News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Although it may not appear in history books years from now, the Battle of Whychus Creek has been ongoing for several generations.
The battle revolves around conflicts over how much water has historically been taken out of the creek; how to restore water to the creek; home building near the creek; and destruction of riparian habitat.
The river has survived several name changes, with the current name change from "Squaw Creek" to "Whychus Creek" being approved in 2006.
Before settlers came to this area, Whychus Creek was a free flowing, year-round river. The headwaters of the Whychus were designated as a "Wild and Scenic River" by Congress in 1992. And had the Battle of Whychus Creek not ensued, it might have carried the same designation nearly to Sisters.
When settlers first came to this area one of the early projects was to corral Whychus Creek and keep it tame. As a result the banks of the creek were shaped and reshaped by man over the last 100 years. The creek attempted to change its course after every attempt by man to "fix" it. The battle was joined by suppliers of irrigation water who took out water upstream, causing a loss of the natural flow in the creek.
Then came Sisters, and the battle was joined by the property developers who wanted to take advantage of the natural beauty of the Whychus and further changed the flow of the stream. The laws of unintended consequence continued to create complexity in the situation as the battle was joined by environmental groups, the City of Sisters, the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of State Lands and the Army Corps of Engineers, all of whom have an interest or some involvement in any development or changes to or affecting Whychus Creek.
Development along the banks of the creek has frustrated solutions. Brian Rankin, the Planning Director for the City of Sisters, is often caught in the middle between developers and the needs of Whychus Creek. Rankin says that he tells everyone who is planning to build on Whychus Creek, "Build the house as far away from the creek as you can."
Rankin related his advice: "I know that it is a beautiful spot, but building close to the creek is a bad idea for two reasons," he said.
"One, creeks are not predictable - creeks change and meander. Number two, highly erodible soil consisting of volcanic ash and cobbles," he said. "It is a bad combination."
Rankin says that there is a problem because Whychus Creek changes its course, and the city code does not accommodate the changes.
Rankin noted that building codes are developed around the flood plain maps furnished by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency); however, the maps do not relate to changes that take place in the course of Whychus Creek due to ice blocking events or other events that cause erosion and result in changes to the bed of the creek.
Rankin would like to see the city code changed to incorporate a buffer zone between the flood plain and the area where a home can be built. Common sense dictates that a greater setback would be advisable; however, as it currently stands, a home can be built on the very edge of the flood plain with potentially disastrous results (see related article, page 41).
In an effort to protect homes built on inadvisable locations, the banks of Whychus Creek have been lined in places with riprap, which protects the banks from erosion where it is placed but destroys fish habitat through the loss of riparian growth. Riprap also creates other problems for the stream and the surrounding properties by increasing erosion on the adjacent properties and speeding water flow.
Historically, once riprap is installed on one property, the surrounding properties follow in suit, and whole areas of the stream lose critical riparian growth and habitat.
This situation frustrates Michael Riehle, District Fisheries Biologist for the Sisters Ranger District. Whychus Creek once supported steelhead and spring chinook runs through the City of Sisters. Riehle believes that it is possible to restore the Whychus so that steelhead once again will return to the stream in Sisters.
His goal is to have this take place within five years, but to see this happen, it will require the cooperation of all the combatants in the Battle of Whychus Creek.
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