Before the End of 2007

The Lower Deschutes River today is a mosaic of healthy and degraded riparian areas. While one river bend supports scrubby willows, towering ash and cottonwood, and, further up the bank, ponderosa and white pines, other bends are completely denuded of trees.

Oregon Trout seeks to plant 100,000 trees in the Deschutes basin before the end of 2008. To do this, we are relying upon the help and support of our partners (including but not limited to Fly Fisher’s Club of Oregon, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Northwest Fly Fishers, Bella Vista Foundation, and Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District), hundreds of volunteers, and a supply of about 100,000 trees.

Riparian trees provide shade, structure, and bank stability in critical river reaches where salmon, steelhead, and trout spawn and rear. The Deschutes is a critical location for riparian restoration since, in addition to its legendary fish runs that remain compromised by habitat in need of restoration, it is among the favorite rivers of many Oregonians. Deep in the Deschutes’ canyons, steep walls and railroad grades have limited the locations where riparian vegetation can grow. But on public and private land, we are improving habitat by planting trees.

To make a donation in support of the 100,000 Trees project, please click here.


A special thank you to the Weyerhaeuser Company for generously providing over 20,000 of these trees to date, with an ongoing partnership commitment to this and other restoration efforts.