Upper Deschutes Watershed Council reports habitat work, growing monitoring data and education programs
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Summary
The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council updated commissioners on restoration projects, monitoring results including steelhead returns, education and cleanup programs, and FY24 finances; the county-funded service partner grant leverages broader public and private funding.
The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council provided its annual year‑end update to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on May 20, reporting restoration projects, monitoring results and education programs funded and delivered across the Upper Deschutes watershed.
Chris Knight, the council’s executive director, summarized a second phase of large‑woody‑debris restoration at Willow Springs Preserve on Whitehorse Creek and work to recycle trees removed for defensible space by using them as in‑stream habitat structures. He said the council leverages county service‑partner funds ($20,000 in FY25) to attract federal, state and private grants; the council reported an FY24 budget of about $2.2 million and an FY25 budget closer to $1.6 million while it pivoted into design work for future projects.
Knight highlighted recent monitoring results and noted a strong return of steelhead to the Pelton–Round Butte complex during the past winter. He said field teams observed steelhead redds (spawning nests) in restored reaches of Whitehorse Creek at numbers not previously seen, and that ongoing tagging and monitoring work will clarify how many adult fish use particular tributaries.
Upcoming projects described include fish‑passage engineering work at Mirror Pond in Bend, and a fish‑ladder restoration effort at the Gilchrist millpond on the Little Deschutes; both are in design and stakeholder coordination phases and will require additional fundraising. The council also described education and volunteer programs including k–12 watershed education, adult watershed classes with Central Oregon Community College, and an annual Deschutes River cleanup scheduled for June 28.
Knight said the council had temporary delays in federal grant cashflows earlier in the year, which have since been restored, and that the council continues to seek partnerships and private donations to support monitoring and restoration work. Commissioners thanked the council and noted the county’s role as a founding partner.
