A2 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2022
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Students study in the library at the former Concordia University
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the 19-acre site and will call it UO Portland.
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UO completes
purchase of former
Concordia campus
George Plaven/Capital Press file
The head gates of a canal on the Klamath Project in Klamath Falls as seen in August.
Irrigators, tribes object
to extending interim
plan for Klamath Project
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS —
Farmers, ranchers and tribal
members alike are urging the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to
let its interim operations plan
for the Klamath Project end,
describing it as “unworkable
and irrational.”
The operations plan pro-
vides a formula for how much
water will be allocated each
year to farmers and ranchers
for irrigation, while also bal-
ancing the water needed for
endangered fish in the Klam-
ath River and Upper Klamath
Lake.
Brian Person, a senior ad-
viser for the Bureau of Recla-
mation in Klamath Falls, said
the current interim plan was
formalized in March 2020 and
set to expire Sept. 30.
Instead, the bureau expects
to extend the interim plan
as it anticipates the removal
of four hydroelectric dams
on the lower Klamath River,
which is expected to open
about 400 miles of fish spawn-
ing habitat.
“Dam removal is going to
literally change the landscape
and geomorphology in the
Klamath River,” Person said.
Under the Endangered
Species Act, the bureau is re-
quired to consult with the Na-
tional Marine Fisheries Ser-
vice and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to ensure the Klamath
Project does not jeopardize
the survival of imperiled fish.
The resulting biological
opinions — one for coho
salmon in the lower Klamath
River and one for Lost River
and shortnose suckers in Up-
per Klamath Lake — dic-
tate operations for roughly
200,000 acres of farmland
straddling Southern Oregon
and Northern California.
The suckers are also known
as C’waam and Koptu by the
Klamath Tribes.
Three consecutive years of
record drought have only in-
creased tensions in the basin.
This year, irrigators will get
15% of the water they say they
need, and last year, the project
BY ELLIOT NJUS
The Oregonian
The University of Oregon
has finalized its $60.35 mil-
lion purchase of the former
Concordia University cam-
pus in northeast Portland
and plans to move in as soon
as fall 2023.
The centerpiece of the
19-acre campus, which the
university is calling UO
Portland, will be a children’s
behavioral health program
funded with a $425 million
donation from Connie and
Steve Ballmer. Connie Ball-
mer is a UO graduate and a
former trustee. Steve Ballmer
is the former chief executive
of Microsoft.
But the university says it
will also move all of the pro-
grams housed in its White
Stag building in Portland’s
Old Town. That includes
various academic programs
and research centers focused
on journalism, advertising,
architecture, sports product
design and law.
It’s also considering relo-
cating its Portland master
of business administration
program, which is housed in
leased space in Old Town.
It’s not clear what might
happen to the White Stag
was shut down entirely.
The Klamath Tribes, mean-
while, are suing the govern-
ment for failing to meet min-
imum water levels in Upper
Klamath Lake needed to pro-
vide shoreline spawning habi-
tat for suckers.
Officials from the Interior
Department, which oversees
the Bureau of Reclamation,
heard from irrigators and
tribes during a two-day visit
to the Klamath Basin that
wrapped up Wednesday.
Person said the primary
assertion is the interim op-
erations plan simply does
not work in such extreme
drought, when there is so little
water available in the system.
Rather than extend the in-
terim plan, Person said stake-
holders asked if agencies could
conduct consultations each
year to determine water sup-
plies and protections for en-
dangered fish.
“Reclamation is still eval-
uating that request,” Person
said. “There will be some fol-
low-up discussions.”
property, which is owned
by the University of Oregon
Foundation, the nonprofit
that oversees endowments
and other major gifts to the
school. UO spokesperson
Kay Jarvis said a group is
discussing the property’s fu-
ture.
Concordia University
closed suddenly in early 2020
when its parent church, the
St. Louis-based Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod, cut
off funding over the Port-
land campus’ acceptance of
LGBTQ students.
After Concordia closed,
and presented with the Ball-
mers’ millions, UO sprang
at the chance to buy a ready-
built campus in a quiet cor-
ner of Portland.
The Ballmer Institute aims
to create a partnership with
local schools to address what
the Ballmers and the univer-
sity described as a growing
mental health crisis among
Oregon’s children, with its
epicenter in Portland. The
center will offer bachelor’s
degrees and certificates to
midcareer students. It ex-
pects to graduate more than
200 behavioral health practi-
tioners a year once it’s up and
running.
