Snowpack in the Upper Deschutes-Crooked River Basin is slightly below average as March begins, but not so much as to cause concern for local irrigation districts.

Local governments will see nearly $2 million for water conservation, renewable energy and low-income families directed to Central Oregon through earmarks attached to a $410 billion spending bill.

Tickets are on sale in advance at www.flyfishingfilmtour.com. Each film has a very unique flavor and message and while all of them showcase incredible cinematography, each has their own blend of hilarious commentary, mesmerizing storytelling, and some of the largest and most impressive fish ever caught.

Local woodworker and puzzle maker Larry Pecenka, a habitat biologist for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been making puzzles in the shape of large fish to raise funds for the Deschutes River Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that works to restore stream flow and improve water quality in the Deschutes Basin.

Jim Noteboom, it’s safe to say, was one of the most personable lawyers in Central Oregon. While the bulk of his practice involved the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, that did not prevent him from being an involved citizen of Bend.

Friends and colleagues remembered Jim Noteboom on Monday as a man who was devoted to his work and loved a good laugh.

During the late fall and winter, the Upper Deschutes drops to a fraction of its natural size.

A little more of the riverbank along Mirror Pond and Deschutes River south of Bend might be showing in recent days, as water managers have started releasing less water from area reservoirs.

More state funds could help convert additional irrigation canals that crisscross Central Oregon from open ditches to enclosed pipes. The Bend-based Swalley Irrigation District could win a $1.4 million grant to finish piping five miles of its main canal at a Tuesday meeting of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board in Klamath Falls.

With a bluegrass band playing and the sun shining, hundreds of people gathered Saturday at McKay Park in Bend to kayak, canoe, play in the river or try a beer brewed for a local conservation group.