Project will aid Whychus Creek fish

For decades, some 3,000 to 5,000 fish from Whychus Creek have been getting trapped in the Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID) diversion canal, swept into holding ponds and fields.

For just as long, farmers, fishermen and others who care about fish have been rescuing them from the ditches and putting them back in the creek.

With a project currently under development by the Forest Service and TSID, fish will be prevented from getting caught in the diversion and aided in getting upstream and over the dam six miles south of Sisters.

The Three Sisters Irrigation District Fish Passage and Restoration Project will reestablish upstream fish passage over the diversion dam and screen out fish from being trapped in the district canal. It is a separate project from a piping project in the same area that will return water into the creek's streamflow.

The project is in planning stages and will go out for public comment in coming months. It will be funded through Oregon Watershed Enhancement funds with contributions from the Forest Service and TSID.

Forest Service project leader Rod Bonacker said that it is too early to say exactly how much the project will cost.

"I'm sure it's going to be in the several million dollars, based on other restoration work we've been doing," he said.

The fish screen is a rather elaborate structure that will take fish that head into the diversion and return them into the waters of the creek.

"The screens are designed to keep fry-sized fish and larger from going down the ditch," Bonacker said.

The project will also raise the channel just short of the lip of the dam, creating plunge pools enabling fish to climb upstream and take a short jump over the dam.

There is also an extensive stream restoration component to the project.

Bonacker said the project will make a "meander" along a 130-foot straight shot of stream, developing pools and tailouts to create better habitat and spawning ground. The effort will reconnect the stream to the flood plain, slowing down flooding flow and cutting down on erosion downstream.

Bonacker said he expects analysis of the project to continue through summer. In-canal work should begin this fall after irrigation season, and in-stream work should commence this spring.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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