This study used contingent valuation techniques to estimate the willingness of central Oregon Irrigators to donate a portion of their water rights to increase Deschutes River flow. This study was different from previous contingent valuation studies in that it used water rights as the payment vehicles instead of dollars -...
Surface water in the Deschutes Basin of central Oregon has been largely over
allocated since the early 1900s. Therefore, rapid population growth and urban
demand for water in the upper Basin lead to an increased reliance on groundwater in
the last three decades. The Oregon Department of Water Resources (OWRD)...
Hedonic Pricing is an effective and versatile method of
estimating the relationships between market prices and
environmental quality in a world of changing natural resource
decisions. One natural resource policy not yet studied using
Hedonic Pricing is the protection of free-flowing rivers. As
the pressures of development and outdoor recreation...
The lower Deschutes River of northcentral Oregon has a historically uniform discharge record. Significant reductions in discharge below the seasonal norms will degrade the environment for migratory and resident salmonids by increasing siltation and gravel compaction, and by reducing intragravel water dissolved oxygen content. Fish spawning will be limited by...