LOCAL BRIEFING
CDC: Crook, Deschutes,
Jefferson counties reach
high COVID levels
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention raised
the COVID-19 community
levels Thursday to high for
Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson
and 12 other Oregon counties.
The increasing spread
means 24 Oregon counties
are now at high levels of com-
munity spread. Nine counties
were at high levels as of June
23.
All other Oregon counties
were listed Thursday at me-
dium levels.
It’s the first time all three
Central Oregon counties have
been ranked at high levels
since restrictions were re-
moved in March.
The CDC has been mon-
itoring community levels of
COVID-19 to help commu-
nities decide what preven-
tion steps to take based on
the latest data. Levels can be
low, medium or high and are
determined by looking at hos-
pital beds being used, hospital
admissions and the total num-
ber of new COVID-19 cases
in an area.
Precautions the CDC rec-
ommends for communities
with high levels:
• Wear a mask indoors in
public
• Stay up to date with
COVID-19 vaccines.
• Get tested if you have
symptoms.
• Additional precautions
may be needed for people at
high risk for severe illness.
Cougar spotted in
Deschutes River Woods
A cougar was spotted on
CDC
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention on Thursday
raised the COVID-19 commu-
nity levels to high in Crook, De-
schutes, Jefferson and 12 other
Oregon counties. Orange equals
high levels and yellow equals
medium.
an empty lot in Deschutes
River Woods on Wednesday,
the first reported sighting of a
cougar in Bend in nearly two
years.
Deschutes County sheriff’s
deputies were dispatched af-
ter a local resident reported
the cougar at around 7:40 p.m.
Deputies located the cougar
on a nearby vacant lot and
watched the animal until it left
the residential area.
The cougar was seen head-
ing into Deschutes National
Forest land northwest of De-
schutes River Woods. The
incident was reported to the
Oregon State Police and the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife.
The sighting was the first
since July 2020, when a cougar
was spotted outside Grocery
Outlet in Bend . A resident
saw that cougar at around
5 a.m. and followed the ani-
mal until it disappeared near
the Bend Parkway.
Seven cougar sightings were
reported across the region in
2019. On Feb. 9, 2019, state
wildlife officials and Bend po-
lice tracked a 135-pound cou-
gar into the Deschutes River
Woods area and killed it.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office reminded the
public in a press release that
if a cougar is encountered
one should not run but rather
make noises, pick up their
children, raise their arms and
prepare to fight back.
Anyone involved in a face-
to-face encounter with a cou-
gar or any dangerous animal
should call the nearest ODFW
office, Oregon State Police
or land manager if on public
land.
Shepherd’s House seeks
water for the homeless
As the weather gets hotter,
Shepherd’s House Ministries
is asking the community
to donate bottled water for
those on the streets in Cen-
tral Oregon.
The nonprofit is experi-
encing a shortage of bottled
water as summer unfolds
and temperatures begin to
rise, Shepherd’s House said
in a news release Thursday.
The hotter weather
means the many men,
women and children living
unhoused in Central Ore-
gon will face dehydration
and potentially dangerous
health effects from the hot
weather.
The organization is
asking for donations of
cases or pallets of 12- or
16-ounce water bottles.
Donations can be dropped
off at Shepherd’s House in
Bend, 1854 NE Division St.,
Monday through Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the re-
lease added.
Pet photos available at
The Bulletin booth
Interested in having a
photo taken of you and your
pet in all their Fourth of July
holiday best?
Stop by The Bulletin booth
after the Pet Parade on Mon-
day in Drake Park.
We’ll photograph your pet
and you can pick up a free
2022 pet calendar, too.
Photos may appear in next
year’s pet calendar as well as
in the paper and online.
The booth will be open
from 9 a.m. until noon.
Roundabout opens on
Wilson Avenue in Bend
After months of construc-
tion, the roundabout at Wil-
son Avenue and Ninth Street
opened Thursday evening in
Bend.
The roundabout is one of
the first major projects to be
completed as a part of the
$190 million transportation
bond passed by voters in 2020.
It’s also Bend’s first bicy-
cle-protected roundabout.
The roundabout will work
like a single-lane roundabout,
but has a protected bike lane
around the outside between
the sidewalk and vehicle lane,
according to the city of Bend.
The city will move on to
build improvements along
Wilson Avenue between
Ninth and 15th streets.
The goal is to make east-to-
west travel along Wilson Ave-
nue easier and safer, according
to the city.
All of the improvements
along Wilson Avenue are pro-
jected to be finished by the
end of 2023. More informa-
tion can be found at bendore-
gon.gov/wilson.
— Bulletin staff reports
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