Central Oregon LandWatch is pleased to announce the release of a new report entitled, "An Estimate of Conservation Dollars Invested in the Restoration of the Deschutes Basin." This report provides a detailed accounting of the large-scale, long-term conservation investment being made in the restoration of the Deschutes Basin in support of the reintroduction and health of native fish species.

According to our research more than $250 million is being, or will be spent between 1995 and 2020 on a variety of projects in the basin from major engineering feats costing millions to small grassroots volunteer efforts. Hundreds of millions of dollars, decades of time and thousands of hours of effort on the part of agency staff, nonprofit organizations and volunteers are going into this extensive, voluntary, collaborative effort which has brought together people from across the basin from environmentalists and ranchers to irrigators and fly fishers, paddlers and landowners. Scot Lawrence the Project Manager for Hydro Licensing at Portland General Electric captured the spirit of this exceptional coming together toward a common goal when he wrote:

"One other thing of note is the passion that licensee, local, state and federal, and NGO staffs have toward this project. Many of these projects are extremely complex and to see the cooperation among these people, in order to reintroduce these fish, improve their habitat and still keep the lights turned on in Portland and elsewhere is truly remarkable."

The report, which was produced by Darcy McNamara for Central Oregon LandWatch is attached below. The estimates in this report are likely conservative and represent recent, ongoing, and planned investments in the basin. For additional information, or questions, please contact LandWatch staff at info@centraloregonlandwatch.org.