Stream Smart is an educational campaign designed to increase awareness about the choices we make and how they might impact local streams and rivers including Bear Creek and the Rogue River. It also serves a resource for region to highlight what local communities and organizations are doing to protect and improve water quality and restore riparian areas. There are also resources and contacts for the community to learn more about what is being done and provide guidance for how to implement Stream Smart choices at home or in the community. The program also features opportunities to get involved in your community through volunteer opportunities, workshops, and events. Anyone can make Stream Smart choices at home to help. It can be as simple as picking up after your pet, or more complex by creating walk ways and driveways with porous materials (materials that allow water to drain through), or by planting native trees by streams and rivers to provide shade and cool the water. All of these actions work to help reduce water pollution and improve water quality conditions. By providing information and tools that individuals need to make Stream Smart choices, we help to empower everyone to do their part.
How has this program expanded since 2011?
The Stream Smart program has grown from a Bear Creek focus to a Rogue Basin-wide campaign. The program now includes communities, agencies, and organizations from across the watershed. The partners are working on consistent messaging across the Rogue River Basin, expanding programs to cover more communities, building on successes, and coordinating local efforts with larger efforts across the state, region, and nationally. Annual campaigns and focus areas help highlight our activities and priorities. Major programs that are conducted annually include Salmon Watch, and the Bear Creek and Rogue Clean-ups.
The program continues to be supported by local communities that provide funding through their Clean Water Act Programs and also staff the Advisory Committee.
