“We need your help to fight for the Deschutes”
Bet you couldn’t cast underneath those overhanging alder branches. Amy Hazel can. Read her guest blog, and heed her call to come to the DRA’s Auction and Gathering, Saturday February 21st, at the Redd in Portland.
A River at Risk
By Amy Hazel
We need your help to fight for the Deschutes.
Instead of the cold, clean, pristine water that was released from the bottom of the reservoir for the first 50 years after the dams were constructed, since late 2009, the water that now feeds the lower Deschutes is released from the luke-warm, algae-green surface of Lake Billy Chinook. In turn, the lower river is too often a sickly pea color, opaque, algae-choked, and warmer than ever before.
The water that flows into the lower Deschutes since the change in management at the dams has done damage to the insect life, the health of the trout, the abundance of steelhead, the very future of spring Chinook, and to the overall ecology of the entire lower 100 miles. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can bring back the Deschutes magic.
How to Fall in Love with a River
I love this river. I came to this river as a 22 year-old budding, enthusiastic fly angler who had only fly-fished in small mountain streams. The blanket hatches of caddis and mayflies and the epic salmonfly hatch in May and June made the Deschutes the dry-fly river of my dreams. It was possible to fish dries all day, from dawn til dusk. You’d hook big rainbows on dead caddis in the early morning, craneflies mid-morning, mayflies at lunchtime, stoneflies in the heat of the day, and on egg-laying caddis as the sun dipped in the sky. That’s the magic I reminisce about. That’s what I want back.
I know that so many of you reading this blog also hold this river in a special place in your hearts. I see it every day in our interactions in the fly shop. Anglers are drawn to the Deschutes from all over the world. It’s because this river possesses that elusive quality that caused you to pick up a fly rod in the first place. You step into the Deschutes at dawn (or whenever you roll out of your tent) and somehow feel younger than you’ve ever been. At its best, it’s a place alive with possibility.
Whether your pilgrimage to the Deschutes is a five-hour flight from Boston, a 12-hour drive from Utah or Montana, or a jump over the mountain from Portland, I see you when you arrive in Maupin with excitement in your eyes and smiles on your faces. You are drawn to the Deschutes to match wits against its wild and wily native redband trout, or to swing flies for the chance to tie into an ocean-bright steelhead. You know how special these fish are, and why we want a healthy river for them.
We want a pristine river with clean rocks and insect hatches so thick that we complain about the extra insect protein in our riverside meals. We want to be able to lay back in our camp chairs in the evening to watch nighthawks swoop over the river gorging on the caddis that the trout failed to grab. The bugs are far fewer, the nighthawks painfully absent, and that is not something that we should be willing to accept.
Bring Back the Magic
We need to bring the Deschutes back to its former glory - and that goal is well within reach. We just need to show the right people that this river matters to a whole lot of people and that there is a solution that can work for all of us. Energy production is important, but it should not come at the cost of having a healthy ecosystem that benefits fish, insects, birds, and anglers.
Portland General Electric, the private corporation that holds majority ownership and manages how the water is released from the Pelton Round Butte dam complex, can make changes immediately that would improve water quality without losing any of the power generation created by the dam. State regulators, namely the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, have the authority to press PGE to make these changes.
The Deschutes River Alliance has been fighting for those changes since our founding in 2013. We are certainly the “David” to PGE’s “Goliath” - we just have not yet found the right sling and rock. But you can help us get there.
I know you care about the Deschutes. So, I ask you to join the fight for the health of the river. The Deschutes River Alliance is the only organization whose singular mission is the health of the lower Deschutes, and fixing the problems caused by PGE’s mismanagement of the river. We need everybody who loves this river to join us in the fight. It is time to give back to the river that has given us so many great days on the water, memorable moments, precious time with friends and family, and a needed escape from the chaotic world. It’s time to bring back the magic.
Here’s the first easy step. Please join the Deschutes River Alliance for our tenth annual Auction and Gathering. Click on that last highlighted link to get your tickets. Come spend a few winter afternoon hours with 300 or so of the lower Deschutes River’s best friends.
Those who’ve experienced the river magic of the Deschutes carry a bit of it with them. It’s infectious. And when enough of us catch it, we’ll be one giant step closer to creating the Deschutes River of our memories and dreams.
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Everyone wants clean, healthy water in the Deschutes River. Oregonians cherish our clean and healthy waterways to provide drinking water, wildlife habitat and recreational activities. The lower Deschutes River is a federally designated Wild & Scenic River, and a national treasure. It must be protected for the environmental and economic health of Central Oregon. By working together we can return the lower Deschutes River to full health.
