Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
October 25, 2017
Page 5
Power & Water hosting tours of the hydro dams
by Jim Manion
Manager, Power & Water
The Deschutes River has been
connected to our livelihood since
time immemorial. It has provided
us with food and drinking water,
has driven our economy, and is the
center of our culture and society.
The Deschutes is also a source
of pride for us, and a way we share
our way of life with our neighbors
and all Oregonians. It is a gift the
Creator gave to take care of us and
for us to take care of.
Our Work on the Deschutes
Our work is focused on clean
energy, healthy rivers and healthy
sustainable fish runs.
Clean Energy: For almost 20
years we’ve been a co-owner of the
Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric
Project, which includes the Pelton,
Round Butte and Reregulating
Dams.
Along with Portland General
Electric, we own one-third of the
Pelton Round Butte generating fa-
cilities and 100 percent of the gen-
erating facilities at the Reregulating
Dam.
These dams provide clean, re-
newable electricity to 150,000
homes, including those in our com-
munity, and has created revenue for
us.
Healthy Rivers and Healthy
Fish: In addition to providing a
clean energy source, our work and
partnership on the Deschutes also
comes with an important steward-
ship responsibility: to keep the river
healthy and restore fish passage
for generations to come.
The dams were built in the
1950s and ‘60s with the best of
intentions, for maintaining the
river’s natural health—including
wild salmon and steelhead runs.
But the dams didn’t work en-
tirely as intended. Fish were un-
able to pass, and water tempera-
tures below the dams were too cold
in the spring and early summer and
too warm in the late summer and
fall.
To address these concerns and
help bring back the fish, we worked
with PGE, the community, regu-
lators and environmental organi-
zations to come up with long-term
solutions.
One of those solutions is the
Selective Water Withdrawal Tower,
completed in 2010. This tower
creates currents that guide young
salmon and steelhead into collec-
tion facilities so they can be trans-
ported downstream around the
dams. In addition, it mixes water
from the surface and bottom of
Lake Billy Chinook so water re-
leased below the dams more
closely matches what the water
temperatures would be like if the
dams weren’t there.
The tower has already shown
early success, with adult fish re-
turning to the Deschutes for the
first time in 50 years.
Come See What it’s all About
While we still have a ways to go,
the impact of our long-term suc-
cess is well worth the effort.
It’s also worth seeing the tower
and the system for yourself, to un-
derstand how it works—what it
does and doesn’t do—and how
we’re using good science to moni-
tor this work.
We invite you to tour the facil-
ity, see how we produce power,
learn how the tower works and
hear more about how our science
and efforts are improving the
health of the river. We’ve set up
two tour dates for you to choose
from: Monday, November 27,
or Tuesday, November 28.
Biologists and others who work
on the project will be there to show
you how it works and answer any
questions you may have.
To sign up, please contact Warm
Springs Power and Water Enter-
prises at 541-553-1046, by Mon-
day, November 13, to reserve a
spot on one of the tours.
We look forward to seeing you
and to talking with you about this
important project for our commu-
nity.
Community notes...
War m Springs Baptist
Church is inviting folks to
welcome the Northwest In-
dian Bible School Choir
from Alberton, Montana, this
Sunday, October 29 from 5-7
p.m.
The Warm Springs Acad-
emy boys basketball informa-
tion night is on Monday, Oc-
tober 30 from 5:30-6 p.m. in
the cafeteria. The fall sports
awards ceremony is at 6
p.m.
The mobile medical unit
will be at the Campus area on
Halloween day.
Jayson Smith/Spilyay
Warm Springs drum group preforms at Madras High School, during half-time of the Buffalos’ game
against Corbett. Madras had a win, 35-8, the team’s second of the season, a great improvement
over the previous two years.
Buy-back program outreach event
The first community outreach
event of the Warm Springs land
buy-back program is scheduled for
Tuesday, November 7.
There will be two sessions, both
at the Housing Authority commu-
nity building, located at the Greeley
Heights subdivision.
The first session will be from 3
to 5 p.m., and the second from 6
to 8 p.m. Randy Scott is the pro-
gram coordinator of the Warm
Springs buy-back program. He is
transferring from land services to
the buy-back program. His office
will be at the Media Center.
The buy-back program imple-
ments the land consolidation com-
ponent of the Cobell Settlement,
which provided $1.9 billion to pur-
chase fractional interests in trust or
restricted land. The purchases will
be made only from willing sellers
at a fair market value.
On other reservations, the pro-
gram has been successful. At 48
other locations, the buy-back con-
solidated more than 730,000 frac-
tional interests, restoring more
than 2.1 million equivalent acres of
land to tribal governments.
Consolidated interests are im-
mediately restored to tribal trust
ownership for uses benefiting the
reservation community and tribal
members.
Returning fractionated lands to
tribes in trust has enormous po-
tential to improve tribal commu-
nity resources by increasing home
site locations, improving transpor-
tation routes, spurring economic
development, easing approval for
infrastructure and community
projects, and preserving traditional
cultural or ceremonial sites.
“The Tribes look forward to
working with the program to cre-
ate cultural, residential, govern-
mental and economic opportuni-
ties by consolidating fractionated
lands for the benefit of our tribal
community,” said Tribal Council
Chairman Austin Greene Jr.
The Tribes will be better
equipped to manage our lands both
on and off reser vation,” Mr.
Greene said. “Land is important
to us for the continued sovereignty
of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute
people.”
Fractionated interests in prop-
erty make development or im-
provements difficult, because of
the number of people with an in-
terest.
The fractioning process began
decades ago, when allotment were
first being granted. Over the years
with each succeeding generation,
the heirs’ to the original allottee
inherited fractions of interest.
It is common for a person to
have a very small percentage in-
terest in a particular allotment, in
common with many others.
2321 Ollallie Lane
(PO Box 6)
Warm Springs, OR
Call 541-
553-1182
The land buy-back program
would give fair market value to
each individual who has an inter-
est in an allotment, plus $75. The
$75 is an added incentive for
people to participate in the pro-
gram.
15% OFF product
purchases
To redeem mention this ad,
or show your tribal ID.
341 SW Sixth St.
Redmond
Tuesday - Saturday
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
ph. 541-923-8071