Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 142
We set off from the boat ramp at Blue River around 9 am. I was rowing my two clients down the beautiful Mckenzie River in a drift boat. I knew trout fishing would be tough for several miles as the section we started in had not been planted with hatchery trout. They are much more willing to bite flies than their native counterparts. I had no plans of catching anything besides trout. We were above the Leaburg Dam, after all! Steelhead are typically stopped there and recycled back to Holden Creek...
Click on lower right corner to enlarge....
Click on center for "Full Screen"...
Click on "Full Screen" - lower right - to open the brochure (including a map)...
Regulation takes effect Friday night (April 10) ODFW is closing recreational hunting, fishing, crabbing and clamming to non-residents due to concerns about travel to Oregon to participate in these outdoor activities. Such travel could spread the virus and put more of a burden on Oregon’s rural communities. As of Friday 11:59 p.m., non-residents may no longer participate in these activities in Oregon. The restriction extends until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and it is deemed safe to travel into Oregon. This order does not apply to anyone l...
The Willamette National Forest has temporarily closed all developed recreation sites to provide for the protection of public health and safety and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closed sites include campgrounds, day-use sites, trailheads with bathrooms, Sno-Parks, snow shelters, fire lookouts, hot springs, boat launch facilities, and OHV trailhead facilities. Agency officials say the action supports Governor Brown’s executive order directing people to stay home to save lives. The closure order is in effect through September 30th unless r...
The U.S. Forest Service will be accepting applications for over 1,000 seasonal spring and summer jobs in Oregon and Washington Positions are available in multiple fields, including fire, recreation, natural resources, timber, engineering, visitor services, and archaeology. Applications must be submitted on www.USAJOBS.gov between Sept. 16 – 30, 2019. Interested applicants are encouraged to create a profile on USAJOBS in advance to save time once the hiring process begins. “We are looking for talented, diverse applicants to help us m...
Budget shortfalls could end McKenzie trout planting in 2019 Fish eggs “The people of Oregon have had that mitigation for a long time. It drives a lot of the fisheries we have in the Valley,” according to Jeff Ziller, an Oregon Dept, of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) fish biologist based in Springfield. “While we look forward to the day that healthy, harvestable wild populations of salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout do their part to support the communities and economy of the Willamette Valley, we are a long way from that and expect the Corps to fulfi...
Cookoff WOODEN BOATS The annual Boat Safety Rodeo and Dutch Oven Cook-off is set for 9 a.m. - next Saturday, April 21st - at the Hendricks Bridge Wayside Park. Outdoor cooking that is part of the lore of professional guiding will be demonstrated when members of the Guides match their skills. Activities on the following Saturday - April 28th - will start early - at 6 a.m., - when McKenzie Fire & Rescue opens their doors to the annual Fisherman’s Breakfast. Also on that day people can head upstream to the annual Wooden Boat Festival that will b...
Landslide at Terwilliger COUGAR RESERVOIR: All access to Terwilliger Hot Springs is completely blocked by a large landslide that occurred overnight. An unstable slope above Forest Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) failed and the entire road is blocked and impassable. The landslide deposit is over 30 feet high and consists of large boulders and loose dirt and mud. Forest Road 19 (Aufderheide Drive) is closed from both the north and south sides at this time. This emergency closure will be in place indefinitely until geologists and engineers can...
Corps, ODFW, Guides & new contractor pledge cooperation Tom MacDonald pic LEABURG: “Desert Hot Springs Trout Farm has been in business since 1985 and never had an outbreak of pathogens,” was a point stressed by Tom MacDonald last Friday. Speaking at a McKenzie Chamber of Commerce town hall meeting, he was part of a panel discussion on the future of angling in the McKenzie River region. The session came about after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided this year to end a long term agreement to get trout from the Leaburg Trout Hatchery. It...
Sourcing of McKenzie fish has changed Cat fish planting LEABURG: People wondering about angling in the McKenzie River next year will have an opportunity to ask questions next Friday at a town hall meeting sponsored by the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce. On the agenda will be potential changes related to a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to defund and close the Leaburg Trout Hatchery. The Leaburg Hatchery was built in 1953 to mitigate for the loss of trout production and habitat due to the construction of Cougar and Blue River...
Forest Service Road 19 (Aufderheide Scenic Byway) to Reopen October 14 Firefighters and road crews have been working diligently to mitigate hazards such as fire weakened trees and unstable slopes along Forest Service Road 19 (Aufderheide Scenic Byway) to make the road safe again for travelers. The road is scheduled to reopen in its entirety on Saturday, October 14th, just in time for peak fall foliage viewing along the byway. Travelers along the newly opened road may encounter burned areas and are encouraged to drive cautiously as recent rains...
