BEND, Ore. (AP) — A project designed to help fish populations travel more effectively is coming to an Oregon river.
The Bend Bulletin reports construction is set to begin this spring on a 28-foot (8.5-meter) fish ladder at the Opal Springs Hydroelectric Project near the mouth of the Crooked River.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Biologist Brett Hodgson says the primary goal of the $10.7 million project is to allow chinook salmon and steelhead in the Deschutes Basin to travel up the Crooked River more effectively, reuniting disconnected fish populations.
Project manager Darek Staab says the ladder will make it possible for fish to move upstream and downstream more freely.
Project consultant Finlay Anderson says the concrete ladder will have 38 individual segments where the fish can rest in the water.