Action Alert News

Action Alert: Stop the Giveaway of Mt. Hood Public Lands!

H.R. 655 seeks transfer of up to 150 acres of Mt. Hood National Forest to the city of The Dalles, Oregon for water reservoir expansion as Google’s data centers water demands grow. Google’s water use has grown dramatically since it opened its first data center in The Dalles in 2006. Google has 5 data centers in The Dalles, with a 6th expected to open in 2026. In 2024, Google consumed 1/3 of The Dalles’ water supply – that’s 434 million gallons of water. 

The Dalles gets 85% of its water from watersheds in Mt. Hood National Forest, which are public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. If H.R. 655 passes, The Dalles would be able to expand the reservoir without USFS oversight. In addition, this legislation allows these lands to be transferred to the city freely – without compensation to the federal government or public. 

Enlarging The Dalles’ reservoir would impact water supply and could be harmful to fish and wildlife. Snowmelt feeds the river and the water reservoir, and when the river has run dry in the past, the downstream Hood and Columbia Rivers received less cold mountain runoff to cool their waters. The result: warm water that makes it hard for aquatic life like coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead to breathe. Warm water can also lead to algal and bacterial blooms, which degrade water quality.

Take Action! Call your Senators and ask them to oppose this bill to protect Mt. Hood and our public lands!

Oregonians: call Senator Wyden at (202) 224-5244.
Not in Oregon? Find the contact information for your senator here.

Script  

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP]. 

I’m calling to urge [SEN NAME] to oppose H.R. 655, The Dalles Watershed Development Act. The free transfer of our public lands to a city – benefiting a major corporation and degrading our water quality and water supply – should be opposed. 

(Pick one or two) 

  1. Please prevent corporations from taking advantage of our rural communities and the finite natural resources they depend on. 
  2. Please help protect the public interest and our public lands and keep these lands as part of the national forest. 
  3. Please help protect our fish and wildlife populations impacted by the lack of a quality water supply. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.