BLM weighs Deschutes River permit changes

Permit changes could again be coming for people looking to float in drift boats or rafts in the Deschutes River downstream of Maupin.

The Bureau of Land Management this month released a report outlining options being considered for what is known as Segment 3 of the river, the section from Buckhollow to Macks Canyon.

Once mainly used by anglers, the first several miles of the 20-mile section are becoming increasingly popular among rafters, said Patrick Kollodge, interim river manager for the Crooked, John Day and Deschutes rivers for the BLM. This has led to increased competition for permits and anglers not being able to obtain permits even though few people are using the lower portion of the segment.

Options include keeping the current system, in which summertime use is limited to 250 boaters per day in Segment 3; splitting the segment into two, Segment 3A and Segment 3B, with each of the new segments having its own limits; and allowing boaters with a permit from Segment 2 upstream to pass through a portion of Segment 3.

Permits cost $8 per person Saturdays and Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day, said Lisa Clark, spokeswoman for the BLM in Prineville.

“We just need to know that when we come to a solution in this that it is the best for both users,” she said.

While the BLM and other federal agencies often highlight one option as preferred in an environmental assessment, Kollodge said “in this case, they are all given the same weight.” Comments are being taken until Feb. 1.

Planning where and how many boaters may be on the Lower Deschutes, from Warm Springs all the way to the Columbia River, has been an ongoing issue since the late 1980s.

“It’s a long history,” Kollodge said.

The BLM has worked with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department on the permit system, which was implemented in 2004. The permit system resulted from a 2003 lawsuit by a Portland area man, the North West Rafters Association and the National Organization for Rivers, according to The Bulletin archives. The lawsuit stated that the BLM and state parks department had failed to follow plans for the permit system.

The permit system brought complaints from leaders in cities and counties that are economically reliant on the river and the boaters it brings, such as Maupin and Jefferson County.

Adjustments to the permit system now being considered by the BLM reflect how recreation on the river is changing, said Carol Benkosky, district manager for the BLM in Prineville.

“The question we have in front of us is how do we deal with that change?” she said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812, ddarling@bendbulletin.com