This article was published on: 01/12/15 12:00 AM
Portion of Deschutes River Trail will close temporarily
The Deschutes River Trail will be closed between Slough Camp and the Dillon Falls trailhead Wednesday through Friday, while three temporary culverts are installed in a berm near Ryan Ranch, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service. The construction is part of a pilot wetland restoration project between the Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes Basin Board of Control and local irrigators that will turn the Ryan Ranch meadow into a seasonal wetland.
The trail will be closed from the Dillon Falls trailhead, south through Ryan Ranch to Slough Camp. It will re-open once construction is complete.
The culverts will allow water from the Deschutes River to flow into the Ryan Ranch basin. Resource managers will test seepage and evaporation during the spring and summer months. If the project is successful, restoration projects will continue, according to the news release.
The wetland could provide habitat for the Oregon spotted frog, a species recently designated threatened by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to The Bulletin archives.