In 2017, the DRA’s fourth full year of operations, we accelerated our efforts on behalf of all those who treasure a healthy lower Deschutes River. As you’ll read in the following pages, this work included an expansion of our science program, and with it a more complete understanding of the causes and extent of the changes occurring in the lower river. We have used the results of that work to inform and engage the public, and to advocate for management changes aimed at protecting and restoring the river we all love. This advocacy includes our ongoing Clean Water Act lawsuit against Portland General Electric, where this year we won an important legal battle over citizens’ ability to enforce

water quality requirements—a victory that will allow this critical lawsuit to proceed.

None of this work would be possible without the support of our many donors: the individuals, corporations, foundations, and fellow environmental organizations that make it possible for the DRA to accomplish our mission. We are thrilled to share with you our many achievements this year, and to offer a preview of the DRA’s plans for 2018 and beyond. Thank you for your support in 2017—with your help, we will ensure that cooler, cleaner water returns to the lower Deschutes River.

Deschutes River Alliance 2017 Annual Donor Update

Photo by Rick Hafele

Message from the Executive DirectorSince the Deschutes River Alliance formed in 2013, our science, education, and outreach efforts have focused almost exclusively on the ecological changes observed and documented in the lower Deschutes River. We have highlighted the numerous ways that selective water withdrawal operations at Round Butte Dam have impacted the lower river’s aquatic ecosystem: the increased nuisance algae proliferations, water quality violations, changes in aquatic insect populations, and invasions of non-native, warmwater species like smallmouth bass and walleye. These ecological impacts have been documented and analyzed by the DRA Science Team, and observed by our hundreds of supporters like you, who regularly call or write to share your thoughts about what you’re experiencing on the lower river.

What is perhaps less obvious, however, is the impact that Pelton Round Butte operations are having on another part of the Deschutes River ecosystem: the people and communities who depend on a healthy, thriving lower river. As Maupin Mayor Lynn Ewing explains on page 4, this group includes more than just the fishing guides and fly shops, whose work is directly impacted by water quality degradation or declines in insect and fish populations. It also includes the hotels, markets, restaurants, gas stations, and others in central

Oregon, who rely on the influx of anglers and other Deschutes-lovers who make their regular pilgrimages to this incredible place. With degraded lower river conditions leading to fewer visitors, these central Oregon communities are starting to feel the pinch.

Of course, we firmly believe that these economic impacts, like the ecological changes we’ve observed, are both avoidable and reversible. As you’ll read in the following pages, in 2017 we redoubled our efforts to do just that. On the science side, this has meant a more detailed analysis of water quality and other indicators of ecosystem health, both above and below the Pelton Round Butte complex. And it has meant using this science to advocate more forcefully for the management changes we view as necessary—including our ongoing Clean Water Act lawsuit

against Portland General Electric.

As always, I’m incredibly inspired by the depth of passion for this river. And it is a true honor to have the support of so many central Oregon businesses, individuals, and community leaders. We are ready to fight for the future of this river, and I know you are too. Thank you for your continued support.

Jonah SandfordExecutive Director, Deschutes River Alliance

OUR MISSION

The Deschutes River Alliance is a science-based advocacy organization seeking solutions to basin-wide threats to the health of the Deschutes River and its tributaries. We advocate for water quality, a healty ecosystem, and for the establishment and protection of robust populations of resident and anadromous fish throughout the river’s entire watershed.

Photo by Brian O’Keefe

Accomplishments and Next Steps

Since 2010, when operators of the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project began implementing a Selective Water Withdrawal tower above Round Butte Dam, the lower Deschutes River has experienced several alarming ecological changes. These changes, including increased nuisance algae proliferation, warmer spring and summer water temperatures, and regular violations of Oregon’s pH water quality standard, have caused dramatic impacts to aquatic insect populations, fish and wildlife, and to the recreational experience on the lower river. The Deschutes River Alliance was formed in 2013 to investigate what was driving these changes, and to advocate for effective solutions to protect and restore this treasured stretch of water.

