This article was published on: 12/20/17 11:00 AM
There is a saying in our office that “restoration does not happen at a 21st century pace.”
In an immediate world of instant messages, short cuts and quick fixes, we are accustomed to being able to solve problems right away. When a problem is as complex as solving the flow issues in the Upper Deschutes, the time line for solutions, by necessity, must follow its own pace.
Over the past 21 years, the Deschutes River Conservancy has successfully restored streamflow to Whychus Creek, the Middle Deschutes, Tumalo Creek and the Crooked River through building relationships, forging agreements and creating win-win solutions for basin stakeholders.
With the help of our partners, we are now on the eve of the greatest change we hope to accomplish in our basin: fixing the Upper Deschutes River. It is our responsibility as a community to leave the Deschutes Basin a better place than how we found it. In order to do that, we are changing the story of how we use water in Central Oregon.
The graphic below will show the large-scale and long-term restoration solutions for the Upper Deschutes. You will see how how, through the execution of a suite of innovative conservation measures, irrigators and their partners will create more water security for farmers and restore critically needed flows to the Deschutes River. These conservation measures include canal piping, water rights transactions, and reservoir management. The measures are designed to incentivize irrigators in urban areas to share water with farmers in Jefferson County so that these farmers are able to then share reservoir water with fish and wildlife in the Upper Deschutes.
By rethinking how we use and share water, we can and will have enough water for fish, farms and families.
