water Law during the year 2011 has been posted to the firm’s website. You can read