A fish rescue in the Upper Deschutes River in mid-October has become an annual event at Lava Island Falls. This year, thousands of fish were rescued and transferred to the main channel of the river.
In the Media
Bend Bulletin – Wickiup Reservoir emptied for an unprecedented third year in a row
Wickiup Reservoir, a key bellwether for the amount of water available for farmers in Central Oregon, has nearly emptied again at the end of the irrigation season.
COLUMBIA BASIN BULLETIN – NOAA FISHERIES FINALIZES ‘REBUILDING’ REPORT TO INFORM DIALOGUE ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RESTORATION
The recommended actions to rebuild Columbia Basin stocks include: increasing habitat restoration, reintroducing salmon into blocked areas, breaching dams, managing predators, reforming fish hatcheries and harvest and reconnecting floodplain habitat.
COLUMBIA BASIN BULLETIN – OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY ISSUES HEALTH ADVISORY FOR COLUMBIA RIVER LAMPREY; CONTAMINATED WITH PCBS, MERCURY
The Oregon Health Authority is issuing recommendations on the amount of lamprey from the Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries that people should eat after data showing high levels of contaminants in the fish.
Columbia Basin Bulletin – DROUGHT DRIES UP CROOKED RIVER: HISTORICALLY LOW FLOWS LEAD TO FISHING CLOSURE, IMPACTS TO SALMON REINTRODUCTION
Central Oregon’s Crooked River became the first Oregon river the state has closed to angling specifically due to drought-related low flows that could result in major impacts on fish as well as on efforts to reintroduce salmon and steelhead to the river.
Bend Bulletin – California wells run dry as drought depletes groundwater
Amid a megadrought plaguing the American West more rural communities are losing access to groundwater as heavy pumping depletes underground aquifers that aren’t being replenished by rain and snow.
Bend canal neighbors sue to block 12-mile piping project
A group that opposes the piping of Arnold Irrigation District’s main canal in south Bend has filed a lawsuit alleging that the project will irreversibly damage the local environment and will diminish property values.
OPB – Central Oregon water-sharing program extended after bumpy start
The Deschutes River Conservancy, Central Oregon Irrigation District and North Unit Irrigation District announced last week that they will extend their water bank pilot project, despite the challenges they faced in the program’s inaugural year.
Arnold Irrigation District patrons pivot toward new farming methods as drought persists
Bend Bulletin
With roughly half of Deschutes County still in extreme drought (the second-highest category of drought), it will take successive winters of strong snowpack to change the water outlook for Arnold patrons. But Schuur and O’Brien — who raise grass-fed lamb and beef for the local market — are not waiting for Mother Nature’s help.