In 2017, the DRA continued its ongoing scientific research, designed to more fully understand the sources and extent of the changes occurring in the lower river. The DRA has used this research to form the basis of our outreach and advocacy work as we seek to restore a healthy aquatic ecosystem below the Pelton Round Butte Project. Science and advocacy efforts will continue and expand in 2018.

Here are a few of our many accomplishments this year:

• Secured an important legal victory in our ongoing lawsuit against Portland General Electric, which was brought in 2016 to enforce Clean Water Act violations at the Pelton Round Butte Complex. This spring, in a victory for all clean water advocates, Judge Michael Simon agreed with DRA that citizens have the authority to enforce water quality violations at hydroelectric projects. This ruling allowed this critical lawsuit to proceed in federal court. In 2018 we will continue to aggressively pursue this legal action, to ensure the Pelton Round Butte Complex complies with all water quality requirements.

• Worked with like-minded organizations at the state, regional, and national level to influence rulemaking and legislation related to water quality and hydropower licensing.

• Raised awareness of the large number of smallmouth bass and walleye present in the lower Deschutes River this sumer.

• Released our first documentary film, “The Rapid Decline of the Lower Deschutes River,” highlighting the ecological changes occurring in the river.

• Completed our second year of continuous water quality monitoring in the lower Deschutes River, at a location one mile below the Pelton Round Butte Project. Data from our first year of monitoring was analyzed in our 2016 Lower Deschutes River Water Quality Report, available on our website. This monitoring will continue in 2018.

• Contracted with a Portland State University PhD to perform a detailed statistical analysis of aquatic macroinvertebrate data collected by a PGE contractor before and after commencement of Selective Water Withdrawal operations. This analysis demonstrates significant shifts in lower Deschutes River aquatic insect populations since the SWW tower came online.

• Completed the fifth year of our annual adult aquatic insect hatch observation study. These studies allow the DRA Science Team to evaluate seasonal and annual trends in aquatic insect hatches.

• Began work on a Geographic Information System (GIS) map of water quality on the Crooked River from Bowman Dam down to Lake Billy Chinook. This map will help the DRA and other basin stakeholders understand the source of the pollution load entering Lake Billy Chinook.

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Photo by Brian O’Keefe

Maupin and the Deschutes River By Maupin Mayor Lynn Ewing

The Deschutes River is a vital resource to the economy of Maupin.

When the lumber mill closed in Maupin in 1992, many predicted the doom of this small community. But the Deschutes River continued to flow through town as it had since long before the community was founded in 1910. And with the river came the tourists.

Maupin evolved from a mill town to a tourist town. Retirees and future retirees built homes here. The economy rebounded through this new avenue. There are still lasting impacts from the mill closure, but the river provides an economy to keep the town going forward into the future.

As a former mayor was fond of saying, “80,000 people visit Maupin every year. 50,000 are here to go rafting. 20,000 are here to go fishing. The other 10,000 are just lost.”

The rafters will be here as long as the river keeps flowing over rocks and creating rapids. Those tourists make up the bulk of the visitors from mid-June through August. What has kept the economy going beyond those summer months has been the fishermen who have always come from March through October and into November. They come for the native Redside trout. They come for the spring Chinook. And they come for the fall steelhead and salmon.

The spring Chinook and steelhead runs have been declining with shortened or cancelled angling seasons. Fewer trout are being caught. Some of the long-time visiting fishermen are moving on to other rivers and other states in search of their passion.

Selective Water Withdrawal operations at Pelton Round Butte have led to warmer waters and increased nutrients in the lower Deschutes. This is creating a different habitat, and has impacted the fishing and recreation experience on the lower river. Declining insect hatches threaten the food resources for resident trout and juvenile salmon and steelhead. The warmer temperatures have brought large numbers of bass into the river from the Columbia. The bass impact the young salmonid populations, reducing the numbers leaving the river.

Further, there is considerable speculation that warmer water temperatures in the Deschutes have decreased the number of salmonids using the river as a cold water refuge during periods of warm water in the Columbia. Fishermen are finding less stable footing as new growths of slimy vegetation cover the rocks. They are also catching fewer and fewer desirable fish, though they are catching more bass than ever before.

