Mark Davis

Thank you Ariel Mndez for taking a holistic approach to the future of the Deschutes River and for considering the opinions of Bend residents. Neither the city or parks have money to waste and a carefully coordinated plan is needed. I believe you are correct in stating that the sedimentation of Mirror Pond has stabilized and I also believe that the dire consequences presented by Mirror Pond Solutions are grossly exaggerated.

Leave it to the Bend City Council to turn a one dollar purchase of 1500 acres outside one the hottest real-estate markets in the country into a multi-million dollar money pit. My advise to the council is to focus on the cities core values and stay far away from speculating on wild schemes. Presently this applies to the use of city money for dredging the Deschutes River. Another financial loser with multiple legal liabilities the city can't afford.

"green-generating dam" Mr. Horton, I don't think you can call it green when it kills 6000 fish each year. The Bend hydro Dam has no fish screens on the intake or tail-race. There is no fish passage and the design of the spillway kills fish from the impact at the base of the dam. It is unfair that the irrigation districts and Opal springs are required to invest millions in fish improvements when PacifiCorp does nothing. Additionally, the millions of public dollars spent at the North Unit Dam for fish passage have been mostly a waste of effort since the Bend Hydro Dam has no passage and is hardly more than a mile upstream. No more special treatment for the Mirror pond Dam. Bring it up to a proper standard or get rid of it.

Don't do whitewater with a leash. You may think you can release it, but you underestimate the crushing power of moving water. Learn the clean principle. https://www.raftingmag.com/rafting-magazin…

The obvious problem is the inadequate distance of 150 yards from private property or occupied public property that shooting is not allowed by federal law. This distance should be increased to one mile in order to provide for the safe use of firearms. One mile is the distance that the NRA stated that a .22 could be dangerous, back when the NRA cared about gun safety. 36 CFR 261.10 (d) (1) - Occupancy and use, needs to be changed to one mile. This has been an obvious flaw in public safety for decades and is the basis of the problems stated in this article. All other jurisdictions would automatically change to respect federal supremacy.

Great report, thanks. I'm beginning to believe that this whole affair is just a land grab of the bed and banks of the Deschutes River and no one really has a clue how to save Mirror Pond. The pond is toast and it's just a matter of who owns what land when PacifiCorp bails out of town. They don't even list the Bend Hydro project on their website.

The iconic falls into the pool is call Celestial Falls, named by Matt Rutledge, the first kayaker to run the falls. This is the official name since 2014 (GNIS ID: 2770703)