Local fishing guides say higher temperatures in the lower Deschutes River are affecting the ecosystem – and the local economy.
Deschutes River
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Inspectors on Newport Avenue Dam: “It’s Old”
Pacific Power engineers at work. So far, after one full day of inspections, Pacific Power engineers are reporting what we already knew about the leaking, 103-year-old Newport Avenue dam. “It’s inline with our expectations, which is, it’s old,” said Pacific Power spokesperson Bob Gravely while standing on the Newport Avenue Bridge overlooking the dam. Gravely, […]
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Water Levels in Mirror Pond to Drop Further as Dam Inspection Begins
Mirror Pond water levels are already quite low. Pacific Power spokesman Bob Gravely just told me that the utility company will begin drawing down water levels Monday morning at the “crack on dawn” so that company personnel can access and inspect the Newport Avenue Dam, which sprung a significant leak in early October. Permitting requirements […]
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Low Water Leaves Scores of Fish Dead on Upper Deschutes
Jeff P. This brown trout and smaller rainbow trout are just a few of the victims of our antiquated water management policies. Countless fish now lay dead on the banks of the Upper Deschutes, stranded after the Water Resources Department reverted to extremely low winter flow rates earlier this week. What’s perhaps even more depressing […]
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Care About the River? Here’s How to Vote on Mirror Pond’s Future.
River or pond? Dredge and walk away or remove the dam and add more public green space? The Mirror Pond Steering Committee has presented the community with four options (or seven, counting the no-dam alternatives associated with the first three options) for managing the silt clogging the pond feature on the Deschutes River near downtown […]
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It’s Over!
Dredging Mirror Pond won’t come cheap. Which means it might not come at all. Today, during the Mirror Pond Management Board Meeting, we learned there’s 380,000 cubic yards of silt (affectionately referred to as “goo” or “warm Jell-O”) in the bottom of the man-made lake near downtown Bend. At $30-$50 per yard of silt removed […]
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Pacific Power Says Dam is “Not Very” Important to Company
Yesterday’s MPMB powwow. During Wednesday’s Mirror Pond Management Board meeting Pacific Power rep. Angela Jacobson Price was asked “how important is the dam to your company?”“Not very,” she said. Price went on to call the Newport Avenue dam, the 100-year-old structure which impounds the Deschutes River at Drake Park, “a small asset” and said it […]
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Survey Results are Clear: People Care about the River
Late last week the Mirror Pond Steering Committee released the results from 18-question survey that was first issued in January.And yesterday, Don Horton, executive director of Bend Park & Recreation District summed up the results during a Mirror Pond Steering Committee meeting.Horton said it was “clear,” Bend residents care about water quality, river habitat and […]
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The Somewhat Surprising Results from the Unofficial Mirror Pond Survey
Further proof that the tide may well be turning: mirrorpond.info That long, split-pea green bar on top represents the 62.26% of respondents who think “The dam should be removed and the river returned to its natural channel.” About 300 participated in the the unofficial survey, issued by the Old Bend Neighborhood Association via the website […]
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Deschutes River: “Integrated Solution” Called for at City Club Today
Ryan Houston of Upper Deschutes Watershed Council explains what is and isn’t possible. Today’s City Club of Central Oregon forum was a who’s who of Bend’s movers and shakers. Not surprising given the topic: Mirror Pond. It was perhaps the first time in recent years where river experts, hydrologists and stakeholders, as well as notables […]