Fish rescue planned

Squaw Creek Irrigation District staff and volunteers plan to rescue fish stranded in their canals and return them to district ponds following their seasonal shut-down later this month.

State law requires a permit to transport live fish, but irrigation district Manager Marc Thalacker says the district doesn't need one since the fish are being moved within district waters.

"These are fish in our system and we're just returning them to our system," Thalacker said.

"We do a systematic shut-down, canal by canal," he said. "We walk every mile and we net and bucket (the fish) and return them to the ponds."

Thalacker reported that a large group of SCID users assisted with the 1997 rescue, returning over 5,000 fish to private and district-owned ponds.

ORS 498.222 requires a permit to release live fish in waters other than those of their origin. The law also requires a permit to "transport any live fish," other than those "for aquaria use."

Steve Marx, acting district biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Bend confirmed that, "A person needs a transport permit issued by ODF&W to move live fish from one body of water to another."

"The argument would be," said Marx, "Is that the same body of water?"

SCID board chair Lee Christensen acknowledged the requirements.

"Since they were introduced from our irrigation ponds, it's illegal to put them any place but back in our system," he said.

Christensen said he was unaware of the law requiring a permit to transport the fish. SCID board member Charles Trachsel was also unaware of the permit requirement. Board member Glenn Cooper declined to answer questions from The Nugget .