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Oregon History: Chronology - 1952 to Present
| 1952 | Constitution amended to provide for equal representation in state legislature |
| 1954 | Congress terminates Western Oregon Indian tribes |
| 1956 | Congress authorizes Interstate freeway system |
| Congress terminates Klamath Indian Tribe | |
| 1960 | Census enumerates 1,768,687 residents |
| Congress passes Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act passes for management of national forests | |
| First woman Oregon U.S. Senator, Maurine Neuberger, elected | |
| 1962 | Columbus Day Storm causes major damage in Western Oregon |
| 1964 | Death penalty abolished |
| 1966 | Workmen complete Astoria-Megler Bridge spanning Columbia estuary |
| Interstate-Five affords non-stop driving through Oregon | |
| 1969 | Department of Environmental Quality created |
| Federal District Court in Sohappy v. Smith affirms Indian treaty fishing rights in Columbia River | |
| 1970 | Census enumerates 2,091,000 residents |
| 1971 | Bottle Bill approved |
| Congress confirms Burns Paiute Reservation | |
| 1973 | Land Conservation Development Commission created |
| Public Meetings Law approved | |
| Public Records Law approved | |
| Tillamook State Forest created | |
| Congress approves Endangered Species Act | |
| 1974 | Congress creates John Day Fossil Beds National Monument |
| Oregon Health Sciences University forms out of mergers | |
| Governor Tom McCall sets odd/even gasoline refueling days | |
| 1975 | Congress creates Hells Canyon National Recreation Area |
| First woman, Norma Paulus, elected secretary of state | |
| 1977 | Aerosol sprays banned by law |
| Congress restores Confederated Tribes of Siletz | |
| First woman, Betty Roberts, appointed to Oregon Court of Appeals | |
| 1978 | Death penalty reinstated |
| 1979 | Federal District Court in Kimball v. Callahan affirms Klamath Indian hunting and fishing rights within former reservation |
| 1980 | Census enumerates 2,633,000 residents |
| Congress creates new Siletz Reservation | |
| Mt. St. Helens eruption disrupts ship traffic on Columbia River | |
| 1981 | Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh establishes Rajneeshpuram |
| 1982 | Congress restores Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians |
| First woman, Betty Roberts, appointed justice of Oregon Supreme Court | |
| 1983 | Congress restores Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Indian Community |
| 1984 | Congress restores Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians |
| First Oregon lottery ratified by voters | |
| 1985 | Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh deported and fined $400,000 |
| First woman, Vera Katz, selected speaker of Oregon House | |
| 1986 | Congress restores Klamath Tribe |
| Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) begins light-rail service in Portland | |
| 1988 | Congress creates new Grand Ronde Reservation |
| Congress approves Civil Liberties Act paying $20,000 to each surviving interned Japanese-American | |
| 1989 | Congress restores Coquille Indian Tribe |
| First Sports Action Lottery in U.S. sells tickets | |
| 1990 | Census enumerates 2,842,000 residents |
| Ballot Measure 5 limits property taxes to support schools and government | |
| U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife lists Northern Spotted Owl | |
| 1991 | First woman, Barbara Roberts, elected governor |
| 1992 | First African-American, James A. Hill, Jr., elected to state office |
| First gaming compact signed with Cow Creek and of Umpqua Tribe of Indians for casino | |
| 1993 | First statewide vote-by-mail election held in U. S. |
| 1994 | First Death With Dignity Act approved permitting doctor-assisted suicide |
| 1996 | First vote-by-mail election for federal office held |
| 1998 | 1998—Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) extends light-rail service 18 miles west from Portland |
| 1999 | U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife lists several salmon species from Columbia and Willamette Rivers |
| 2000 | Census enumerates 3,421,399 residents |
| 2001 | Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) extends light-rail service to Portland Airport |
| 2002 | First Hispanic woman, Susan Castillo, elected to statewide office |
| Near record forest fire season leaves 1,000,000 acres burned | |
| 2003 | Oregon begins 10-year plan to fix deteriorating bridges |
| 2004 | Measure 37 casts doubt on the future of Oregon land use laws |
| Trojan, Oregon’s only nuclear power plant decommissioned | |
| L.L. Stub Stewart State Park opens, Oregon’s first new state park campground in more than 30 years | |
| 2005 | Oregon State Quarter released with design featuring Crater Lake |
| 2006 | Trojan, Oregon’s decommissioned nuclear power plant imploded |
| 2007 | Sandy River’s Marmot Dam, built in 1912, removed |
| Oregon’s constitution 150 years old | |
| 2008 | New Carissa, freighter that ran aground on Coos Bay beach in 1999, dismantled and removed |
| 2009 | Oregon unemployment rate tops 12% amid recession |
| Oregon celebrates its sesquicentennial on February 14, 2009 | |
| Portland Timbers became Major League Soccer's eighteenth team on March 20, 2009 | |
| 2010 | Governor’s panel predicts 10 years of state budget deficits |
| 2012 | Oregon legislature began annual sessions, with the even-numbered years having a month-long session in February |