Cathasaigh Ó Corcráin | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Member since May 14, 2014

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  • Posted by:
    Cathasaigh Ó Corcráin on 03/20/2015 at 3:20 PM
    "Flying under the Radar" is exactly what is going on here. As someone who spoke at the meeting in support of scientifically objective ecological restoration, and as someone who has observed the extreme gentrification of my hometown since being born here in 1982, I am grateful to Ms. Campbell, Dr. Boddie, Mayor Clinton, and the growing tide of voices who also spoke out for the health and life of the river. These voices contrast the superficial aesthetics of a privileged sector within this municipality, which has over many decades grow very comfortable operating in a exclusively selfish manner, beyond the reach of genuine scrutiny.

    As I learned the history of my home watershed (I did NOT learn this history in school, sadly), my heart was broken at the loss inflicted upon this place. I read in the diaries of John C. Fremont of a native savannah of giant Ponderosa trees stretching the length of the eastern Cascades. These trees fell, converted to become Capital, some of it still sitting at the bottom of Brooks Resources bank account. I found pictures of Bull Trout the size of a small child, pulled out of a wild river that is now an impounded, oxygen starved slack-water filled with pond scum.

    And importantly, I learned that our river was once part of the greatest anadromous/salmonid fishery on planet Earth, who's native fish population is now less than 1% of what it was (disguised by the EXPENSIVE band-aid of hatcheries). I learned that, contrary to popular belief, anadromous (ocean going) fish did indeed spawn in the upper reaches of the Deschutes watershed. For certain, Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) once filled the marshes inundated by Crane Prairie reservoir. This species is the first sacred food of the Indigenous nations of the Mid-Columbia, on both the Oregon and Washington side, and is now on a path to extinction. The Deschutes was once a stronghold for this important fish, and the first blow against them was none other than the 1910 dam that created mirror pond, extirpating this species from the entire watershed upriver from Bend. So please remember, where some see a quaint picture of idyllic western urbanism, others see a process of ongoing colonialism and cultural genocide. Sad, but history is full of facts none-the-less.

    At first, this proposal seems to remedy this problem by providing fish passage. Yay!? But let's be honest. There are very few actual fish to speak of because there is next to no habitat here, and this fact also calls for restoration. And then the North Unit dam is yet one more impasse that needs to be dealt with. So where does this leave us then?

    We must consider the life of the Deschutes watershed as a whole and take a longer-term perspective. This issue impacts the surviving Indigenous fishery on the lower Deschutes, and is implicated in broader restoration efforts throughout the entire Columbia Basin. So how is this connected to, and dependent upon, an "Urban Development" scheme?

    What does objective science say about water quality if we replace the dam with another impoundment? And then what is the moral action considering the true "historical" aspect of mirror pond accounting for the life of this place prior to 1910? A marginal improvement still falls far short of the mark. And we will still be require to dredge, not even resolving the initial concern. How about State or Federal law? Are we compromising the health of the river to appease the superficial aesthetics of invested capital? If this is true in any way, then shame on all of us.

    The light of genuine scrutiny must descend upon this project, and anyone who feels they can "Fly under the radar" should reconsider. Compromising the ecological health of this river is unforgivable, as this will be the measure by which future generations will judge us. I, for one, will not fail them. And it is clear to me that I am in no way alone.