All of this may seem to be “just another environmentalist rant,” as some politicians might see it. But the impact of these ecological changes on this community is real. Less tourism, particularly in the spring and fall, means less revenue for our local businesses and for our city.

As the fishing becomes less desirable, fewer people choose Maupin as a location for their retirement and vacation homes. We are already seeing lower revenues at our City Park as longtime campers move on to other areas. Those same tourists would not only camp here, but would eat at our restaurants, patronize our bars, spend money at the grocery store, stay in our motels, and enlist the help of our fly-fishing shops. Many of the fishing tourists also come here from other states by flying in to Portland or Redmond. They rent a vehicle to get to Maupin, and support businesses along their route to the lower Deschutes.

The warmer temperatures and increased nutrient loads in the lower Deschutes are the direct result of the way water is released from the Pelton Round Butte complex by PGE. Ironically, these degraded lower river conditions are working against the goal of restoring salmon and steelhead runs above the dams. Those introduced fish are no more likely to make it back than the native and other hatchery fish that we are losing.

We need help now to restore the natural balance to our river before it is too late to bring it back. We need to protect what has become a tourism economy in Maupin.

Lynn Ewing has been the mayor of Maupin since 2016

DRA Secures Important Victory in Legal Fight to Protect Water Quality

Last August, the DRA filed a Clean Water Act “citizen suit” against Portland General Electric, alleging hundreds of violations of the company’s water quality certification for the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project. These violations are related to the installation and operation, since 2010, of a Selective Water Withdrawal Tower above Round Butte Dam. Since the tower came online, Project discharges have regularly violated certification requirements for criteria such as pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen. These requirements were formulated to ensure that the Project complies with Oregon’s water quality standards, and in turn to protect aquatic life in the lower Deschutes.

This lawsuit—an essential component of our advocacy efforts to restore cooler, cleaner water to the lower Deschutes River—took an important step forward in 2017. Soon after the DRA filed suit, PGE filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the Clean Water Act does not authorize citizen groups like the DRA (or the states that issue the certifications) to enforce water quality requirements at hydroelectric projects. Instead, PGE argued that enforcement authority at hydro facilities should be given exclusively to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), a federal agency with no water quality expertise.

In March, after extensive briefing and oral argument, Federal District Court Judge Michael Simon ruled in the DRA’s favor, finding that the DRA’s lawsuit—and by extension, other, similar suits involving hydroelectric projects—are clearly authorized under the Clean Water Act. However, despite the fact that Judge Simon’s detailed analysis was based on a straightforward reading of the law, PGE next asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to appeal that ruling. Finally, after more briefing, a Ninth Circuit panel denied PGE’s request, leaving Judge Simon’s decision in place and allowing this important lawsuit to move forward.

These rulings are fantastic news for those who cherish a healthy ecosystem and clean, cold water in the lower Deschutes. Further, Judge Simon’s decision was a great victory for river advocates across the country, particularly those concerned with water quality on rivers impacted by hydroelectric projects. The DRA fought diligently this year to protect this essential citizen enforcement authority, and will continue to do so in the future if needed.

In the meantime, we’re eager to address the merits of this important case. This fight will continue in 2018, and it wouldn’t be possible without your support. Together, we’ll continue using all the tools at our disposal to ensure that water quality and aquatic life are protected in this treasured river.

Update on the DRA’s Clean Water Act Lawsuit

Photo by Krista Isaksen

Acknowledging Our ContributorsHigh Desert Society ($5,000 and up)Tony ArnerichAutzen Foundation Becker Capital Management Bob and Pam Thacker Charlotte Martin Foundation

Clark-Skamania Fly Fishers Clabough Foundation The Flyfisher Foundation Gorge Fly Shop Maybelle Clark MacDonald Fund

National Christian Foundation’s Gordon Family Giving Fund Nena Springs Ranch Patagonia World Trout Initiative R & M Clark Family Foundation

