Screen saves thousands of redband trout

PRINEVILLE (AP) - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists spent days last year saving thousands of redband trout from a Crooked River irrigation canal.

Last week, they saved five.

"It looks good, down from 2,000 to five," said Steve Marx, a Bend-based ODFW biologist.

The successful run comes a year after the new, $600,000 fish screen was installed at the Ochoco Irrigation District's diversion dam about 15 miles downstream of Bowman Dam.

The old fish screen was located more than a mile down the canal, allowing fish access to the canal up to that point. That led to thousands of redband trout getting stranded in the canal at the end of the irrigation season.

Fish that unwittingly leave the river enter a pool where a fine-meshed screen prevents them from swimming up the canal. Instead, they are channeled past the screen and back into the river.

Biologists using electroshock equipment checked the pool last week to see how many fish it contained. They were pleased to find just a few.

"The new screen is the highest standard," Marx said. "It's going to save 2,000 to 10,000 redbands a year, plus other species."

That's important, considering the Crooked River is one of Central Oregon's fishing gems, drawing anglers from around the state enticed by the 2,000 to 8,000 adult trout per river mile.