Dave Moskowitz was in the NY Times last week.
“Steelheading has definitely led me to give up on some relationships with women,” he said. “I know myself well, and I’m up front with people about what I like to do.”
Moskowitz got a plug in for his new organization, the Deschutes River Alliance, and Bill Bakke and the Native Fish Society.
Speaking of NFS, Executive Director Mike Moody wrote an article in the Bend Bulletin on the recent Upper Deschutes Fish stranding.
It must be recognized that irrigators control the rights to this water. It must be acknowledged that irrigators have done nothing illegal. According to officials, the “ramp down” rate was slower this year, which actually is beneficial for fish. It gives them more time to find ample water downstream. No one can prevent some of them from getting trapped in side channels.
Nevertheless, there is undeniable economic value in a healthy river and fishery that contributes to the Central Oregon economy. It’s no secret that people come from all over the world to enjoy Central Oregon’s myriad recreational and tourist opportunities. Personally, I travel to Central Oregon to snowboard, fly fish, hike as well as walk around downtown Bend. I’ve even fished the area we are discussing.
In an age of instant information, fish die-offs in Oregon do us no good. Frankly, irrigators may have prospered while the local economy suffered.
