Water is Medicine
“Like the First Foods table settings, a functional Umatilla River would be dynamic throughout the annual cycle, yet consistent and reliable across decades. During winter, snowmelt water fills the main channel, causing the river to fill dry channels, inundate the floodplain, scour fine sediments from the streambed, and cut new channels with its high-energy flows. During summer, flows recede and the river abandons some old channels for new channels. These seasonal patterns vary between wet and dry years. The native riverine and riparian communities are adapted to and depend upon these dynamic physical conditions for their growth and survival. Thus, maintaining a functional Umatilla River for First Foods requires managing for the range of dynamic river conditions (and not simply static levels) throughout the year (Umatilla River Vision, 2011).” This chapter examines those impacts to waters above and below.
Revised 7/5/2023