Steve Rose Willard E. Smucker Foundation

Rimrock Society ($2,500 - $4,999)Amy and John Hazel Sam Kingery Tony Trunzo

Canyon Society ($1,000 - $2,499)Big Tent Outdoor Recreation CoalitionBill M. BakkeBrett HokkanenBrian CurrierBrot BishopBucky Buchstaber Calvin KnightChristopher BondClarke Leaverton Compass Oncology

Craig SweitzerDale MaddenDan EllisDar IsenseeDavid Moryc Fly Fishing Collaborative Glory GiftsGreg Hogensen Greg McMillanJames KreipeJeff Curtis

Kerry and Marianne BurkheimerLeon SperoffMichael KoernerNorene Gonsiewski Northwest Flyfishers, Inc.Paul FortinoPeter HeitmanPhil Frazier Project 202 LLCRandall YoungRandy Labbe

Richard VincentRick TroutRonald AdkinsSidney PrescottStephen Pool Trout Unlimited - Tualatin Valley ChapterTal MunsonTravis and Lindsey Duddles Viewpoint Law Group

Steelhead Circle ($500 - $999)Andrew VetterlienBruce Nourish Bruce and Sher SchwartzCam GronerCharles LilleyCharlie ChambersCL KnectleCory Gillespie CultureWatch NWDave VellaDavid Bagwell

David HorstkotteDoug HowardDouglas LivermoreGreg SummersJeff DresserJeff JohnsonJerry SwansonJim MullaneyJohn and Kathy SchwartzJohn TehanJohn Vekich

Ken MeyerKen SpearingKevin BulleyKim BrannockLeslie RootMichael BuismanMichael GabrionPaul Franklin Prelude Group Renton’s River AdventuresRyland Moore

Sally Bachmann Ray WellsSam SicklesSteve BakerSteve Pribyl Suzanne Nora Johnson & David Johnson FoundationTed Neely The Stebbins FundTyrell Vance

Redband Circle ($1 - $499)Aaron GuruleAdam BagerskiAlan NakamuraAlex JamesAllan WhetzelAndrew HawleyAndrew KellyAndrew TesterAngela CarneyArt DavisBarbara NayBeth DeHamelBill and Elizabeth CizBill DeboreBjorn-Ake SegrellBob BudesaBrad HinmanBrad StaplesBrandon MillerBrett WessonBrian EckartBrian FreshleyBrian SilveyBrooks MunroBruce SmithC.E. FrancisCarolyn CookCatherine and Paul ReichelChad KoepfleCharles R. McCormick IIICharles S. CiekoChester AllenChris FosterChris HarveyChris SantellaChristine BervenChristopher JacksonClifford CanepaClifton MolatoreCory McLainCourtney SieloffCraig LacyCraig Smelter

Dale LaFolletteDamian DlugoleckiDane StraubDaniel and Madalyn HutsellDaniel PalmerleeDave and Linda OlsonDave CarterDave FerronDave GriffithsDave KilhefnerDavid CaplanDavid LechnerDavid MorganDavid MoskowitzDavid Van DykeDennis and Kathy HardmanDennis Miller Deschutes Home Owners AssociationDon GuilliamsDon HullDon JensenDon ParkesDon TitteringtonDon WilsonDoug BiederbeckDr. Charles LytleDuncan KerstEdward GreshEdward HeppEdward Hepp, Jr.Edward OlsonEllsworth P. IngrahamEmily PearceEric BoardmanEthan SeltzerForrest JonesGary CannardGary HuffmanGary RawsonGeorge DesBrisayGeorge HuberGerry MacAuley

Grayson BoyteGreg and Anne FlanneryGreg McMillanGregory Weatherby Griffiths Consulting LLCGuy R. HarveyHaley HansenHans DoornHans StephensonHeidi BeckHenry CarlileHerbert Miller In Memory of Dorothy PrescottJack WhitneyJake MinkJake Van NoppenJames BriscoeJames JohnstonJames O MarshJanene ThomasJarret KasanJeff DooleyJeff FergusonJeff MiddaghJennifer MyersJeremiah BawdenJeremiah JenkinsJesse BledsoeJim and Kathleen MyronJim CurfmanJim Eckert JJER EnterprisesJoe EnglerJoe RiterJohn CartasegnaJohn D. OlsonJohn DavisJohn GarciaJohn KistlerJohn LunzerJohn Patrick GrayJohn RosenbergJon Lund

