A6 The SpokeSman • TueSday, SepTember 20, 2022
Drought in Central Oregon
Crooked River ramps down water levels
at historic records putting fish in peril
BY MICHAEL KOHN
CO Media Group
The water level in the
Crooked River took a dramatic
drop this week after dam oper-
ators cranked down the gates at
Bowman Dam due to drought
conditions that produced his-
toric low levels in Prineville
Reservoir.
The reduced flow will make it
difficult for fish to survive until
more water becomes available
in November.
As of Friday on the Crooked
River, about 35 cubic feet of wa-
ter per second was flowing out
of the dam, down from a level
of 180 cfs on Wednesday when
the ramp-down effort began.
The flow is expected to continue
to drop to around 10 cfs, said
Bruce Scanlon, general man-
ager for the Ochoco Irrigation
District.
Scanlon, the general manager
for the past four years, said the
ramping down marks the end of
the irrigation season for his dis-
trict’s 900 patrons. He does not
discount unusually low water
levels seen in the reservoir.
“The magnitude of this his-
toric situation — and its impacts
on not only farmers, (but also)
fish, wildlife, and recreators —
is huge,” said Scanlon. “It’s an
economic impact. It has envi-
ronmental impacts across the
board. It’s a situation none of us
ever wanted to be in.”
The 125-mile-long Crooked
River is a tributary of the De-
schutes River, running mainly
through Crook County. Parts of
the river are protected under the
National Wild and Scenic Riv-
ers System. It’s popular among
kayakers and is well-known as
a fishery for steelhead, brown
trout, and native rainbow trout.
But the river, like others in
Central Oregon, has been in
trouble in recent years due to
historic drought conditions that
have left much of Crook County
bone dry.
Prior to the construction
of Bowman Dam in 1961, the
Crooked River would com-
monly fall to around 10 cfs or
lower by late summer, according
to Kyle Gorman, region man-
ager for the Oregon Water Re-
sources Department. But since
the construction of the dam, the
river had never before fallen to
10 cfs in September.
Scanlon said irrigation sea-
son normally ends in mid-Oc-
tober, and Crooked River levels
drop to 50 cfs to support fish
and aquatic life. This year, the
50 cfs level will resume on Nov.
1, according to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. That leaves
ryan brennecke/The bulletin
Water flows from Prineville Reservoir through Bowman Dam and into the Crooked River on Friday.
Rocks and aquatic
vegetation are ex-
posed as water levels
drop along the
Crooked River below
Prineville Reservoir on
Friday.
A crayfish attempts
to crawl out of a drying
side channel as water
levels drop along the
Crooked River.
ryan brennecke/The bulletin
ryan brennecke/The bulletin
Water flows from Prineville Reservoir through Bowman Dam and into
the Crooked River on Friday.
about six weeks for fish to sur-
vive in dramatically low river
level conditions.
Some storage water is be-
ing held back to provide “pulse
flows” to occur in the river in
the late winter and early spring
to assist chinook and steelhead
smolts migrating out of the
Crooked River system.
The drop in water level
means an early end of water de-
liveries for around 900 Ochoco
Irrigation District patrons who
grow hay and other crops in the
Prineville area. But Scanlon said
it could have been worse had
the spring rains not arrived.
“We were blessed this year
with the May and June rain and
runoff that helped us extend
the season because prior to that
we thought we would be done
almost two months earlier. So
I think we are looking at the
bright side of shutting off water
now rather than two months
ago,” said Scanlon.
But the low flow in the
Crooked River has raised alarm
bells among Central Oregon’s
angling and naturalist commu-
nity.
Anglers, flyfishing groups,
fishing guides, birders, and
naturalists have contacted the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife in recent weeks to
Forum
█
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
Supreme Court’s decision in Martin v.
Boise which states that as long as there
are not enough options for sleeping in-
doors, then cities cannot criminalize
camping or sleeping outdoors on pub-
lic property.
Continued from A1
Trumble said he supported the cen-
ter and would be voting for it, but that
he didn’t think it was going to pass.
With this in mind, he proposed dis-
cussing the approval of marijuana dis-
pensaries in Redmond and using the
tax money to help fund the center.
Zwicker and Dixon both said that if
the center made sense financially, then
they were all for it.
Dixon, who is a newcomer to poli-
tics and comes from a business back-
ground, wants the city and the rec cen-
ter to be treated more as a business.
“If it makes sense, let’s do it,” Dixon
said. “I’m all about doing some re-
search … and see exactly what it is
we’re looking at.”
“I think that if we can do this as a
community, and we can afford it, it
makes sense, especially for our seniors,
said Zwicker.
Currently, RAPRD offers programs
like Zumba, basketball, yoga and rac-
quetball, at the Redmond Senior Cen-
ter, however, there is only enough room
for about 10 participants in each class.
