Willamette River Basin; temperature variance and agricultural nitrogen loading

Plan BThe greater Columbia River watershed has a prosperous area of diverse soil, along with beautiful streams and rivers. Specifically, the Willamette Valley River basin is home to one of the most agriculturally managed watershed systems in the United States. Portland itself has 600 dams in its watershed region, and the most utilized outdoor recreation in the nation. Historically, dams have been great contributing factors to the energy needs of the country, as well as allowing a sanctuary for human growth and expansion from heinous flooding, as well as allowing agricultural growth with managed watersheds. But at what point has the swinging pendulums of altering waterways into reservoirs for the needs of human profit swayed too far into the institutionalized destruction of aquatic and riparian ecosystems? Here, I review literature on this topic and provide recommendations for future actions and research lines