Tag: Deschutes River

Declining Aquifer Levels Raise Alarm Among Central Oregon Hydrologists and Officials

By Michael Kohn | April 13, 2024 | Bend Bulletin Amid patches of snow and ponderosa pines, a half mile from Lava Island Falls in the Deschutes River, a pair of hydrologists with the Oregon Water Resources Department dropped a cable down an observation well to determine the depth of groundwater near Bend. The cable […]

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Springtime River Hikes and Cycling Outings Around Oregon

By John DeVoe and Tommy Hough | March 19, 2024 | WaterWatch of Oregon From flowering cherry blossoms and happy daffodils, to explosions of pollen clouding car windows from Astoria to Klamath Falls, there’s no doubt spring has arrived in Oregon. And if the longer days and warmer weather haven’t already sent you into the

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Winchester Dam Removal Necessary, Will Create Economic Boom

By John Hunter | Dec. 14, 2023 | Roseburg News-Review Opinion There can be no doubt that the Winchester Dam will be removed. History will justify that its removal was necessary. Once the dam is gone and the private water ski lake drained, Douglas County — with wise and proper planning — will experience an

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Central Oregon Cities Poke Holes in State Plans to Tighten Groundwater Rules

By Emily Cureton Cook | Oct. 2, 2023 | Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon water managers are considering the most consequential water policy changes the state has seen in decades. These changes would crack down on new groundwater rights, making it more difficult for people to drill wells. Advocates say this is critical to protect the

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Groundwater Over-Allocation in Oregon — the Deschutes, Umatilla, Klamath and Harney Basins

By WaterWatch Staff | April 6, 2022 | Instream While groundwater permitting standards require Oregon to determine whether water is available before issuing a new groundwater permit, in practice, the state all too often lacks enough data to make that determination. As a result, and a habit, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) often operates

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Agreement Reached to Protect Upper Deschutes River

For Immediate Release October 28, 2016 Contact: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-708-0731, jim@waterwatch.org Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, 503-484-7495, ngreenwald@biologicaldiversity.org Janette Brimmer, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 x 1029, jbrimmer@earthjustice.org Laurie Rule, Advocates for the West, 503-914-6388, lrule@advocateswest.org Agreement Reached to Protect Upper Deschutes River Deal Provides Modest Near-term Flow Boost, Sets Timeline for Science-Based Improvements

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Rescue effort aims to save stranded Deschutes River fish

Rescue effort aims to save stranded Deschutes River fish Annual die-off occurs at small channel when river flows are reduced By Hilary Corrigan The Bulletin October 14, 2016 Volunteers and contractors spent part of this week shocking, netting and moving stranded fish from a dry river channel near Bend in what’s become an annual fish

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Draining Oregon: State Pours Million Into Fifteenmile Creek but Fails to Help Steelhead for Lack of Water

By Kelly House | Aug. 26, 2016 | The Oregonian: Draining Oregon Government agencies have spent more than $2.8 million in taxpayer money on this tiny Columbia River tributary since 2004. Workers have planted shade willows on the banks, lined its rocky bottom with logpile hiding places, and fenced off cattle from the sensitive habitat.

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Statement Regarding Ongoing Upper Deschutes River Lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 24, 2016 WaterWatch and Center for Biological Diversity Statement Regarding Ongoing Upper Deschutes River Lawsuit On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Aiken indicated during a hearing that she would deny WaterWatch of Oregon and Center for Biological Diversity’s motion requesting immediate changes to flows in the Upper Deschutes River to prevent

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Groups seek settlement talks in spotted frog case

Groups seek settlement talks in spotted frog case At issue is water management in the Deschutes River Basin By Taylor W. Anderson Bend Bulletin March 24, 2016 Two groups suing to change water management practices in the Deschutes River Basin to protect a threatened frog are asking the federal judge in the cases to set

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Judge To Hear Water Case For Upper Deschutes

Judge To Hear Water Case For Upper Deschutes by Amanda Peacher OPB March 20, 2016 A federal judge in Eugene will hear a case Tuesday about water management in the Upper Deschutes River. Environmental groups want to see more regular flows coming out of Wickiup Reservoir on the Upper Deschutes River. They say the way

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In My View: It’s time to save the Upper Deschutes

In My View: It’s time to save the Upper Deschutes By Doug La Placa Bend Bulletin March 19, 2016 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. When I was in the second grade a friend brought over a beat-up old fly rod. We tied on some fishing line and ran to

