Permit system will be used on river

Sisters businesses and sportsmen who ply the Deschutes River for fishing and rafting will likely have to get used to new limits on using the river.

The Bureau of Land Management consented on Tuesday, November 4, to implement a limited entry permit system on Segment 1 (Pelton Re-regulating Dam to Harpham Flat) of the Lower Deschutes in 2005. By 2008 boaters will be required to have permits from Warm Springs to the river's mouth.

Northwest Rafters Association and National Organization for Rivers filed a complaint against the BLM on July 11, 2003, for failure to implement the permit system agreed to in the Lower Deschutes River Management Plan (LDRMP).

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs later joined the lawsuit on the side of the plaintiffs.

After 15 hours of mediation by a Ninth Circuit federal judge, the "defendant interveners (City of Maupin, Wasco County, Sherman County and Sun Country Tours) declined to sign onto the settlement.

The agreement favored the plaintiffs because "the agency knew they were going to lose the lawsuit so they settled, according to Jim Noteboom, attorney for the Warm Springs Tribes.

"All three studies that were conducted to measure use on the river exceeded the target levels set in the LDRMP, he said. "The last study done by Oregon State University has high statistical levels of confidence, 99.9 percent in fact. Almost perfect.

Exceeding these target levels would trigger the implementation of the permits.

Scott Horgren, attorney for the defendant interveners, contends that the target levels established in the LDRMP are 41 percent projection and 59 percent actual boaters from 1990. Last season the boater number was 11 people over the target level.

Under this system, "all permits will be allocated from a common pool on a first-come, first-served basis. Guided and non-guided boaters will compete equally for access to the river, according to the Supplement to the LDRMP.

There will be a limited number of these permits issued, none of which will be reserved for commercial use.

This is the type of system that many river users have feared, including Sisters business owner Jeff Perin.

Perin is the owner of The Fly Fisher's Place, which conducts guided trips on the Lower Deschutes.

"My business can absorb change and weather this storm, but I'm nervous for my guides, said Perin. "It's going to be inconvenient for customers. No longer will we be able to have permits ready for people before they schedule with us because we can't apply for the permit without the customer contacting us first and then we have to check the availability.

Ken Streater of Destination Wilderness, a guide service in Sisters, was weary of the Deschutes years before this lawsuit began.

"In 1997 we made a conscious decision to stay off the Deschutes in part because of this permit conundrum, said Streater.

Regarding the common pool of permits, where no percentage is set aside for guides, Streater said, "Yes this is a public river, but the public is well served by guides.

Madras Mayor Rick Allen claims that, "It's going to take $100,000 of taxpayer money just to implement the permit plan.

Allen hopes to continue the battle to prevent the limited entry permit system from taking effect.

"We'd like to get the attention of Congress or the Governor, but unfortunately it's going to take an angry public to change things, he said.