Deschutes River Conservancy | Streamflow Restoration in Central Oregon

VOLUNTEER: Fall Fish Rescue

The DRC will be coordinating the volunteers this year for the Fall Fish Rescue.
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Welcome Lisa Seales, DRC Programs Manager

Lisa is the DRC’s new Programs Manager. She is a native Oregonian, world traveler and environmental educator who has worked with various teams to address large-scale, collaborative water management issues.
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What's the Latest Water News?

Stay up to date with news stories about water and rivers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
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Meet Dani Wise Johnson, Our New Programs Director

For the past 10 years, Dani has been working independently, conducting restoration projects, performing watershed assessments, leading trainings for professionals, guiding municipalities and non-profits through water quality challenges, and generally trying to spend as much time on the rivers as possible!
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WELCOME TO OUR NEW PROJECT MANAGER, JACOB KIMIECIK

Jacob is our new Project Manager. Prior to joining the DRC, Jacob earned a BS in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics along with a BA in Economics from Colorado State University in 2016. Jacob also earned a JD from Lewis & Clark Law school in 2021 with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law.
GET TO KNOW JACOB

RESTORING STREAMFLOW AND IMPROVING WATER QUALITY
IN THE DESCHUTES RIVER BASIN FOR 25 YEARS

Check out our interactive map of the Deschutes River Basin

See our priority reaches, challenges we're tackling, and how far we've come.

Top Stories

Lisa Seales Joins the DRC as Programs Manager

Lisa is the DRC’s new Programs Manager. She is a native Oregonian and traveled the world visiting over 30 countries and most of the US before deciding to make Bend her home.

Deschutes County invests $1.45 million in relief funds for water conservation project

The Deschutes County Commission has approved an additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) investment of $1.45 million for an On-Farm Efficiency Water Conservation Investment project. “The money couldn’t come at a better time as Central Oregon endures another year of extreme drought,” Fitzpatrick concluded. “Impacts are being felt in every stream and every irrigation district throughout the Deschutes Basin.”

Deschutes Basin Irrigation Districts Remain Firmly Committed to HCP

Despite extreme and persistent drought conditions this summer, all eight irrigation districts belonging to the DBBC remain firmly committed to implementing the conservation measures outlined in the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan.

We’re lucky to have this beautiful river

but the systems that manage it were created 100 years ago, and now it’s suffering

Act Now to Save the Deschutes River

The Deschutes is a natural jewel in the heart of our community. But many of us are unaware that the river upstream of Bend is in big trouble. Its ecology is at a tipping point and showing steep declines in fish, wildlife and vegetation. We must act now before it is too late.

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The problems are fixable and we're all working together to conserve water and solve them

Basin Wide Planning

Planning for sustainable water management practices to support the river and other users into the future.
Find Out More About Basin Wide Planning
Water Rights Transfers

DRC's transfers program acquires and transfers water rights to be permanently protected instream.
Find out about Water Rights Transfers
Water Management

Sharing water to meet the modern needs of rivers, cities, and farms.
Find Out More About Water Management
Streamflow Restoration

The Deschutes Basin is over-allocated. We work cooperatively in the basin to restore flows in local streams.
Find out about streamflow restoration
Groundwater Mitigation

The DRC Groundwater Mitigation Bank creates temporary credits through instream leases.
Find out about Groundwater Mitigation

Everyone will win if we can fix this

The streamflow challenges currently facing the Deschutes Basin trace back more than 100 years. Settlers put the Basin's water to work pursuing a successful future for local agriculture but not considering the environmental impact. Today we know far more about the need to protect ecosystems while supporting livelihoods. We're fortunate to be in a basin with enough water for all — provided it's properly managed. By rethinking and rebalancing how we use and share water, we can and will have enough water for fish, farms, and families.