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Guest Commentary: Just Add Water

Guest Commentary: Just Add Water BY CRAIG LACY Bend Source March 16, 2016 Few people alive remember what the Upper Deschutes River was like before Wickiup Dam was built in 1949. It was then regarded as one of the finest fisheries in the US. In 1914 Clyde McKay received the Field and Stream award for

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Lawsuit Filed to Stop Harm to Deschutes River

For Immediate Release: January 11, 2016 Contact: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-708-0731 Janette Brimmer, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340, ext. 1029 Lawsuit Filed to Stop Harm to Deschutes River Mismanagement of flows jeopardizing threatened spotted frog, fish, and local livelihoods 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. BEND, OR – Today, WaterWatch of

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In My View: Restore the Deschutes River to its natural flow

In My View: Restore the Deschutes River to its natural flow By Gail Snyder Bend Bulletin September 17, 2015 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. A recent Bulletin article referenced “natural low flows” in the Deschutes River. That description might be misleading. Under natural conditions, flows in the Deschutes River

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In My View: Water usage must change to help the Deschutes River

In My View: Water usage must change to help the Deschutes River By Jeff Perin Bend Bulletin August 27, 2015 2013 Upper Deschutes River fish kill. Photo by Doug La Placa. Fishing is my life. Most days you’ll find me at my fly-fishing shop in Sisters, but every chance I get I head out on

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Stream of Consciousness: Drought, Deconstructed

By John DeVoe | June 15, 2015 | Instream For many Oregonians, drought once existed as an abstraction, something that happened elsewhere, far away. No longer. This summer, Oregon’s rivers are suffering some of the lowest streamflows and highest water temperatures in our recorded history. These conditions are triggering tragic kills of salmon, steelhead, trout,

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How the West Won its Water Back

By Joe S. Louis | Oct. 23, 2013 | 1859 Oregon’s Magazine John DeVoe and his 10-year-old son, Will, climbed the banks of the Deschutes River toward Imperial River Company, wet from paddling a section of the Deschutes in Maupin. For the past decade, DeVoe has been the executive director of WaterWatch, an Oregon non-profit

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Water fight brewing

Water fight brewing By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin April 06, 2009 Diverting water from the Deschutes into Tumalo Reservoir would help meet future demand and make it ‘hugely cheaper’ to pump groundwater, say the plan’s backers. Opponents argue the proposal flies in the face of existing regulations. Challenging the widely held view that all the

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Metolius resort may face water snag

Metolius resort may face water snag By Nick Budnick Bend Bulletin February 14, 2009 Talks are under way on Ponderosa’s well plan, but it may go to a judge SALEM — The Ponderosa Land and Cattle Co. wants to drill as many as 10 wells 1,000 feet into the earth to draw water for the

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Water Trade-Off Bolsters Rivers

Water Trade-Off Bolsters Rivers By James Sinks Bend Bulletin April 22, 2008 SALEM — The straws are drilled deep underground, sucking more water to satisfy the thirst of development across Central Oregon. Yet at the same time, there’s more water flowing down the Deschutes River during the dry summer months when once it ran low.

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A legal victory for the Deschutes

A legal victory for the Deschutes Bend Bulletin February 17, 2008 This week, a federal judge blessed the Swalley Irrigation District’s plan to pipe a section of leaky canal. The ruling caps more than two years of legal wrangling and comes, no doubt, as a relief to most Swalley members. But in a larger

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Piping project could help fish return to Middle Deschutes

Piping project could help fish return to Middle Deschutes By Kate Ramsayer Bend Bulletin August 06, 2007 Two decades ago, Tumalo Creek ran dry downstream of Shevlin Park in the summer, as the Tumalo Irrigation District diverted water to supply farmers. Things have improved a bit for the lower section of the creek since

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House approves Oregon water, conservation projects

House approves Oregon water, conservation projects Associated Press July 23, 2007 WASHINGTON – The House unanimously approved a bill Monday boosting four Oregon water conservation and dam safety projects. The Oregon Water Resources Management Act, sponsored by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., addresses projects in southern, eastern and central Oregon. The measure was approved by

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Dropping rural Oregon groundwater levels causing concerns

Dropping rural Oregon groundwater levels causing concerns Bend Bulletin (AP) March 14, 2007 SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A homebuilder in rural Oregon can still sink a well and usually pump up to 15,000 gallons of water a day. But well levels are dropping, and in Salem the situation is getting another look as agriculture, fishery

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