Letters to the editor are an easy way to voice your opinion to policy makers and to educate people in your community about the issues that are important to you. The letters section is one of the most frequently read segments of newspapers (and magazines). Below are the word limits and email addresses to submit letters to Oregon's major newspapers. Include you name, address and phone number (address and phone will not be printed)

Medford Mail Tribune - 200 words or less: letters@mailtribune.com

Grants Pass Daily Courier - 250 words or less: letters@thedailycourier.com

Eugene Register-Guard - 250 words or less: rgletters@guardnet.com

Oregonian - 150 words or less: letters@news.oregonian.com

Talking Points

1. Thank Senator Wyden and Representatives DeFazio for their leadership in introducing companion legislation in June 2009 to add 143 miles of Rogue tributaries to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

2. The value of protecting the Rogue wildlands is clearly a benefit to Oregon. Every year, thousands of people from around the world travel to this area to float the river and enjoy the extraordinary landscape, and in doing so contribute millions of dollars to the local economy.

3. The Zane Grey Roadless Area is the largest forested roadless area managed by the BLM in America. It is a unique national treasure that should be protected for future generations.

4. These Rogue tributaries help make the Rogue River the largest producer of salmon in Oregon.   The ocean-derived nutrients from the 100,000-plus anadromous fish that return to the Rogue annually help support one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the Pacific Coast.  These massive salmon and steelhead runs also provide the backbone for a sport and commercial fishing economy worth millions of dollars annually to the state of Oregon. The recent federal announcement declaring West Coast fisheries a disaster is another sounding alarm that we must protect intact river systems that support economically important and healthy salmon runs in Oregon.

5. The Zane Grey Roadless Area protects important tributaries to the Rogue River, safeguarding water quality and critical habitat needed for salmon and steelhead.

6. Together with the existing Wild Rogue Wilderness to the west, the area also serves as an important wildlife corridor, containing designated critical habitat for the northern spotted owl and providing habitat to dozens of other species, including bald eagles, black bear, river otters, and Roosevelt elk.   

7. Due to the ecological and economic importance of these wildlands and their suitability for Wilderness, urge Congress to take immediate action to protect 58,000 acres of the Wild Rogue as federally designated Wilderness and 143 miles of additional Wild and Scenic River miles.

8. Tell your personal story - why is the Rogue important to you? Why do you want future generations to experience a healthy and wild Rogue River?