Local ranch conserving water

When he first took over Squaw Creek Ranch, Frank Deggendorfer says that the stream bed was usually "bone dry" in the summertime.

Today, he can point to "thousands of fingerling trout" where the river runs through his property.

Squaw Creek Ranch isn't one of those big western spreads that took John Wayne three days to ride across.

Nestled in an inconspicuous canyon, just east of the Sisters airport and McKinney Butte, the ranch encompasses a relatively modest 316 acres.

A sign at the main gate warns, "Beware grumpy ex-retailer." It turns out, however, that he's really not all that grumpy.

Deggendorfer is the newest owner of the Squaw Creek Ranch, and he's been there for about four years.

The irrigation rights for the ranch, however, date back all the way to 1885. Since then, the small farm has contributed -- in a proportionately small measure -- to the long-term decline of its namesake's ecological health.

In the year 2000, however, Deggendorfer has taken steps to reverse that trend.

What has changed?

"It's a cooperative project," says Deggendorfer, and good water years have certainly contributed, as well.

Last year, he began looking into alternative methods for delivery of water to his hay fields. After conferring with the Squaw Creek Irrigation District (SCID), a decision was made to explore the possibility of a sprinkler irrigation system that would bypass SCID.

For over a century, water was delivered to Squaw Creek Ranch to be used in the water-intensive method of flood irrigation.

Until June of this year, that water was delivered through the mile and a quarter-long Thompson Ditch -- even though Squaw Creek itself passes right through the property.

Like most irrigation canals in Central Oregon, the Thompson Ditch was carved through porous volcanic soils that soak up as much as half of the water that flows through it.

Water for the ranch's needs was diverted from the creek, upstream of Sisters, and routed for several miles through the Cloverdale Ditch and, eventually, into the Thompson Ditch.

Joyce Burdick, of SCID, says that in order to deliver 1.5 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) to Squaw Creek Ranch, it was necessary to run 3 cfs through the leaky Thompson Ditch.

That's precious water that a "bone dry" creek could desperately use in the summer.

Thanks to Deggendorfer, SCID, and grants from the Oregon Water Trust and the Deschutes Basin Resources Conservancy, the Thompson Ditch was closed and that same water can now flow to the ranch through Squaw Creek's own stream bed.

This flow combines with other water allotments that are gradually being returned to the creek.

The creek benefits twice. First, all the water that was formerly lost to seepage can now stay in the creek. In addition to that, however, the new sprinkler irrigation system that Deggendorfer installed on the farm uses only a fraction of the water was used in flood irrigation.

Electric pumps now draw the ranch's reduced water requirements directly from an "infiltration gallery" that was dug into the creekbed.

As a result, the critical stretch of waterway through Sisters has gained another infusion of water to help restore the stream to its former healthy status.

Born in the mountain snows of the Three Sisters at elevations in excess of 10,000 feet, the stream tumbles its way through mountain forests, through Sisters, through farmlands, through deserts, and finally into the Deschutes River at an elevation of 2,100 feet.

In 1953, over 1,000 adult steelhead spawned in Squaw Creek, but none have been seen since 1967.

Fish biologists maintain that 40 cfs of streamflow is required to maintain the temperature, oxygen and other habitat features necessary to sustain fish populations.

Average flow is about 105 cfs, with seasonal peak flows reaching 2,000 cfs.

Government agencies, corporations, and private landowners are working cooperatively, to restore the waters of the Deschutes Basin.