Portland, OR – April 12, 2001 – On Tuesday, April 10 in Salem, over 90 key business, labor, agricultural and community leaders from throughout Oregon met to show their support for the proposed Columbia River Channel Deepening project. The project promises to retain successful maritime commerce for the region in an environmentally sound manner.

Participants at “Channel Day” received updates on the project from the Columbia River Channel Coalition, sponsoring ports, and business and labor leaders who support channel deepening. Those attending were also briefed on the status of the project’s reconsultation, which includes the independent scientific review process conducted on technical issues by Sustainable Ecosystems Inc. (SEI), a non-profit review panel. As a group, the participants met with legislative leaders from both parties, who expressed their commitment to the project. Channel Day participants then dispersed throughout the Capitol to meet individually with dozens of legislators and communicate their strong support for Channel Deepening and the state funding required for the project.

“The active participation in Channel Day underscores the strong, broad base of support across Oregon for this vital project,” said Dave Hunt, Executive Director of the Columbia River Channel Coalition. “Northwest businesses, farms, and workers need the economic benefits of channel deepening, which will only be completed when the project complies with all state and federal environmental regulations.”

Channel Deepening will maintain Oregon’s access to international trade, allowing the export of goods in vessels that deliver Oregon commodities all over the world. The project is being co-sponsored by the Oregon ports of Portland and St. Helens, and by the Washington ports of Vancouver, Woodland, Kalama and Longview. The project is designed to improve the deep-draft transportation of goods on the Columbia River navigation channel and to provide ecosystem restoration for fish and wildlife habitats.