BLM OR-WA Warner Basin Fish Passage, Screening, and Watershed Restoration

Limited water in the eastern Oregon desert means that Warner Basin streams are a critical water source to both irrigators and native fish. Several Warner Basin streams provide both irrigation water critical to local ranches, and spawning, rearing, and migratory habitat critical for federally listed (Threatened) Warner sucker, Warner Basin redband trout (Federal and State Sensitive) , and other native fishes. The low lying portions of the of the Warner Basin provide the most fertile agricultural land in the area, as well as stream reaches critical to fish migrating from the large lakes in the valley upstream to high quality spawning and rearing habitats. More than 10 diversions exist in the lower basin that provide water to irrigators and have been identified as fish passage barriers that lack screens on the associated ditches. The diversions make it impossible for the large fish that rear in the Warner Lakes to access the prime spawning grounds in the upper basin on lands administered by the Lakeview BLM. The unscreened ditches can result in downstream migrant fish becoming entrained in irrigation ditches and becoming stranded and dying when irrigation ceases in the fall. The Warner Basin Aquatic Habitat Partnership (WBAHP) includes the Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council (LCUWC), the Lakeview Soil and Water Conservation District (LSWCD), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), United States Forest Service (USFS), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). WBAHP is focused on restoring the physical and biological conditions necessary for successful fish passage and habitat connectivity for Warner sucker, redband trout, and other native fishes in the Warner Basin Watershed. To achieve these goals several fish passage and screening projects throughout the Warner Basin have been completed in recent years. The objective of this program will include, but not be limited to: â¿¢Restoration of the physical and biological conditions necessary for successful fish passage and habitat connectivity for Warner sucker, redband trout, and other native fishes in the Warner Basin; â¿¢Development of a Strategic Action and Conceptual Design Plan to address project prioritization and key limiting factors in the Warner Basin.