Oregon is famous for its rivers, and the Deschutes is one of our finest. It’s home to an array of animals ranging from elk and eagles to salmon and steelhead. The Deschutes is as varied as it is beautiful, from the forested high Cascades to the High Desert canyons where it flows into the mighty Columbia River.

Some stretches of the Deschutes River are well protected while other sections of the watershed have been negatively impacted by logging, grazing and development over the years. One of the more recent challenges we are seeing is the tricky task of finding the right balance between recreation and wildlife.

If you’re like us, you love to get out on our local trails — whether for a walk, a ski, a run, a bike ride or other outdoor activities.

Over the years the number of us on local trails has grown exponentially. As we look to the future we need to ensure that our trail system is sustainable, avoids impacts to sensitive wildlife and provides the world class experience we have come to expect. That’s a lot to balance!

It’s easy to take the Deschutes River and surrounding national forest lands for granted. However, the river and forests don’t protect themselves.

As Oregonians, and specifically as Central Oregonians, we have a responsibility to take care of these natural treasures so that future generations of people and wildlife will enjoy calling the Deschutes home.

For 30 years, sections of the upper Deschutes River have been protected as a “State Scenic Waterway,” a designation that helps balance scenery, wildlife, recreation and development. In 1988, it was also protected by Congress as a “Wild and Scenic River.” Unfortunately, some have suggested weakening these protections in order to advance more development, including a river bridge.

Given all the threats to public lands and wild rivers these days, it’s a scary time to be going anywhere near the slippery slope of stripping rivers of long-standing protections.

Fortunately, a bipartisan coalition has come together to advocate for a healthy balance of conservation and recreation. Organizations like ours, as well as many others, support legislation that would ensure the Deschutes River south of Bend has the right mix of conservation and recreation.

The legislation would prevent a bridge by strengthening the long-standing development guidelines that discourage bridges from being built in an important wildlife area and instead direct local, state and federal agencies to pursue less controversial routes to connect Bend to Sunriver by trail. Fortunately, there are viable alternative routes via the Lava Lands Visitor Center.

The stretch of the Deschutes River south of Bend is home to an impressive array of native wildlife. River otters, beaver, trout and frogs live in the river. Nesting in nearby trees are golden and bald eagles. Deer and elk roam the river corridor as well. Protecting them from increased disturbance is a part of our mission.

At a time when our politics couldn’t be more polarized, it is nothing short of inspirational to see bipartisan interest in protecting the Deschutes River. We can indeed balance awesome trails, recreation and wildlife.

— Erik Fernandez is the wilderness program manager for Oregon Wild. Gail Snyder is the executive director of Coalition for the Deschutes.