In their book, “On the Loose,” Terry and Renny Russell write, “One of the best-paying professions is getting ahold of pieces of country in your mind, learning their smell and their moods, sorting out the pieces of a view, deciding what grows there and there and why, how many steps that hill will take, where this creek winds and where it meets the other one below…This is the best kind of ownership, and the most permanent.”
With that storyline meandering through your head, you’ll want to sign up for the upcoming Know Your Home Waters series about the Deschutes watershed presented by the Upper Deschutes Water Council in conjunction with Central Oregon Community College’s Community Education and the High Desert Museum. This six-part speaker series will feature four lecture sessions held at the High Desert Museum, along with two field days spent exploring parts of this important watershed.
“This annual speaker series is a great way to learn about your home waters, especially for those that have recently moved to the community,” said Kris Knight, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council executive director. “We got some feedback from a previous series where folks said the field trip was their favorite part and that they’d like to have more of that, so we’ve paired two field trips with the lectures to see what they’ve learned about.”
The Upper Deschutes Watershed is a two-million-acre basin fed from precipitation and snow melt in the Cascades near Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters Wilderness. That water feeds Little Lava Lake, the headwaters for the Deschutes River, which flows 250 miles to its junction with the Columbia River.
“The series will include topics on how water is used in the basin, irrigation conservation, salmon and steelhead restoration, and restoration projects on Whychus Creek and the Metolius River,” Knight said. “One of the topics will be Think Wild’s beaver program, looking at how these ecosystem engineers are integral to waterways.” Those new to beavers will get a close-up look at one of these aquatic creatures at the High Desert Museum.
One of the field trips will be to the Pelton and Round Butte dams to get a behind-the-scenes tour of how Portland General Electric operates the facility, especially in regard to the unique fish passage program there.
A topic of concern to many in the community is the prolonged drought that has impacted Central Oregon over the last five years. “Lack of snowpack and lack of water is stressful for everyone,” said Knight. “Less water to provide for different needs, from farms to fisheries, forces all of us to be smarter with water use.”
Those who float the Deschutes River through the Old Mill District or have played in the whitewater park below the Columbia Street Bridge may have some disconnect to the Deschutes as the river is managed differently along various stretches upstream and downstream from these areas. Learning about the various aspects of the river basin and how the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan, which involves numerous stakeholders, attempts to balance water resource needs with wildlife and habitat protection, only makes one a better water-informed citizen who embraces their ownership of living in the Deschutes River watershed.
COCC Community Education
April 23/May 6, 15, 28/June 4, 12 6–8PM
High Desert Museum
59800 S. Highway 97, Bend
enroll.com/cocc/
$65
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