Like us, you’ve probably grown tired of the endless history lessons surrounding the bend in the Deschutes River affectionately known as “Mirror Pond.” The Pacific Power “dam,” which has created an abnormal and unhealthy part of the river now full of silt, continues to attract the attention of folks who put the idea of a healthy river with recreational benefits below the notion of a shallow bit of water that, if the angle is right, may reflect a mountain. This warm, flat, now obscure part of the river is often touted as “iconic,” because it once graced postcards and ads in the region in the distant past. This kind of sophistry is dangerous and really should stop.
Yes, it is fatiguing to hear about this issue once again, but now is not the time for reasonable folks to turn their attention to other matters. Like the torpid flow of the Deschutes running through Drake Park, the flat river supporters are moving forward with the notion that taxpayers should fund the dredging of the river. The unreasonable passion that some in our community have attached to the dredging is now flowing into meetings with public entities including the City of Bend, Bend Park and Recreation District, Visit Bend and private entities such as Pacific Power.
The dredging of the river will cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and ultimately, will once again kick the can of restoration down the road for another generation. Make no mistake: dredging is not a fix. No one is proposing that dredging is even a viable solution. And yet, proponents, in the face of this problem, continue to be motivated by their old-fashioned notions of “iconic” landmarks to support the allocation of millions of tax dollars.
We could make a list of the myriad government services and nonprofit agencies that would thrive with the receipt of these monies instead. But we don’t have to. We are sure, gentle reader, that you can, in a short amount of time, think of at least one organization you would rather give these monies to than the dredger man.
Thankfully, Bend has changed over the years. We are an active community—socially, environmentally and physically. For this reason, people come to our community in overwhelming numbers. They don’t come to Bend to stand with their hands in their pockets and marvel at man-made grandeur. Instead, they immerse themselves in the natural beauty that remains in the few places we haven’t ruined.
But, perhaps we are wrong on this issue. Maybe the idea of a “mirror pond” that requires millions of dollars to sustain is something the community does want. We may never know unless this allocation of funds is put to a vote. While we don’t support dredging, we do support the will of the community, and if Bend wants to allocate hard-earned taxes to dredging, then so be it. Let’s have a ballot measure and really get after this issue once and for all. In this way, we can circumvent the back room deals and political pressure surrounding this important issue and come up with the very solution the community craves.
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This article appears in Jul 20-26, 2017.
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I’ll pass on millions of tax dollars being used to “fix” mirror pond.
The real money grabbers are those who claim Mirror Pond needs to be changed, rather than simply maintained on a periodic basis. The dredging cost today is due to many decades of non-maintenance, and is still the cheapest proposal by far.
What needs to be voted on is not ‘to dredge or not to dredge’… but about 3 choices of what can be done to restore the river to something more natural or not. We’ve been all through this a few years ago with at least 3 good options. Personally like the option with the spillway, a pond feature, and reclaimed riparian areas…the one the paddle river group came up with.
Interesting that you exclude the pond in front of the Old Mill district from your criticsm.. Drake Park provides a lot of shade for the river compared with the barren banks of the mill pond. I can show you a 1935 aerial view of Bend that shows the mud flats below Galveston existed just a few years after the pond was created. The old mill pond is the current settling basin, but, hey, no problem there?
Developers and Bend Parks did some shady land deals to get title to the bottom of the pond. But their plan is not to dredge the river. Its to burden downtown businesses for tax money.
The only thing that would be better for the Old Mill would be if they could drain Mirror pond and the downtown businesses.,
Now you’re leading the charge and playing into their plan.
I know Source editors would like to see a free flowing river so they can cast their fly rods into a downtown river. But do you seriously think that you can revive a fishery in a city of 100000 fishermen? Wake up and smell that nasty smell. Its not dead fish. It’s corruption.
Considering the uncertainty of PacifiCorp’s plans for their dilapidated dam and pond, and the lack of clear support from the public, the option of doing nothing is the best approach at this time. There is no critical harm created by the present sedimentation of the pond that requires immediate action. The water is still reflecting the mountains for the enjoyment of park visitors, swans are still swimming, and the sedimentation has probably reached equilibrium. If wildlife is a concern then the best action is to remove the dam and restore the river to a more natural state. MPS’s plan to dredge the pond using a suction dredge will degrade the water quality, cost tax-payers and provide negligible benefits.