The Willamette River is one of the defining features of the Valley; a sinuous thread which binds us together and readily reveals our civilization's successes and failures.
Conversion of land for agriculture and urban development generally affects waterways by lowering summer flows, increasing stream temperatures, and increasing the amount of fine sediments, nutrients, and contaminants. These changes in habitat alter the types, abundance, and diversity of plants and animals that live in streams and rivers.
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