I have been a member of Central Oregon Flyfishers since 2004. Like so much else in Central Oregon, COF has grown considerably since then, mostly with new members from out of the area. At last month’s COF meeting a question was asked about fishing the Crooked River in the winter during low flows which made me think it was time for another overview of how Bowman Dam and the Crooked River are managed.  Here’s a quick recap.

A reader recently contacted me concerned about low flows in the Crooked River.  As I have written about in the past, Prineville Reservoir is currently being managed by Ochoco Irrigation District and the US Fish & Wildlife Service to release 50 CFS during the winter (non-irrigation season).  In my opinion, this is in violation of the 2014 Crooked River Act.  At the beginning of the irrigation season there was more than enough water in the “fish bucket” to meet the Act’s 80 CFS target over the winter. Worse, they are not even releasing 50 CFS as the river has been at 47 CFS for some time now.  3 CFS might not seem like much, but OID is currently asking to spend tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to add 4.8 CFS. Once again, fish, wildlife, and taxpayers are losing.

After almost four hours of testimony and discussion, the ODFW Commission denied the request by Ochoco Irrigation District, the City of Prineville, and Crook County to provide a waiver for fish passage! Get more background information here. I certainly hope that the applicants follow the advice of the Commission and come back with an improved application. Clearly, adding a hydro facility to Bowman Dam has real benefit, but there needs to be real benefit to fish as well.

As I wrote about here and here, Ochoco Irrigation District, the City of Prineville, and Crook County would like to add a hydroelectric facility to Bowman Dam (Prineville Reservoir) without providing fish passage. This would violate the law so they are asking the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife for a waiver. The ODFW Commission will make their ruling this Friday. You can find the meeting agenda here, and sign up to testify (via Zoom) here. Public testimony at prior hearings has been overwhelming against providing a fish passage waiver but the applicants will make their best case for it on Friday so a strong showing by conservationists and fish advocates is essential. Lend your voice to fish, it’s not painful at all.

At the end of 2014, the Crooked River Collaborative Water Security and Jobs Act was passed.  Commonly known as the “Crooked River Act”, I was a minor participant in the negotiation of this controversial legislation.  Many people whom I respect continue to believe that the Crooked River Act was a giveaway to irrigators and a loss for fish and wildlife.  I disagree with them, but the way in which the bill is being implemented does not meet the spirit in which it was negotiated.  Read on for an overview of the bill, how it is working, how it is not, and why this is an even more important topic given the impending release of the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan.

All public comments pertaining to the requested fish passage waiver are part of the public record. I requested a copy of them, which you can see here. There is some grey area as a few were not perfectly clear, but by my count there were 171 letters in opposition to the waiver and 12 in favor. (In other words, the overwhelming majority asked that fish passage be provided.) I thought the letters made for interesting reading and recognized many of the writers. The final decision is scheduled to be made in September.

While the winter has started out somewhat dry in Central Oregon, things look good for the Crooked River this winter.  Prineville Reservoir was not drawn down to very low levels over the summer and is currently 57% full.  The majority of that is “fish water”, meaning it is not earmarked for irrigation use, and can be released for fish and wildlife.  93 cfs is currently being let out into the Crooked, which provides reasonable habitat for fish, and this amount should be maintained throughout the winter.  Some fish water may even be left over.  Of course, higher flows will likely occur if the reservoir completely fills over the winter.  So, right now it looks like next spring and summer could be good for fishing on the Crooked.

Three federal agencies (Bureau of Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries Service, and US Fish & Wildlife) manage water releases out of Prineville Reservoir into the Crooked River.  As of last week, they believe flows for fish and wildlife can be maintained through the winter.  Prineville Reservoir has a capacity of 148,640 acre feet of water, approximately half of which is guaranteed for irrigation. Water in excess of that at the beginning of irrigation season is “fish water” to be released for the “maximum biological benefit” for fish and wildlife.  Irrigation season ends in a month and Prineville Reservoir is still 66% full, leaving plenty of fish water to release during the winter.  Keep reading for more details.Read More »

Well, that’s an acronym filled title.  Here are Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s comments on Ochoco Irrigation District’s Pre-Application Document to build a hydro electric facility on Bowman Dam.  It’s 37 pages and filled with questions about how the facility and it’s transmissions lines will impact fish and wildlife on the Crooked River.  Some are pretty basic, like how will flows be ramped up and down so as to not negatively impact fish?  Even a cursory reading shows that it is far too early in the process to give a blanket endorsement to this project, even if you agree (like I do) that the idea seems to have merit.Read More »

Today the US Bureau of Reclamation is increasing flows out of Prineville Reservoir into the Crooked River from 93 to 250 cfs and to 500 cfs tomorrow. Flows will likely be raised higher in the coming days and stay that way for some time. There is a large snowpack in the Ochoco Mountains and it is raining. Flows into the reservoir are now at 2,500 cfs and the BOR is switching to flood control mode.