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well as plants and wildlife.
The project has been a collaboration among the
BLM, Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and Crooked River Ranch residents. Labor
was provided by BLM, Forest Service, Northwest
Youth Corps, COIC alternative high school, ONDA
and numerous other volunteers. Total project costs
were $86,900 from the BLM budget and a federal stim-
ulus grant. A total of 45 volunteers spent about 400
hours on the project.
A scream from overhead caught my attention. A
golden eagle chased after a pair of bald eagles like a
fighter jet in pursuit of two bombers. Farther down the
canyon, two more golden eagles circled high. The
nests high on the cliffs made this scene clear — this
was golden eagle territory.
Located along the Deschutes River just west of
Crooked River Ranch, Steelhead Falls and the sur-
rounding canyon contain a rich geological and cultur-
al history. Before the dams in the Deschutes and Co-
lumbia rivers, thousands of salmon and steelhead
gathered to rest in the large pool below the 15-foot falls
before continuing their long journey upriver. Native
Americans also gathered at the falls with nets and
spears over the last few millennia, according to tribal
stories as well as petroglyphs carved into the higher
rock walls.
It’s about a half-mile hike from the trailhead to the
falls. The roar of the river becomes apparent as soon as
you reach the canyon rim and head down. Upon
reaching the falls, you’ll notice an old fish ladder that
was built in 1922 to help fish get over the falls during
the river-lowering irrigation seasons.
The colorful high canyon walls record about 8 mil-
lion years of Central Oregon’s geologic history, includ-
ing lava flows and ancient floods. The Deschutes River
in the Steelhead Falls area is a designated Wild and
Scenic River as well as a Wilderness Study Area.
Among the rare plants in this part of the canyon is
Estes’ Wormwood (a member of the sage family),
found nowhere else in the world. The isolation of the
canyon has protected the area from the impacts of
grazing and development.
Even when the river is running low, the falls are still
impressive. Mallards and mergansers drifted in the
current farther downstream. Canyon wrens and rock
wrens sung their melodious songs from rocky outcrops
RANCH HIGHTLIGHT: STEELHEAD FALLS
CELEBRATING JEFFERSON COUNTY 33
Steelhead Falls