The Oregon State Marine Board outlawed fast-moving jet boats on the Upper Rogue River after a long and contentious battle between anglers, environmental groups and commercial jet boat drivers.

The decision, made at a meeting Jan. 23, limits motorboats to an engine of 15 horsepower or lower on the popular upper river above Dodge Bridge County Park and Rogue River tributaries, between Fishers Ferry County Park and William L. Jess Dam at Lost Creek Reservoir.

The move effectively bans charter jet boat trips upstream of Table Rock Road, which has been a source of controversy for years.

Rogue Jet Boat Adventures, which has operated tours in the area, told the Rogue Valley Times they are “concerned about the decisions limiting access to a section of the river that provides invaluable opportunities for school groups, veterans, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities — people who otherwise may not have the chance to experience this area of natural beauty and educational significance,” owner Taylor Grimes told the newspaper.

Grimes can still operate jet boat tours at lower segments of the river.

Environmental groups and anglers who said the jet boats degraded protection, water quality and safety celebrated the decision.

“Rogue Riverkeeper believes this rule-making highlights the importance of protecting water quality and aquatic habitat and building policy resilience in the face of climate change as our environment faces changes in use as well as the impacts that climate change itself will bring,” the group wrote.

Oregon State Marine Board approves grants for boating facilities

At the same meeting, the OSMB approved a series of grants to fund boating access at various locations including:

• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pioneer Park West on the Klamath River. This project involves installing an accessible single-stall vault toilet, engineering services and sidewalks as part of a renovation project for improved river access. $180,000 in boating facility grant funds and $60,000 in waterway access grant funds to match $901,843 of applicant cash and pre-agreement match, for a total project cost of $1,141,843.
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Moonshine Falls on the Klamath River. Access road improvements to this new river access site will serve as a put-in location for the Big Bend run. The board approved $40,000 in waterway access grant funds to match $2,101,807 of applicant cash and pre-agreement match, for a total project cost of $2,141,807.
• Salmon Harbor West Basin boarding dock replacement on the Umpqua River. This project will replace the timber boarding docks with aluminum, which have an anticipated useful life of 25 years depending on use, weather conditions and maintenance. The board approved $270,000 in boating facility grant funds to match $90,000 of applicant cash, labor, equipment, materials, administration and pre-agreement match, for a total project cost of $360,000.
• U.S. Forest Service, Siuslaw National Forest, Sutton Boat Ramp and boarding dock replacement. Due to permitting delays, the USFS requested a grant extension to June 30, 2027. The board conditionally approved, subject to legislative approval of the agency’s 2025-27 budget, $449,496.43 from the 2025-27 boating facility grant funding to match $149,832.14 of applicant cash and administrative match, for a total project cost of $599,328.57.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

MOBILE, Ala. — The last time Jeff Bassa shared a field with Tyler Shough prior to this week, the Oregon linebacker was returning an interception for a touchdown to seal a win over the then-Texas Tech and former Ducks quarterback. The former, though albeit brief, teammates in January 2021 are among the former UO players reuniting during this week’s Senior Bowl.

“He was like, ‘You were the one that picked me off right?’” Bassa said. “I had to shoot it to him straight there. We relived that game, talking about that game as well as full circle thing right when I got to Oregon it was our first offseason workout, Tyler was the first guy to actually (introduce himself). Then the next day he ended up leaving entering the portal, but full circle moment to be going up against him this week.”

Shough, who completed his career at Louisville after spending 2019-20 at Oregon, and UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao are the two former Oregon players to also earn invites to this year’s all-star game. They had dinner earlier this week with former teammates Bassa and Terrance Ferguson as well as former Ducks who came to UO later, Dillon Gabriel, Josh Conerly Jr., Tez Johnson and Jamaree Caldwell.

“We have a little Oregon crew table that we were sitting and eating with just reminiscing about those days was pretty good,” Shough said. “I was one of the first guys to say what’s up with them in the weight room with Jeff and Moliki and Terrance. It was pretty crazy because I was used to seeing them when they were skinny freshmen and now they’re all big and they’re beasts.”

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A former four-star prospect and top 150 recruit for UO in 2019, Shough started for UO in 2020 and dealt with injuries for multiple seasons. He ended his career completing 62.7% of his passes for 3,195 yards with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions this season for the Cardinals this season, all career highs.

“It’s kind of freed me up these past couple of years going out there and having fun and letting it rip and playing free,” Shough said. “A lot of the stuff, freak injuries can happen and all those things but it’s how you respond. I’m really blessed with this opportunity.”

Oregon also got a win over Matavao, who spent the past two seasons at UCLA after two years at UO. He had 41 catches for 506 yards and two touchdowns this season, all career-bests.

Matavao was excited to share the field and meeting room with Ferguson again this week and line up against Bassa, his former roommate, in practice.

“We’ve all grown so much; we’ve all matured,” Matavao said. “It’s been fun seeing how good we’ve all gotten. … I was 100% confident in my abilities. I knew what I could do and that’s why I ended up moving on.

‘I loved it at Oregon but UCLA gave me the opportunity I needed to prove my skill set to everyone out here and that’s how I ended up here. I’ve always known I can do it, I just had to go somewhere I could show it.”

— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eric Dailey Jr. scored 21 points and shot 8 of 9 from the field, and UCLA led all the way in defeating No. 16 Oregon 78-52 on Thursday night for the Bruins’ fifth straight victory.

It was the Bruins’ fourth win over a ranked team this season, including a sweep of Oregon, a team they regularly dominated during the schools’ Pac-12 days.

Dylan Andrews and Tyler Bilodeau had 15 points each for the Bruins (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten).

Nate Bittle scored 13 points to lead the Ducks (16-5, 5-5), who lost their second in a row. Keeshawn Barthelemy added 12 points and TJ Bamba had 11 points.

Takeaways

Oregon: After trailing by 14 at halftime, the Ducks greatly improved their second-half shooting (50%). But they were just 4 of 23 from 3-point range overall and missed seven of eight shots over the final 20 minutes.

UCLA: Bilodeau returned after missing Monday’s victory at crosstown rival USC with a right ankle injury. He had six rebounds and four assists to help the Bruins improve to 9-1 at home.

Key moment

The Ducks closed within 10 points early in the second half before the Bruins took off on a 22-4 run that extended their lead to 72-44 and had UCLA fans hitting the exits. Dailey had 10 points, including a 3-pointer and fastbreak dunk, and Andrews 5 in the spurt.

Key stat

UCLA was 11 of 23 from 3-point range. Dailey made all three of his shots, while Andrews and Bilodeau also had three 3s each.

Up next

Oregon hosts Nebraska on Sunday. UCLA hosts No. 7 Michigan State on Tuesday.

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Beth Harris, The Associated Press