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River News - In The Media
Bend Bulletin: January was dry, but Central Oregon snowpack levels have rebounded
Central Oregon is on track for one of the best water years in recent memory, with reservoirs at their highest levels since 2018 and snowpack at 128% of normal. The region is now drought-free, bringing optimism for irrigation, healthier rivers, and a strong winter tourism season.
Cascade Business News: Deschutes County Voters Approve Measure #9-176, Advancing Local Conservation Efforts
Deschutes County voters have passed Measure #9-176, providing stable funding for the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District to expand conservation efforts, improve water and forest management, and enhance urban green spaces through a permanent tax rate with oversight by an elected Board of Directors.
Bend Bulletin: Protect Deschutes Basin groundwater (Guest Column)
Bobby Brunoe, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, emphasizes the sacred importance of water as the Creator’s first gift and calls for renewed collaboration, better science, and an integrated water policy to sustainably manage the Deschutes Basin’s shared resources for the benefit of all and future generations.
Bend Bulletin: Federal grant coming to Central Oregon for soil and water conservation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded a $509,992 grant to the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District to support agricultural projects in Deschutes and Jefferson counties, focusing on improving water efficiency, soil health, and wildlife habitat on 5,000 acres in the Deschutes Basin.
Bend Bulletin: Beaver dam appears on Whychus Creek after restoration effort
A year after a major restoration project transformed Whychus Creek’s floodplain, beavers have returned to the area, signaling the project’s success in revitalizing habitat for native wildlife and contributing to broader efforts to restore fish populations in the Deschutes Basin.
Bend Bulletin: Atmospheric river burying mountain areas with snow in Central Cascades
An atmospheric river is delivering significant snowfall to the Pacific Northwest, with Central Oregon's mountain passes and ski areas expecting several feet of accumulation, bolstering already above-average snowpack and precipitation levels.
Oregon Humanities: Becoming Water Wise
Residents and stakeholders in the Deschutes River Basin are working to modernize a century-old water rights system to address increasing water scarcity, balancing conservation, irrigation, and recreation needs through collaborative efforts like the Deschutes River Basin Habitat Conservation Plan, innovative irrigation practices, and water management policies.
Bend Bulletin: Columbia River salmon, steelhead returns average 2.3 million each year
About 2.3 million salmon and steelhead migrate up the Columbia River annually—double the 1990s numbers but still short of the 5 million goal—while efforts focus on boosting wild fish populations and improving returns above Bonneville Dam to support fisheries and natural reproduction.
Bend Bulletin: Guest column: How to avert a future groundwater crisis
Groundwater levels in the Deschutes Basin are rapidly declining due to reduced precipitation and overpumping, threatening domestic wells, wildlife habitats, and future growth, necessitating urgent conservation efforts and policy changes.
Bend Bulletin - Ballot offers voters an option to fund Deschutes County conservation projects
The Nov. 5 ballot includes a measure that, if passed, would create a permanent tax levy to provide significant new funding for the Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District, allowing it to expand its conservation projects to improve water and soil health in Deschutes County.
Capitol Press - How Trump’s return may impact public, private land management
The return of Donald Trump to the presidency raises concerns about potential rollbacks of environmental protections in Oregon, with environmentalists fearing harm to federal lands and endangered species, while loggers, farmers, and others see opportunities for less restrictive regulations and improved resource management.
Bend Bulletin - Years-long restoration project brings fish and wildlife back to Whychus Creek near Sisters
Fish and wildlife are slowly returning to a creek near Sisters thanks to a years-long restoration project. Volunteers gathered Friday to plant hundreds of native flowering plants, called forbs, along Whychus Creek.
Bend Bulletin - Deschutes Basin water is focus of U.S. House hearing in Redmond
A U.S. House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries held a field hearing in Redmond, Oregon, where representatives and local stakeholders discussed water shortages in the Deschutes Basin, highlighting collaboration efforts like the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan and the ongoing challenges faced by farmers, ranchers, and conservationists.
Bend Bulletin - Ochoco Preserve restoration turns farmland to floodplain near Prineville
The Deschutes Land Trust is transforming the 185-acre Ochoco Preserve near Prineville from former farmland into a restored floodplain, with efforts focused on improving habitat for wildlife, restoring streamflow, and planting native vegetation to crowd out invasive species, while also creating public trails and connections to the Crooked River Wetlands Complex.
Bend Bulletin - Kotek kick-starts multistate, tribal plan to increase native fish in Columbia basin
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed an executive order to ensure state agencies collaborate effectively to support the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, a federal program partnered with tribal nations and Washington State, investing over $1 billion to restore wild fish populations in the Columbia River Basin, including provisions for dam removals and enhancing tribal clean energy production.
Bend Bulletin - No 'forever chemicals' found in Deschutes River, boosting prospects for Warm Springs' water system fixes
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reported that the absence of PFAS and other contaminants is expected to reduce construction costs for a new water filtration plant on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
OPB - Groundwater rights in Oregon just got even more valuable. Here’s why
Oregon has implemented new groundwater rules to halt the decline of water levels, affecting about 40,000 home wells statewide. The Oregon Water Resources Commission's decision means future applications for groundwater rights may be denied, aiming to preserve water availability based on scientific data, though existing rights remain unaffected.
Bend Bulletin - Conservation projects in the wings as irrigation districts prepare to shut off water
As cooler weather approaches and harvests wrap up, irrigation districts across Central Oregon are preparing to shut off water and initiate significant conservation projects, such as the Arnold Irrigation District's ongoing effort to pipe 3.7 more miles of canal to conserve water and extend irrigation seasons, amidst a broader regional push led by the Deschutes River Conservancy to facilitate $6 million in infrastructure upgrades.
Bend Bulletin - A Tale of Two Rivers
A stretch of the Deschutes River Trail highlights the impact of irrigation diversions, where the river transitions from full and powerful near First Street Rapids to a diminished stream at Sawyer Park, illustrating how water management has altered the river’s flow over time.