Jon WisslerJonathan TerhaarJoseph De LilloJosh BurnsJoyce and Gordon BoonJulie WhetzelJustin DenfeldJustin RiedeKaitlin JuarezKen JohnsonKenneth MorseKevin W. ShetterlyKim WebsterLarry CallisterLarry MarxerLarry MorrisonLaura WarfLawrence R. DruryLee HickockLeslie TroutLinda BeckerLindsay HartLisa MedinaLiz RantzLynn BergeronLynn KitagawaMarc BaldwinMark AthertonMark FreshleyMark FriedmanMark FullerMark JacobsonMark OrtloffMark SkolnickMark WardMarshall ChurchMartin D. MollMarty ShermanMatthew AlbiniakMatthew MilletteMichael BerrevoetsMichael ComminsMichael Feiger

Acknowledging Our Contributors

Michael MeredithMichael OresteMichael PetersMichael PetersonMichael PhillipsMichael VawterMike DeWittMike DixonMike PaiyaMiriam SwedlowMorgan and Constance PopeMyroslav SzkodynNancy DykeNathan SandfordNicholas AllenNicholas HeronemaNick RowellNiki ThommenPam and Norman IviePatrick ClanceyPaul DiNapoliPaul KaplanPaul LindbergPaul MoinesterPaul ReseterPaul RidgwayPaul StrombergPeter B. Morris

Peter Fisher Perfect Swing Golf Clubs, LLCPhil RennerPhilip and Janice HolmesPhilip DollarRandy HostRandy LoftesnessRandy StetzerRaymond Smitke Redside EquitiesRich Sutliff Richard FittererRichard GibsonRichard HarmsRichard SaleRick DuludeRick HafeleRick PayRick SafkoRobert BondRobert EasterdayRobert HagnerRobert JohnsonRobert SheleyRobert WoolrichRoger BachmanRoger LeoRon Walp

Ron WiernengaRonald and Marilyn Alana DobsonRonald RussellRonald SpiesRoxanne and Hamlet NewsomRussell Derik GammonRussell LoebRyan Macneil-FogelmanRyan PingoSandra MicoSarah BachmanScot MorrisonScott BrownScott MaccaskillSeamus EganShaun MartinSpencer Ehrman and Hilde WetteStephen EricksonStephen HareSteve LaniganSteve LichtenbergerSteve O’BrienSteve SalterSteven HawleySteven WholfordSusan ThurmanSuzanne Knapp Swing the Fly Magazine

Terri KevilleTerry SternbergThomas BalmerTim JewettTimmy CrawfordTodd HarrisTom AlkireTom CalhounTom DufalaTom TeafordTony ButterfieldTravis VanceTurhan TiranaTyler Thomas Vintage MotorphotoWalter GrebeWarren GriffinWill RomanoWilliam EddieWilliam EganWilliam Keith DozierWilliam OwensZach MorrisZachariah HinmanZachary Horn

Redband Circle (Continued)

Sustaining DonorsAdam BagerskiAlex JamesAndrew KellyBradford HinmanChester AllenChristine BervenCory GillespieDan EllisDavid GriffithsEmily PearceHaley HansenHans Stephenson

Jake MinkJarret KasanJeremiah BawdenJim KreipeJohn CartasegnaJohn TehanJulie WhetzelKim BrannockKim WebsterLarry MarxerLeon SperoffLiz Rantz

Lynn KitagawaMark JacobsonMark OrtloffMatthew AlbiniakMatthew MilletteMichael MeredithMichael PetersMike PaiyaMyroslav SzykodynNic HeronemaNick AllenNorene Gonsiewski

Paul Di NapoliPeter HeitmanPeter MorrisRichard HarmsSamuel KingeryShaun MartinSteven BakerTerri KevilleTimmy CrawfordZachariah Hinman

