Stream Smart: A Rogue Basin Clean Water Project is a community-wide education and action campaign aimed at improving water quality in the Rogue Basin’s streams and rivers.
It functions in two main ways:
- Education & Awareness – Helping people understand how everyday choices (like managing pet waste, designing paths with permeable materials, or planting native trees along waterways) affect local watershed health.
- Collaboration & Action – Bringing together counties, cities, agencies, schools, volunteers, and community groups in Jackson and Josephine counties to put those choices into practice.
The campaign’s Stream Smart actions—pet waste cleanup, permeable surfaces, native riparian planting, and more—are designed to reduce pollution and improve water quality, turning “streams from brown to blue.”
For 2025, the program’s accomplishments and upcoming activities include multiple large-scale volunteer events, educational programs, and ongoing projects, such as:
- Bear Creek Stewardship Days (April & September) – Hundreds of volunteers removing trash and invasive plants along the Bear Creek Greenway.
- Rogue River Clean-Up & Let’s Pull Together! – Targeted clean-up and invasive plant removal along the Rogue River.
- Park & Pull + Float at Whitehorse County Park – Hands-on weed removal of parrotfeather and water primrose paired with a river float.
- RAIN River Floats – Summer-long removal of aquatic invasives like parrotfeather and water primrose.
- Return of the Salmon Family Field Day – Engaging families in salmon ecology and watershed health.
- Rogue Basin Salmon Watch – Field trips teaching students about the salmon life cycle and habitat.
- Hybrid Salmon Watch/Release Field Trip – Combining in-stream salmon education with a live fish release.
Stream Smart is a mix of hands-on habitat restoration, trash and invasive weeds removal efforts, and public education aimed at keeping the Rogue Basin’s waterways clean, healthy, and vibrant.
