Salmon population management programs, including the operations and maintenance of Mitchell Act hatcheries received $63 million. The bill includes $39.5 million to support the implementation of Pacific Salmon Treaty.
Deschutes County commissioners will be asked next Wednesday to adopt a resolution declaring a state of emergency due to severe drought conditions and ask the governor to declare a drought emergency, much as Klamath County received this week and others will be requesting.
Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Thursday a number of crucial wins for Oregon in the Senate agricultural spending bill, which they said will invest in agriculture, rural housing, food assistance, and rural business priorities that will benefit farms and families in every corner of the state, including Central Oregon irrigation canal-piping projects.
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.
