This month, patrons of the North Unit Irrigation District will find a credit in their water bill. The drought relief package Oregon legislators passed in December includes $5.5 million to compensate NUID farmers and ranchers for water shortages due to extreme drought and environmental obligations.
Drought conditions in Central Oregon threaten to hold back gains being made in restoring water to the Deschutes. Dams in the Deschutes River, along with the canals that siphon water away from it, have sent Oregon spotted frog numbers in decline for decades. Now scientists worry that Oregon’s megadrought could be making things worse for the frog.
If all goes according to plan, the instream and bank restoration work on Whychus Creek, where it runs between Creekside Park and Creekside Campground — from the Locust Street bridge to the Highway 20 bridge — should take place in August 2022.
As the days get longer and winter gives way to spring and summer, local farmers are quickly approaching irrigation season. Local irrigation depends on the available water from Ochoco and Prineville reservoirs, and the past two years have been difficult for farmers and ranchers. This year is forecast to be what Oregon senators are referring to as “the worst megadrought in more than 1,200 years.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Klamath County on Monday as southern Oregon faces another dry year in an ongoing drought that shows no sign of letting up.
The Deschutes Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management’s Prineville District announced Friday it will implement a fee change on the individual special recreation permit (boater pass) for floating the wild and scenic portion of the Lower Deschutes River. Effective April 1, the boater pass fee will be a flat rate of $5 per person, per day.
Started in 2016 by Jeremy and JoHanna Symons of Madras, Perfect Balance is taking a multi-pronged approach to a complicated, dire situation related to the discovery of the endangered Oregon spotted frog along the banks of the Deschutes River, sole water supplier of the area’s farmers and ranchers.
A hydropower facility proposed by an irrigation district in Central Oregon isn’t subject to additional stream improvement requirements, according to a state land use ruling.
The Metolius River is perhaps best known for its superb dry-fly fishing in the summertime. But many anglers find it difficult to stay away during the offseason, and the hardiest of them make their way to the Metolius throughout the wintertime.
