National Rivers Month Spotlight

It’s National Rivers Month, so we’re taking a quick look at two Central Oregon streams that are near, dear, and deserving of our care: the Crooked River and Whychus Creek.

The Crooked River

Lower Crooked River Canyon

The Crooked River is the central artery of the Ochocos that drains approximately 4,500 square miles and was once broadly inhabited by native steelhead and salmon. Today, the Crooked’s health is challenged by substantial irrigation water diversions and lost migratory access to headwater habitat above Bowman and Ochoco dams.

Whychus Creek

Upper Whychus Creek

Descending from Cascade glaciers to the west, Whychus Creek once proved an estimated 42 percent of steelhead spawning habitat in the Upper Deschutes Basin. Whychus was so heavily dewatered for irrigation during the 1900s that parts of the creek often ran dry, and extensive channelization further altered the stream’s natural hydrology. Thankfully, ongoing restoration efforts are working toward resuscitating this iconic creek, but instream flows still fall well-short of what salmon and steelhead require.

How You Can Help

Healthy high desert watersheds are crucial for Central Oregon’s livable future. We can support our streams by:

Advocating for more sustainable water management and supporting aquatic and riparian habitat restoration efforts,

Opposing efforts to weaken environmental protections—including the proposed Roadless Rule rescission, which threatens designated roadless areas along both Whychus Creek and the Crooked River,

And, by supporting legislative solutions like Ron Wyden's River Democracy Act, which would extend enhanced protections for tributaries in both the Whychus Creek and Crooked River watersheds through federal Wild & Scenic designations.