Currently viewing the tag: "Deschutes River"

The Deschutes River upriver from Bend before irrigators have removed water. Photo George Wuerthner 

The Bend Bulletin published a piece “Fish by the hundreds rescued in isolated Deschutes River channel.” The basic message is that volunteers “saved” several thousand fish from death as the water levels in the Deschutes River dropped.

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The once gin clear Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon  is now a pea-green or dirty blonde due to irrigation degradation of the river. Photo George Wuerthner 

This past week I hiked along the Upper Deschutes River. It was a pea-green color, or maybe you might say dirty blonde. Whatever adjective you like, […]

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In Bend in the fall, irrigators draw down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened GEORGE WUERTHNER JANUARY 27, 2023 5:50 AM      

 The Deschutes River narrows after irrigators draw off water in Bend. […]

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The Deschutes River in Bend during the summer is downstream from irrigation removal of the water is little more than a creek.  Photo George Wuerthner 

In October, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other […]

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Dried-up bed of the Deschutes River upstream of Bend, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner 

This past month, irrigators began the annual drawing down of the Deschutes River to the point where fish and other wildlife die or are threatened. Good people have tried to save fish stranded in pools of water. I […]

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Upper Deschutes River is essentially an irrigation cancel for irrigators. Photo George Wuerthner

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon decide whether to approve a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Deschutes River Basin. The HCP was initiated by local irrigators and the city of Prineville who want to maintain their privilege […]

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The recent article “Low Flows On Deschutes” highlights why irrigation is a significant threat to our river’s ecological integrity. https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/environment/sudden-drops-in-deschutes-river-worries-biologists/article_c0f8df66-e3df-11ea-8d00-53d8f511683c.html

The majority of water removed from the Deschutes is used to grow irrigated pasture and hay for livestock not crops consumed directly by humans.  Photo by George Wuerthner

 

According to […]

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Endangered Oregon spotted frog habitat dried up by changes in river flow to accommodate the irrigation district. Photo George Wuerthner

 

I took a run along the Deschutes River in Bend’s Riverbend Park the other day. The one thing I noticed is that the river is nearly opaque. You can see down maybe […]

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The Deschutes River was once one of the gems of the West. Due to numerous springs, its flow was nearly constant throughout the year. Clean and cold, it supported huge numbers of native trout, and other associated wildlife like the river otter, mink, bald eagles, and Oregon spotted frog.

Sadly, the river has been degraded […]

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The Fish and Wildlife Service will soon be reviewing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for Oregon’s Deschutes River written by contractors working for the Central Oregon irrigators. The HCP will dictate the future of the river.

The goal of the irrigators is to obtain a “get out of jail free” […]

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‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."

~ Edward Abbey