EWEB commits up to $750,000 to land trust hoping to manage 260 forested acres along McKenzie River

The Eugene Water & Electric Board voted unanimously Monday to commit up to $750,000 toward the restoration and future management of 260 forested acres along both sides of the McKenzie River that a local land trust is seeking to purchase.

EWEB commissioners said the funding to the McKenzie River Trust would be a wise investment as it protects water quality on the waterway — the utility’s sole source of drinking water — and potentially could help reduce its costs to secure a new operating license for its largest hydroelectric generation project farther upriver. Read more