Draft Squaw Creek plan unveiled

Last week, the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council presented its draft action plan for restoration of Squaw Creek.

Two years in the making, the draft is 65 pages long but can be summarized as striving for a collaborative, watershed-wide approach to restore the productivity and character of the stream.

Bob Bridgeford, President of the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, opened the meeting to public comment and praised the work of the Squaw Creek Stewardship Committee in putting the project together.

This was the first in a series of opportunities for input, as the committee works to finalize the plan.

The plan was presented by Barbara Lee, Managing Director of the Council, who explained that the committee "developed a work plan, so the community can put in place what we hope to achieve."

The Watershed Council's mission is to foster stewardship of the region's watershed resources. As for Squaw Creek, Lee said that the goal is to restore the health of the riparian system.

As a result of stream enhancement, the council also hopes that runs of anadromous (sea-run) fish might one day return to Squaw Creek.

The council has informally adopted the synonymous use of "Why-chus" Creek, which is the native Sahaptin (Warm Springs) term for the creek. The Paiute Tribe, also historical users of the watershed, use "Sesequa" as the name for the stream.

The draft plan identifies five "focus goals" for special emphasis: (1) Improve in-stream flows; (2) Protect floodplains; (3) Improve riparian habitat, enhance stream stability, and reduce water temperatures; (4) Provide public education on community impact and watershed issues; and (5) Reduce conflicts between irrigation needs and the aquatic ecosystem.

Bridgeford said, "One of the problems is that Squaw Creek is an invisible stream. It's not highly visible to the public like the Metolius, and it doesn't run right through the middle of town, like the Deschutes does through Bend."

As a result, he said, Squaw Creek is a stream that the public needs to learn more about, because the creek should be playing a more prominent role in the lives of Central Oregonians, Bridgeford indicated.

He encouraged an increase in public involvement and recreational access.

Accordingly, Tim Clasen, Sisters City Councilor, said that the city will be working to develop recreational opportunities along the creek at the east edge of town.

The city has streamside recreational easements through the Creekside and Timber Creek developments. Clasen said that the city gained the easements in lieu of an eight percent parks development fee that developers were charged.

The recreational property involved lies downstream of the Highway 20 bridge and comprises 3.2 acres on both sides of the creek.

Many of the public's questions at the meeting were related to fish populations and the relationship to water temperature and water volume. Mike Riehle, fisheries biologist for the Forest Service explained that temperature is a key factor and there are two critical periods.

The first occurs in April when snowmelt has usually not peaked, but irrigation is already getting underway.

Riehle said that April to May is the spawning period for rainbow trout -- and any future steelhead. Steelhead have not spawned in Squaw Creek since the 1960s.

The problem in the early season is that reduced flow means the water will begin to approximate the air temperature, and that's bad for developing eggs and fry.

The second critical period comes in August when everything is hot; even adult fish can suffer then.

Riehle said that a streamflow of 28 to 40 cubic feet per second (cfs) is necessary to sustain healthy fish populations.

Current flow at peak water-use times may be less than 10 percent of that required amount.

"I want to stress," said Riehle, "that it (streamflow) is not the only thing to look at. There are a lot of factors, but increased streamflow would go a long way toward solving other problems, too."

Because of huge fluctuations in Squaw Creek's water flow, the committee's task is doubly difficult. The natural volume of flow may range from 100 cfs to 2,000 cfs, or even more.

Of course, the time period of highest concern is summer, when the supply of water is lowest and the demand is highest.

Lee explained that the riparian habitat along Squaw Creek must depend on that unstable streamflow into the floodplains.

"These areas have miles and miles of plant root systems that bind the land together," she said. "The Metolius and Deschutes have stable flows because of a high percentage of spring-fed water, but Squaw Creek is a flash system in the rain shadow of the mountains."

The Stewardship Committee will continue to evaluate the plan for the next two months, at which time other review processes will begin.

The council hopes to finalize the plan by June of 2001, with implementation to begin in July.

Public comment is still being sought, and interested persons may obtain complete copies of the draft plan by contacting Lee through the council.

Requests for information or comments may be addressed to her at 312-6422, [email protected] or P.O Box 1812, Bend, OR, 97709.

Another public meeting of the Squaw Creek Stewardship Committee will be held at the Forest Service office in Sisters on January 29 at 6 p.m.