Spilyay tymoo., August 07, 2024, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 7, 2024
Tribes, PGE review latest on basin fisheries work
cies were in attendance.
“The fisheries workshop
is a unique opportunity to
bring together a diverse
group of people passionate
about the Deschutes, to pro-
mote mutual learning and
connection,” Hill said.
“It allows our biologists to
share their research with the
public and learn from other
agencies and non-profit or-
ganizations involved in basin
restoration. This collabora-
tion helps the Confederated
Tribes and PGE to improve
our fisheries program.”
The Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs and Port-
land General Electric in July
hosted the Thirtieth Annaul
Pelton-Round Butte fisheries
workshop.
The workshop keeps the
stakeholders informed about
the latest science for fish,
wildlife, and habitat in the
Deschutes River Basin.
The longevity of the event
is a testament to the ongoing
collaboration between part-
ners throughout the
Deschutes Basin, the impor-
tance of mutual learning, and
dedication to long-term strat-
egies for fish and wildlife.
On Whychus Creek
Long-term partnership
When the partners hosted
the first Pelton-Round Butte
fisheries workshop in the
summer of 1995, when just
29 people were invited. Now,
30 years later, the annual
event hosted in Bend by the
tribes and PGE, is still going
strong, and this summer 86
people showed.
The workshop attendees
gathered at the Oregon State
University Cascades in Bend
to hear the latest updates
from biologists, environmen-
tal scientists and restoration
leaders.
Presentations covered a
Courtesy
Area of Whychus Creek. The tribes and PGE have invested $26 million for
fisheries restoration along Whychus.
range of topics, from fish
population trends to habitat
improvement projects, to
the threat of invasive zebra
mussels.
“Good communication,
at these workshops helps
with good working relation-
ships,” said Rober t
Br unoe, Secretary Trea-
surer-CEO of the Confed-
erated Tribes.
“Our neighbors are not
going anywhere and the
tribes also are not going any-
where, so it’s in the best in-
terest for everyone to work
together.
“When we do, we can ac-
complish great things to ad-
dress climate change and en-
sure we have clean water for
our communities, fish and
wildlife habitat and enough
of that water now and into
the future.”
Megan Hill is the man-
ager of environmental sci-
ence at PGE hydro-power
projects. “Despite the effects
of climate change and the
growth in Central Oregon,
which can cause challenges,
there’s a lot to celebrate,”
Ms. Hill said.
Environmental advo-
cates, outdoor enthusiasts,
and representatives from
tribal, federal and state agen-
Since the 1990s, when the
tribes and PGE first started
hosting the workshop, fish
habitat in the upper
Deschutes Basin has im-
proved.
Whychus Creek, an im-
portant tributary to the
Deschutes, has more water
flowing through it, several
key organizations—including
the Deschutes Land Trust
and Deschutes River Conser-
vancy—formed to protect
and restore habitat in the
river.
The tribes and PGE and
the tribes have contributed
$26 million to fish and water
conservation.
Salmon and steel-
head are now
spawning and repro-
ducing upstream of
the Pelton-Round
Butte dams.
On top of these habitat
enhancements, salmon and
steelhead are now spawning
and reproducing upstream of
the Round-Butte dams—
something that hadn’t hap-
pened since before the hydro-
power complex was con-
structed in the 1960s.
“While we’ve come a long
way and are excited to have
these fish back in their his-
torical habitats upstream of
the project, there is still a lot
of work to do to reach the
goals of sustainable and
harvestable runs of these
fish,” Hill said, kicking off
the 2024 workshop.
“And that’s the purpose of
today—to share information
about our studies and learn
from each other, in an effort
to improve these fish runs
for generations to come.”
Presentations from the
2024 workshop can be
viewed on PGE’s Deschutes
Updates webpage.