The Horizon
All the latest updates on our work defending rural lands, creating livable cities and towns and preserving wild lands and water throughout Central Oregon
Recovering Deschutes Basin Steelhead — Part 2
In less than a century, the impacts of irrigation, hydropower projects, and other human activities throughout the Deschutes Basin have disrupted the natural water systems and environmental conditions that sustained abundant steelhead populations for millennia.
In order to take steps toward habitat recovery, it is important to understand how we’ve fundamentally changed these waterways.
Raising the price of irrigation water should encourage conservation
To meet existing and future water needs, the Basin’s senior irrigation districts need to ramp up financial incentive programs to conserve more water, in concert with the piping of private laterals.
Recovering Deschutes Basin Steelhead — Part 1
The steelhead trout is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic species of fish.
In this series, we’re exploring the history of steelhead in the Deschutes Basin, the impacts irrigation and development have had on this species and their habitat, the actions water managers and regulators are proposing to address threats to this species, and whether they go far enough to restore the critical habitat this iconic species needs and deserves.
Planning For More Than Piping
Addressing water shortages in the Deschutes Basin requires a comprehensive Water Management Plan that integrates infrastructure improvements and market-based incentives to efficiently allocate water for both agricultural and environmental needs.
The Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative, through the state’s Place-Based Planning process, is developing this plan to ensure balanced water distribution and overcome existing systemic issues, emphasizing the need for immediate and coordinated action.
Another significant setback for Thornburgh Resort
LandWatch prevailed at Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeal in appeals of Deschutes County’s decision to approve Thornburgh Resort’s Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan (FWMP).
Guest Column: Reforming Water Policy at the Local Level
Most of the Deschutes River Basin’s water is used for irrigation and waste happens at every step in the process. It is time for irrigation districts to step up and truly embrace reform at the local level.
It's time to define the future of Deschutes County
What do we want Deschutes County to look like in 20 years? The County is asking for your input on its draft update to the Comprehensive Plan.
Addressing water waste in Central Oregon
It’s clear there is an appetite amongst irrigators for solutions to wasteful irrigation practices, improved irrigation infrastructure, and policy reform to allow easier reallocation of water to those who need it the most.
The Future of the Deschutes River Basin is at Stake
The biggest decision-point in our lifetimes for the future of the Deschutes River Basin was triggered last week when irrigation districts submitted a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Suffice to say, the plan put forth by the irrigation districts does not sufficiently address the scale of the River’s problem.