That means many are left out. There
are also 80-100 youth in the waiting list
for swim lessons.
Osborne and Nielsen said that they
supported the center and would vote
for it. But they too noted the bond
and levy are a big ask for taxpayers
and that it was up to the voters to de-
cide.
Osborne dove into the discussion of
the rec center, pulling out maps of the
district stretching out to include Ter-
express concern over the long-
term health of the river, said
Jerry George, district fish biolo-
gist with the agency.
George said he is also “ex-
tremely concerned” for the
health of redband trout and
mountain whitefish fisheries be-
low Bowman Dam. At 10 cfs, he
said, water quantity and qual-
ity will be reduced to levels that
could pose an acute threat to
fish and aquatic species.
“We are in uncharted terri-
tory here,” said George.
The main concern is that cold
water from the bottom of the
lake, which typically supports
fish downstream, will be un-
available this fall.
In normal years, the cold
water supports a productive
tailwater fishery for trout and
whitefish. It also produces an
important holding, spawning,
and rearing habitat for spring-
run chinook salmon and sum-
mer steelhead.
The low levels have prompted
ODFW to encourage catch-and-
release anglers to avoid fish-
ing during the 10 cfs period or
to fish during cooler morning
hours to minimize stress.
“We have heard from many
local guides that plan to not take
clients to fish the Crooked River
during the 10 cfs period,” said
George.
ODFW reports that a min-
imum summer discharge of
140 cfs and winter minimum
discharge of 90 cfs is necessary
to provide sufficient habitat to
support “robust” salmonid pop-
ulations in Crooked River below
Bowman Dam.
When river levels drop, the
result is the creation of pools
that trap fish, restricting their
seasonal movement to different
habitat. George explains that
this causes increased competi-
tion, stress, and disease trans-
mission, and can lead to wide-
spread mortality of fish in the
river.
The low flows also impact the
wider ecosystem, he said, reduc-
ing macroinvertebrate produc-
tion, an important forage base
for Crooked River fish.
Scanlon said his district has
consulted with ODFW during
the ramp-down process on how
to mitigate risk for fish.
“As we ramp down and de-
crease flow we are trying not
to strand fish and to give them
opportunities to seek places to
hole up,” said Scanlon. “So we
are following ODFW guidance
in ramping procedures to allow
that to happen.”
nick rosenberger/Spokesman
City council candidates face off at a forum hosted by the Redmond Patriots on Monday, Sept. 12, at Highland Baptist Church in
Redmond. From left to right, candidates include Bill Trumble, John Nielsen, Kathryn Osborne, Branegan J. Dixon and Cat Zwicker.
rebone and Eagle Crest as well as parts
of Crooked River Ranch and Tumalo.
She calculated that taxpayers would be
paying about $15 per month for the av-
erage assessed home value, but that it
would be worth it for her.
Nielsen said the current center has
long since outlived its usefulness and
needs to be replaced, but questioned
whether the proposed center needed all
the bells and whistles RAPRD put for-
ward, such as a new gym.
HOMELESSNESS
Each of the candidates spoke and an-
swered questions about the increasing
rates of homelessness in Central Or-
egon as well and offered similar solu-
tions.
The candidates largely agreed on
skyrocketing rent prices in Redmond
and the need for the city to build more
affordable housing, transitional hous-
ing and market-rate apartments in the
city.
“I think we need to help the homeless
or it will overwhelm us,” Trumble said.
Candidates also spoke of increasing
the variety of services providers and
options for those looking for help, such
as with the Safe Parking Program, Oa-
sis Village, Bethlehem Inn and Shep-
herd’s House.
Zwicker said that the city needs to
work around the 8th Amendment —
which prohibits cruel and unusual
punishments for crimes — and the
PSILOCYBIN TREATMENT
Under the topic of psilocybin treat-
ment, the candidates had more varying
opinions. Each supported the potential
of psilocybin to treat those suffering
from PTSD or mental disorders, but
there was some concern over allowing
treatment centers in Redmond right af-
ter legalization.
Trumble supports a one-year mora-
torium on the implementation of treat-
ment centers while Zwicker wants a
two-year moratorium. Both want to see
how allowing psilocybin impacts other
Oregon cities before permitting it in
Redmond.
“If there is a treatment out there, and
it’s going to bring us some jobs too, good
paying jobs, let’s do it,” said Osborne.
Nielsen, who is a veteran, said he
suffers with chronic pain issues but
doesn’t have the mental trauma that
other soldiers went through.
“But if we have a tool that can help
them, I think we have a responsibility
to look at it,” he said. “There is nothing
that prevents us from having that con-
versation.”
Dixon agreed and said that while he
needs to do more research on the issue
he’d absolutely support it if it helps peo-
ple and doesn’t lead to more drugs on
the street.
█
Reporter:
nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.com