Wednesday October 7, 2026
The Bulletin —
The annual call for volunteers to save fish in the Deschutes River has been renewed.
The Deschutes River Conservancy says it needs volunteers to help transport fish from a stretch of the Deschutes River that becomes isolated from the main stem each October, due to an artificial drop in river level.
The dates for the recovery this year have been tentatively set for October 14-16.
Each year at roughly the same time, the nonprofit organizes teams of volunteers to net the fish and place them into buckets. Some run the buckets to the main channel; others may be asked to count the fish as they are placed back into the river.
The recovery effort takes place along a one-mile stretch of the channel by Lava Island Falls. The number of fish recovered can vary greatly from year to year but is usually in the thousands. Rainbow trout and sculpin make up most of the fish caught.