[4] Atkinson was elected from District 25, once again representing Jackson and Josephine counties in Southern Oregon.

[7] He finished third of the eight candidates, with 22% of the vote, behind the nominee, Ron Saxton, who garnered 43% and Kevin Mannix, who received 30%.

On July 29, 2008, while repairing a friend's bicycle, Atkinson was struck in the knee by a bullet fired from a loaded .38 caliber derringer pistol, which was in a small bag that he had taken off the bike and dropped on the floor.

Dams, agricultural runoff, and water diversions in the upper basin of the Klamath River have caused water quality issues, ongoing fish kills, and steep salmon population declines on the lower half of the river, with resulting conflict between salmon fishing communities including several Native American tribes on one side, and ranchers and farmers on the other.

[15] Unlike the prior settlement, this new agreement does not require support or funding from Congress, and is expected to lead to the removal of the four lower Klamath River dams in 2020.

[16] Although Atkinson was not part of the negotiations or a signatory to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement,[12] he pushed strongly for Congress to endorse it.

In 2014, he produced and narrated a documentary film, A River Between Us,[17] describing the controversy and the peoples involved.