PRB Fisheries Workshop

February 6, 2018 Yancy Lind

For over 20 years Portland General Electric and now the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been hosting the Pelton Round Butte Fisheries Workshop. This is an annual gathering of state and federal agencies, NGOs, and the curious to review and discuss the latest science on the Deschutes and its tributaries. I have been going for a few years and find it fascinating. This year should have the usual updates on reintroduction and fisheries health, the final results of the macroinvertebrate study, and the results of the water quality study. It will be very interesting.

This year the workshop will be June 13 & 14 at Tetherow Resort in Bend. Everyone is welcome and I encourage you to attend. To get on the email list, contact Jessica Graeber (Jessica.Graeber@pgn.com).

At last year’s conference, I took over 7 pages of notes. Below are the highlights from those notes.Read More »

Steelhead Reintroduction Update

February 2, 2018 Yancy Lind

The Deschutes River 2017/2018 summer steelhead season still has a few weeks left but returns have been bleak. As of the end of January 2018 only 13 upper basin origin steelhead have been captured in the Pelton trap a little upstream from the Warm Springs Bridge, and none in December. This will likely be the lowest return year since upper basin returns began in 2011.Read More »

What about Middle Deschutes flows?

January 23, 2018April 4, 2020 Yancy Lind

While the upper Deschutes has been the focus of late, the middle Deschutes also needs additional flows. Unfortunately, there are no real plans for this. The middle Deschutes is generally defined as the segment from Benham Falls to Lake Billy Chinook and flows in this section are complex. Read More »

Ocean Conditions are not Improving

January 18, 2018 Yancy Lind

As reported in the NY Times, today NASA stated that 2017 was the second hottest year on record, trailing only 2016. Unfortunately, “this is the new normal”. While the Pacific is currently a little cooler than normal due to a weak La Niña condition, it is not expected to last. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any evidence things are cooling down.” This is not welcome news for Central Oregon steelhead anglers.

NOAA says Sea Lions are Recovered

January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 Yancy Lind

NOAA Fisheries released a report yesterday stating that sea lion populations have rebounded to new highs and are now at their “optimum sustainable population”. As discussed in a prior post, sea lions have become a significant threat to some anadromous fish populations. Hopefully this finding will allow some action to protect threatened steelhead and salmon populations.Read More »

Crooked River Response from USFWS – Update

January 17, 2018January 6, 2019 Yancy Lind

Yesterday I had a productive meeting with the US Fish & Wildlife Service who wanted to discuss some of my posts. They suggested we meet again soon to explore additional topics in more detail, but they did want to go into my recent Crooked River post.Read More »

Ocean Conditions & Sea Lions

January 7, 2018January 7, 2018 Yancy Lind

I’m back from the most recent ODFW Restoration & Enhancement Board meeting. A discussion of interest to Central Oregon anglers who pursue steelhead and salmon was around current ocean conditions and predation on these anadromous fish by pinnipeds, primarily sea lions. Read More »

Impact on the Crooked River

January 4, 2018January 6, 2019 Yancy Lind

The proposed Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan includes a section on the Crooked River (see pages 34 to 37). While I have heard some in the angling and conservation communities speak favorably about the proposal for the Crooked, I am not in agreement.

In summary, my concerns are:

There is no scientific justification for the 50 cfs average minimum target during the winter and it is unclear what is meant by “average”.
There is no provision for reducing the incidence of gas bubble disease.
There is no mention of water quality.
It does not address the low flow, high temperature problem that exists below the Wild & Scenic section during irrigation season.

Water Rights and the UGB

December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 Yancy Lind

As Central Oregonians know, the City of Bend is expanding and incorporating land into its urban growth boundary, land that may have irrigation water rights. This land will primarily be used for housing or commercial purposes and, with perhaps the exception of the Park District, will no longer need irrigation water. Water from one of the three existing municipal water systems will be used instead. Unfortunately, the irrigators are not returning the now unneeded water back to the Deschutes. Read More »

Public Comment

December 27, 2017 Yancy Lind

The US Forest Service is currently seeking public comment on two project proposals on the upper Deschutes River, both are designed restore degraded riparian areas along the river.Read More »

Black Spot Disease

December 23, 2017 Yancy Lind

The lower Deschutes is an emotional subject for many with claims and counter claims often made by the many parties studying the issues affecting the river. A current example of this is Black Spot Disease. Technically an infection and not a disease, the black spots are caused by a parasite that exists across North America including many rivers in Oregon.Read More »

Bad News for the Upper Deschutes

December 20, 2017December 30, 2017 Yancy Lind

One of the most important issues for anglers and river lovers in the Deschutes Basin is restoring flows in the upper Deschutes River. This is a complex topic where I will spend significant time posting with explanations and analysis, but last week the eight Central Oregon irrigation districts and the City of Prineville presented the outline of their proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the upper Deschutes Basin. There were a few reasonable ideas presented but overall it was bad news for the upper Deschutes. Read More »

Rivers and a Warming Planet

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 Yancy Lind

Last week Merrill Lynch Research released a “Climate Change Primer” outlining the challenges and potential investment opportunities climate change provides. Of course, climate change impacts our fisheries as well. The Merrill Lynch report begins with the statement that climate change is the top global risk we face. Read More »

Upper Deschutes Backgrounder

December 17, 2017 Yancy Lind

One of the most important issues for local anglers and river lovers is the dismal state of the upper Deschutes River (above Bend). This is a complex topic that I will cover in depth over time, but for those of you who have some familiarity with it, my Upper Deschutes Backgrounder could be of interest.

Wickiup Reservoir Kokanee

December 16, 2017December 16, 2017 Yancy Lind

In response to the Oregon Spotted Frog being listed as an endangered species, more water is being released into the upper Deschutes in the winter in order to provide improved overwintering habitat. At the same time, levels in Crane Prairie Reservoir are being more stably managed for consistent habitat. As a result, levels in Wickiup Reservoir should see larger draw downs in the winter which in turn will likely negatively impact its fish population. As a result, ODFW is changing the regulations for Wickiup to reduce the number of kokanee that may be harvested.Read More »

Opal Springs Fish Ladder Final Funding

December 16, 2017January 6, 2019 Yancy Lind

After years of effort the final funding for a volitional fish ladder at Opal Springs Dam was obtained earlier this month. There are some regulatory hurdles remaining but construction should begin in the spring and be complete within two years. Opal Springs is a small hydroelectric facility owned by Deschutes Valley Water District about a quarter mile up the Crooked River from where it enters Lake Billy Chinook. Downstream fish passage has been available, mostly through the turbines, but not upstream passage.Read More »

Central Oregon Informed Angler

Issues & Advocacy

Author: Yancy Lind