Complex problems require multiple and coordinated approaches

As Willamette River Keepers' Travis Williams writes in Sunday's Oregonian, "in order to make the Willamette function more naturally and to make it cleaner, multiple actions, involving a variety of approaches, must be taken." These include the restoration efforts outlined in Whitworth's recent article.

Additionally, Williams observes that "Given enough teamwork, patience and persistence, we can help create a healthy, naturally functioning and clean river for people and wildlife." I appreciate this positive attitude. David Charlton, Tom McCall, Ed Averill, William Joy Smith, and many other clean streams advocates held this same view as they worked toward alleviating Willamette River pollution beginning in the 1920s.

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