Upper Bitterlick Creek

The Rogue Basin Coordinating Council (RBCC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, formed in 1999. Its membership is comprised of the eight voluntary watershed councils each representing a sub-basin which make up the four million acre Rogue River Basin.  The eight RBCC member councils are:  Applegate W.C., Bear Creek W.C., Illinois Valley W.C., Little Butte Creek W.C., Lower Rogue W.C., Middle Rogue W. Association, Seven Basins W.C., Upper Rogue W. Association.  The mission of the RBCC is to help “promote the success of member councils in watershed protection and restoration, encouraging activities that transcend individual watershed boundaries.”  The RBCC’s  strategy to accomplish this mission has been threefold.

First, the RBCC serves as a forum for information exchange and activity coordination among the member councils and federal, state, and local natural resources agencies at its monthly meetings (in 2009 meetings will be every other month).  RBCC members periodically give presentations on its accomplishments and ongoing activities at regional and statewide gatherings.

Second,  RBCC has sponsored, since 1999, a working group comprised of agency and resource professionals and watershed council membership whose first task was to develop a strategic plan and a prioritized list of all man-made fish passage barriers in the Rogue Basin.  This initial work was funded partially by a grant from the River Network, who later recognized RBCC’s efforts with a Project of the Year award.  Utilizing this strategic plan the RBCC is able to provide, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, gratis engineering design to its member councils working on improving anadromous fish passage at some of the more than 1,000 identified barriers.  These projects are discussed, evaluated, and prioritized at interagency bi-monthly meetings organized by the RBCC.

Third, RBCC member councils participate in joint projects that transcend individual watershed boundaries.  Examples include macroinvertebrate sampling basin-wide with partner USEPA, stream ecology educational events for K-6 students, a multi-basin fish passage improvement project and facilitating the collection and organization of monitoring data with partners Oregon Water Resources Department and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The RBCC maintains a number of additional sub-committees, including a fundraising committee, a financial committee, a monitoring committee, and a strategic planning committee. 

The focus of watershed restoration efforts of most watershed councils have been on the stream corridor, and Rogue Basin councils are no exception.  Many councils were formed in response to state government efforts to improve conditions for Endangered Species Act-listed fish species, and to prevent future listings.  Councils serve as the foundation of the voluntary habitat improvement and protection portion of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds.  Councils are voluntary, independent organizations, composed of a variety of stakeholders, and many maintain a 501(c)3 status.  Oregon HB 2215 and HB 3441 serve as guidance for development, membership and recognition of watershed councils in Oregon.

The regional priority issues emerging from the strategic plan are high stream temperature, water quantity, fish passage barriers and lack of in-stream fish habitat.