Did you have someone who taught you about conservation, or river stewardship?
Yes. Several people, all of them fishing partners as well as good friends. The first was Mike Leitheiser. Mike was a force of nature. He never gave up on a conservation fight. Many of us miss him dearly to this day. He died true to how he lived. He was wrapping a cane rod when a cerebral aneurysm burst in his brain, taking his life. Mike’s ashes are scattered in a small number of rivers, testimony to what he loved in life. My other conservation mentors, whose friendship I value greatly, include Steve Pettit, Bill McMillan and Bill Bakke. I’ve learned a great deal from each of them and love fishing, drinking, talking to, and spending time with them. They have been one of the gifts in my life. They’ve taught me a hell of a lot about fishing, as well as about conservation.
What do you see as the biggest threat to the long term success of the river?
Mankind and the hubris of thinking we can out-engineer nature. As Ken Watanabe said, "The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around." We have a long-standing history in the Pacific Northwest of trying to “fix” rivers and fish populations using technological means. The track record on that isn’t stellar. The many Endangered Species Act listings of wild fish populations are testimony to that. Examples of success are hard to find. Look at the Columbia River. There was trucking and barging to improve downstream salmon and steelhead smolt survival around the dams. Once the dams started to spill water during times of out-migration, and fish left in the river, fish survival improved. Turned out that leaving fish in the water instead of placing them on barges worked better. I think there is a lesson there.
Who has been the best ally in the fight to maintain and improve the river?
The angling community and those who love the Deschutes River. Without them, the Deschutes River Alliance wouldn’t exist. Look at our board membership. Each of those individuals gives freely of their time, talent and money. Each of them loves the river intensely.
Our donors have been incredibly generous, even when we didn’t yet have a record of accomplishments; they gambled on supporting us because they love the Deschutes River. The depth of the love for the Deschutes is amazing, but not surprising.
We are also in the process of forging an alliance with other defenders of rivers. The Native Fish Society has stepped forward to support the work we are doing. Trout Unlimited is engaging with us. Freshwater Trust has been helping us with technical support. We’ve also recently met with American Rivers Council and WaterWatch of Oregon. We are working on making this a community effort.
Speaking of communities, the City of Maupin, whose economy is very dependent upon the lower river, has recently signed, along with the Maupin Chamber of Commerce, letters of endorsement supporting our work. We feel deeply obliged and obligated to support the needs of the people of Maupin.