Private fish farm’s bid was $575,000 more than ODFW’s Desert Hatchery A private central Oregon trout farm received a $1.3 million annual contract to grow trout that eventually will be planted in the Willamette River basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract September 15 to Desert Springs Trout Farm in Summer Lake. Previously, the trout had been produced at the Leaburg Hatchery on the McKenzie River. Owned by the Corps, but operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the hatchery produced rainbow and cutthroat tro...
3,200 cfs flows creating stronger McKenzie River currents Basin map BLUE RIVER: Increased water releases from Cougar and Blue River dams will limit access to some nearby recreation opportunities. The McKenzie River will also have higher than normal flows as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reduces reservoir levels behind the dams to allow for maintenance and rehabilitation of the two dams’ spillway gates. The road over Cougar Dam will remained closed through November 30th while spillway gate repairs are underway. Visitors accustomed to d...
Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife helicopters stocking high lakes Trout Heli More than 350,000 fingerling trout are splashing down in hundreds of high mountain lakes across the Cascade Range from Mt. Hood to Klamath Falls this week, as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife readies the waters along the Pacific Coast Trail for hikers, anglers, fly fishermen and backpackers. “Oregon is the only state that I know of that has such a robust high mountain fish stocking program,” said project leader Erik Moberly, ODFW fish biologist from Bend. “We...
Summer forecasts are very low Steelhead release Facing some of the lowest steelhead returns on record, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has already curtailed steelhead fishing seasons throughout the Columbia River basin by adopting rolling season closures, reduced bag limits, and a night angling closure for all species. Additionally, ODFW is asking anglers to further help the region’s steelhead by taking more care when the fish are out of the water. “Positive voluntary efforts may reduce the necessity for future mandatory regulations,...
Contract negotiations for hatchery operations in Oregon are going into overtime. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will extend its cooperative agreements with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) for up to 120 days, as the agencies continue negotiating contracts for the Corps’ fish hatchery services in the Columbia, Willamette and Rogue river basins. The current agreements, entered into in 2012, expire June 30, 2017. “The extra time allows us to work through the negotiations thoroughly and sign contracts by July 31,” said Tammy Macke...
Claim hatchery fish harm wild stocks Lower Deschutes Steelhead Two environmental organizations that threatened in March to sue federal fisheries managers over releases of hatchery produced summer run steelhead in the upper Willamette River made good on their intent. In their U.S. District Court of Oregon suit the Willamette Riverkeeper and The Conservation Angler say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in violation of the Endangered Species Act due to the impacts of its hatchery summer steelhead program on wild winter steelhead in the...
McKenzie River: All hatchery rainbow trout released into the McKenzie River are marked with an adipose fin clip and anglers must release all non fin-clipped (wild) trout in the mainstem river. The lower 11 miles of the McKenzie River below the Hayden Bridge - and the McKenzie River upstream from Forest Glen Boat Ramp at Blue River - are restricted to angling with lures and flies only, and all trout must be released. Trout Stocking Schedule: Trout stocking is underway on many lakes and reservoirs throughout the state. Releases of 8" to 10"...
The McKenzie River Ranger District, Willamette National Forest has prepared a draft Decision Memos for the Tamolitch Pools Bike Bypass Trail Project. The proposed action will create a bike specific trail that segregates hiking and biking traffic along the busiest section of the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail (Tr. No. 3507), from the Blue Pool Trailhead to the Blue Pool (Tamolitch falls). The proposed project is located on the McKenzie River Ranger District, Willamette National Forest at the following Township/Range’s: T14S, R7E S...
Business group to expand membership and involvement Ray at Chamber VIDA: Getting a ”No” response when he asked people if they’d reached out to the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce for help with their business was not what Ray Blair wants to hear in the future. Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Vida McKenzie Community Center last Friday, the organizations’s new executive director pledged to work on plans for the group to have, “A better impact on the community and its business partners.” Expanding on that approach, Blair laid out a number...
Tom & Wheel 2/6/17 Eugene Register Guard Visit Ctr Plot 1/19/17 McKenzie River Reflections 1/5/17 McKenzie River Reflections Inside Hatchery 7/16/15 McKenzie River Reflections...
Riverine environment As a west-side compliment to the High Desert Museum, this newly revised scheme celebrates water as a character-defining element. Where High Desert responds to a dry, relatively sere environment, the River Museum will respond to water past, present and future. Its flora and fauna riverine palette will be rich with seasonal colors. The walkways between parking and museum, and across the site, will be moist and green, redolent of the Western Cascades forest and its wetlands. The environment will say “river watershed” to its...
Schaefers VIDA: Efforts to create a new McKenzie River Interpretive Center moved forward last week during two workshops held at the Wayfarer Resort. The two-day planning sessions were part of a process dating back to 2007 when members of the McKenzie River Guides Association presented a proposal for a “Museum of the McKenzie River” to the Lane County Parks Advisory Committee. Details of the concept called for the creation of a facility on the grounds of the Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery that would present the history behind the development of the...
