BEND, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says it will rescue stranded fish in the upper Deschutes River, moving them from isolated pools to the main channel.
KTVZ reports fishery biologists with staff and volunteers from several agencies and organizations plan the operation the week of October 20 at Lava Island Falls.
State fish biologist Brett Hodgson says they’ll use nets and electrofishing units to save as many trout, whitefish and sculpin as possible. They’ll be put in buckets and carried as far as a half-mile to flowing water.
The goal is to avoid a repeat of the drawdown last year the killed hundreds of fish when they were stranded in a side channel of the Deschutes River south of Bend.