The Whychus Creek watershed historically provided some of the best spawning, rearing and/or migration habitat for redband trout, spring Chinook and summer steelhead salmon upstream of the Pelton Round Butte dams on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. Portland General Electric (PGE) and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Tribes) are currently implementing an anadromous fish reintroduction program to bring fish back to this watershed for the first time in more than 50 years. To date over $120 million has been invested in reintroduction with the long term goal of achieving self-sustaining salmon and steelhead populations above the Pelton Round Butte dams.
With this historic reintroduction underway, our efforts in Whychus Creek are focused on restoring the physical and biological conditions necessary to support successful salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing. Most of our work in the Whychus Creek watershed is conducted as part of The Deschutes Partnership, a consortium of organizations working together to support successful reintroduction efforts. Restoration priorities include:
- Restore a more natural hydrograph (i.e., increased summer streamflow);
- Provide fish passage and screening at dams and/or diversions; and
- Protect and restore a healthy stream corridor (including protection and/or restoration of wetlands, in-stream habitat, riparian and floodplain areas).
To learn more about our efforts throughout this area, our new StoryMap tells the story of how restoration has evolved on Whychus Creek and what our monitoring is telling us about the ecosystems that are emerging. Check it out here!
Here is a list of the projects we have completed and/or are in the process of completing on Whychus Creek.
