Rivers with Federal Permitting Requirements

Lower Deschutes River Management System -OPRD Scenic Waterways

Lower Deschutes Boater Passes Online (Recreation.gov)

*The Marine Board is not responsible for Boater Passes or the BLM website for purchasing passes.

Lower Deschutes Motorboat Schedule 2023
The Lower Deschutes River is a limited entry system managed under a multi-agency management plan that was written in 1993 and supplemented in 1997 to describe permit system features. The Lower Deschutes River is managed cooperatively by the: Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Parks and Recreation, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Marine Board, Oregon State Police; and local governments, with a single representative for Wasco, Sherman and Jefferson counties and the cities of Maupin, the Dalles, and Madras. The agencies are advised by a working group composed of commercial and non-commercial boating interests and state, tribal, and federal agency representatives.

Resources

Snake River Permits

Rogue River Lottery

John Day River Permits

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Learn more about the National Wild and Scenic River System in the U.S.

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Oregon State's Scenic Waterways

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Understand the "Need to Know" information for floating in these areas and follow "Leave No Trace" principles:

On overnight and day trips, all boating groups are required to carry and use a water-tight, reusable toilet system to remove solid human waste from the river canyon.

The toilet must be large enough to service the entire party for the complete length of the trip.

All buckets used to carry human waste are required to have a rubber gasket in the lid.

Plastic bags are not allowed, except human waste bags specifically designed for this purpose.

Once used, human waste bags must be carried in a water-tight container.

Dispose of used human waste bags in a garbage dumpster. Disposing of these bags in a vault toilet is strictly prohibited.