Corporate and Organizational Donors (Cash)Autzen FoundationBig Tent Outdoor Recreation CoalitionCharlotte Martin FoundationClackamas Fly FishersClark-Skamania FlyfishersClabough Foundation Compass Oncology CultureWatch NW Deschutes Home Owners Association

EarthShare Fly Fishing CollaborativeGlory GiftsGorge Fly Shop Griffiths Consulting LLC JJER EnterprisesMaybelle Clark MacDonald FundNational Christian Foundation’s Gordon Family Giving Fund Northwest Flyfishers, Inc. Patagonia World Trout Initiative

Prelude GroupProject 202 LLC R & M Clark Family FoundationRedside Equities Renton’s River AdventuresSalmon Creek Fly Fishers Suzanne Nora Johnson & David Johnson Foundation Swing the Fly MagazineThe Flyfisher FoundationThe Stebbins Fund

Trout Unlimited - Tualitin Valley Chapter Viewpoint Law Group Vintage MotorphotoWashington County Fly Fishers Willard E. Smucker Foundation

In-Kind ContributionsAlex GonsiewskiBecker Capital ManagementBrian HenningerBrian O’KeefeBrian SilveyCF Burkheimer Fly RodsChris O’Donnell & River Runner OutfittersCory McCaffreyCraig SweltzerDave HughesDeschutes Angler Fly ShopDiane BellDick & Kathy BushnellDillon Renton, Renton River Adventures

Elke and Alysha Littleleaf & Littleleaf Guide ServiceFreebridge BreweryGorge Fly ShopGrant PutnamGreg McMillanImperial River Co.Jeff & Kathryn Hickman & Fish the SwingJeff GordonJeff Perin & The Fly Fisher’s PlaceJerry Swanson & Fishhead ExpeditionsJoel LaFollette & Royal Treatment Fly ShopJohn Smeraglio

Lange Estate WineryLarry MarxerLynn KitagawaMark BachmannMarty SheppardMatt OrrMichael GordonMichael McLeanMike KuhnertNathan StyffeNick Rowell & Anadromous AnglersOregon State University - Cascades CampusPat BeckerRick Hafele

Rick TroutRiver Runner OutfittersRobert CaseyRoyal Treatment Fly FishingSaracione ReelsTerry VanceThe Schooner Restaurant & LoungeThe Trout Shop on the MissouriTroy JonesWarner MunroWolfpk

Thank you.

Board of DirectorsGreg McMillan, PresidentJonah Sandford, Vice PresidentRick Trout, TreasurerJohn Hazel, SecretaryRick Hafele, Director,Steve Pribyl, DirectorKim Brannock, Director

Steve Hawley, DirectorAmy Hazel, DirectorLarry Marxer, DirectorPaul Neibergs, Director John Schwartz, DirectorBrian Silvey, Director

StaffJonah Sandford, Executive DirectorGreg McMillan, Director of Science and ConservationKrista Isaksen, Development and Administrative Associate

5331 Macadam Ave, Suite 330 Portland, OR, 97231 info@deschutesriveralliance.org www.deschutesriveralliance.org 503.827.8654

Join Us at the Second Annual DRA Gathering & Auction!

Saturday, February 10th, 2018 1pm - 5pm

World Forestry Center, Portland, OR

Visit www.deschutesriveralliance.org

to register now!

Tickets are going fast! Mark your calendar and register today for the Second Annual Deschutes River Alliance Gathering and Auction. Last February’s premier event sold out, and we expect to sell out again.

The afternoon event will feature complimentary wine from Lange Estate Winery & Vineyards, beer brewed by Freebridge Brewing Co. and a delicious selection of hors d’oeuvres. There will be plenty of time to visit with friends, followed by a live auction masterfully orchestrated once again by auctioneer Grant Putnam. With the addition of this year’s super silent auction, there are plenty of great items for bidding, including: multiple custom-designed Oregon fishing trips with top local guides; an exciting week for two in Zihuatanejo, Mexico; guided fishing for two and three-night stay in an over-the-water cabana in Roatan, Honduras; top quality fly fishing gear and much, much more.