River News - In The Media
North Unit begins headworks renovation on $11 million gate, fish screen in Bend
North Unit Irrigation District has ended its water deliveries for the season and started work on installing a new $11 million headgate and fish screen on its main canal. The work will close a section of Division Street until April.
Sisters Coffee Company launches new roast to conserve Deschutes River
Sisters Coffee Company is partnering with Deschutes River Conservancy to launch a coffee roast that supports local rivers and streams. The local coffee roaster will donate $2 for every bag sold to the Deschutes River Conservancy, a nonprofit whose mission is to restore streamflow and improve water quality in the Deschutes River Basin.
OPB: Oregon leaders are trying to save the Deschutes River. Here’s why that’s so hard
By law, one irrigation district has rights to most of the water from the Deschutes, forcing farmers to fallow their land in times of scarcity. Oregon has pushed three main solutions to deliver water more efficiently and sustainably.
OPB: An Oregon law lets one wealthy region turn the desert green. When drought hits, farmers pay the price
In the high desert of Central Oregon, the Deschutes River is a lifeline for farmers and landowners — but a century-old water law entitles just a few thousand people to more than half of its volume.
KTVZ: Drought emergency declared in Oregon counties, 17 of 36 now affected
Governor Tina Kotek has declared a drought emergency for Douglas, Gilliam, Harney, Lake and Malheur counties in Oregon. This declaration brings the total number of Oregon counties under drought emergency status to 17 out of 36.
Capital Press: Environmental group sues to protect native Western ridged mussel
A federal lawsuit is pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether Western ridged mussels need Endangered Species Act protection. Native to Columbia Basin rivers, the mussels depend on healthy streamflows and native fish populations, connecting their fate directly to DRC's restoration work in the Deschutes Basin, a sub-basin of the Columbia.
