hat can people do to help the cause?
As my friend John Hazel (co-owner with his wife Amy of the Deschutes Angler Fly Shop) says, “Give until it hurts. Then dig a little deeper.” He means it. We keep our expenses low (we don’t even rent an office space, and we all pay our own expenses). We put our money directly into science and advocacy. But science and advocacy don’t come cheap. We only have one paid staff person and we are working him to death. Andrew Dutterer (our executive director) has an amazing capacity for work. But we need to get him some help. Everyone else is providing volunteer work. Rick Hafele and Larry Marxer have been amazing in how much they’ve contributed when we do fieldwork. And they do it without pay. Cam Groner, our legal/advocacy team chair has been putting in long hours, and again, for no pay. So donate. With your financial donations we can keep doing the work we are doing, do more of it, and hire more help.
Like us on Facebook. The numbers we generate on Facebook says something to river managers about how many individuals support us, and how important the issues are to them.
Be ready when we call for emails and letters. Twice this year when we called for that kind of support, we got it, and it made a huge difference. We are incredibly grateful for that.
There is a day coming when we might need people to show up at meetings or other events. When that call comes, please show up.
What would you say to someone who has never fished the Deschutes but yet cares about river stewardship and wants to get involved?
The Deschutes has one of the remaining and best red band trout populations. We also have a good wild steelhead run. Fall Chinook love the lower Deschutes and their numbers testify to that. But it’s more than just fish. It’s one of those rivers that is a place of contradictions. It’s a desert river. Think about that statement. A desert river! It is a veritable oasis in a strikingly beautiful canyon. It’s rare that on any float trip I don’t see Desert Big Horn Sheep. I love awakening to the sounds of coyotes while camping. Even the rattlesnakes have a certain cache about them. They certainly heighten one’s sense of awareness while walking or hiking!
On one trip, my friend Todd Varble and I watched a wolf take down a yearling Big Horn. How many other places could you see that? The bird watching in the canyon can be amazing. And this is in one of the most scenic places in one of the most scenic states in America.
I believe the Deschutes and its ecosystem deserve the best defense we can mount. Water, and the quality of that water, is at the heart of any ecosystem. Even more so on the lower Deschutes.
This river is about more than just fishing. Anyone who values wild places and wildlife, should value the lower Deschutes River.If these statements have any meaning to a person, they should support us in the manner described above.