Ranch near Sisters offers fish, wildlife habitat

On the heels of the first salmon to pass through Round Butte Dam, the Deschutes Land Trust has announced that it has signed an option to purchase nearly two miles of salmon and steelhead habitat on Whychus Creek, northeast of Sisters.

The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board has tentatively committed $1.25 million to help the Deschutes Land Trust acquire the 440-acre Whispering Star Ranch on lower Whychus Creek.

The land trust will work to raise an additional $1.75 million to complete the acquisition.

"This opportunity couldn't be more timely. After 10 years of work to put this project together we have a chance to secure high quality spawning habitat for the fish now moving downstream through the passage facility," said Brad Nye, the land trust's conservation director.

With its mature streamside vegetation, wetland areas, rugged canyon walls and high quality grasslands, Whispering Star is home to a host of wildlife species including redband trout, mule deer, rocky mountain elk, golden eagles, ash-throated flycatcher, spotted bat and numerous songbirds.

With the most extensive stream frontage of any property on Whychus Creek, Whispering Star will help provide the stream conditions necessary for the historic reintroduction of summer steelhead and spring Chinook.

"Upstream, the land trust has protected Camp Polk Meadow Preserve and downstream we've worked with private landowners to conserve Rimrock Ranch. Conserving Whispering Star is a huge step in establishing a protected stream corridor for returning salmon and steelhead. With fish passage now occurring for the first time in 40-some years, the urgency is growing," said Nye.

The land trust notes that the property is in remarkably good shape, with few invasive weeds. DLT foresees opportunities to enhance upland wildlife habitat, as well as better stream conditions for both resident trout and returning steelhead and salmon. The property also includes an intact segment of the historic Santiam Wagon Road and could be connected by hiking trail to Alder Springs and the Crooked River National Grasslands.

Brad Chalfant, the land trust's executive director, commented that the land trust has only a short period within which to raise the funds to purchase the property.

"We'll need significant commitments from foundations, agencies and a handful of individuals in order to make this project happen within the brief window of opportunity," he said.

Chalfant says the land trust will try to close the funding gap by building on preliminary commitments from the James H. Stanard Foundation and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). OWEB is a state agency that combines Oregon lottery funds with other funds to provide grants that help Oregonians take care of their local streams, rivers, wetlands and natural areas.