Recording available for “Salmon and Steelhead Resiliency to Disturbance and Implications for Watershed Restoration”

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Fire and other types of natural disturbance are often assumed to have negative effects on fish and aquatic ecosystems. However, in recent years a more dynamic perspective on aquatic ecosystems has emerged and studies have found that native salmonids are well adapted to disturbance. Gordon Reeves, Emeritus Scientist with the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, shares results from studies that he and his colleagues have conducted on the response of salmonids to fire and glacial events, which may have implications for how we approach restoration in the Hood River Watershed.

Find a recording of the presentation here.

A Free-Flowing Mainstem Hood River: The Hood River Watershed 10 Years After Powerdale Dam Removed

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In 2015, Kate Conley from Columbia Land Trust wrote an article for The Osprey about the 2010 Powerdale Dam Removal and the impact on the Hood River and its native fish. The Osprey asked the Watershed Group to write a follow up article on the project – now ten years post-removal – with a focus on fish recovery and restoration efforts.

The article appears in the current/winter 2021 issue of The Osprey. Read the article here. A color version is here.

Thank you to those who provided information for the article, including Phil Simpson from ODFW, Ryan Gerstenberger from the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and Kate Conley from Columbia Land Trust.

Recording available for “Irrigation Modernization in Hood River and Beyond”

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Margi Hoffman, Director of Strategic Operations, and Raija Bushnell, Program Specialist with Farmer’s Conservation Alliance present on Irrigation Modernization in Hood River and Beyond. Aging agricultural infrastructure, an expanding population, persistent droughts, and declining fish populations are stressing scarce water resources. Farmers in the western United States rely on irrigation to grow food, but many of the diversions and canals that capture and convey this water from rivers to farms are inefficient. Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA), a local non-profit based in Hood River, is working with irrigation districts locally and throughout the West to enable and accelerate the modernization of irrigation infrastructure in order to benefit fish, farms, and rural communities. Raija and Margi present on the history of FCA and recent program successes, and delve deeper into several local projects including the East Fork Irrigation District Irrigation Modernization Project.

Watch the recording here.

Date recorded – 1-23-21