It's a great little river that winds through the valley from Wallowa Lake. It is also the source of the extra water the Lostine River gets when it's too low (via the cross country canal). In the old days, that canal simply dumped water into the Lostine so that farmers could irrigate. It is now used for two purposes, to keep stream flow going for fish habitat, and to irrigate. Part of it is fish-screened now (a terrible mistake made by ivory tower greenies who still, to this day, know nothing about spawning beds).
The river section I fish incurred a lot of downed trees and root balls this year, ending up in the main channel resulting in new channels. The sad part is that it is set up next year for major damming and flooding of pasture areas. My wonderful new fishing holes this year will have to go away in order to save farmland. I haven't had my camera with me (left it in Joseph but it has been found) till today so I will try to get a picture of one of the holes today or tomorrow. Next year, that hole may not be there anymore. But that is a sacrifice worth making. In Wallowa County, as far as I am concerned, agriculture comes first, even if we have to fight the feds or do things our own way. For example, it is no sure thing that my cousins will be allowed to pull some of those water trapping dams out of the main channel, even though that section of river runs through private land and is only lightly regulated for fishing purposes.
Before the settlers came into the county in the 1850's, the valley was mosquito infested swamp land for this very reason. The Indians camped on high ground, not on the valley floor. Trees and debris regularly dammed up the channels, causing vast swamp lands, which is why in some parts of the valley, the soil is about as rich as you can find anywhere, while in others, it's nothing but river gravel bed biscuit-land. Most of the early farms were up in the hills until the rivers could be tamed and the valley floor cleared of swamp brush and trees so that it could be used for crops. Back then, the fields were on the sides of the glacier debris and basalt strewn hills (the good soil migrated down the hills leaving the tops of the hills bare), requiring hill-side equipment. I still have the large counter weight from the hillside combine we had. It looks just like the weight slide on scales, but much, MUCH bigger, and was used in much the same way a typical weight slide is used.
By the way, according to rules and regulations, if you can boat down the river, you have public access, and the Wallowa is considered boatable. You just can't count on that happening every year or even within a year. The Wallowa is a moving, very much alive river that changes its color, clothes, and tune at a moment's notice.
