BEND – Weekend boaters floating the bottom 42 miles of the Deschutes River likely will have to compete for a limited number of permits beginning July 1, 2005.

Permits will be required from the put-in at Warm Springs to Harpham Flat.

Thousands of rafters float the lower segment of the river each summer, putting a strain on limited and primitive campsites. It is one of the state’s more popular whitewater rivers.

Permits are required to float the river now, but they are sold on an unlimited basis.

The Bureau of Land Management, state park and recreation officials and representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs agreed on the plan this week in Portland, the Bulletin newspaper of Bend reported.

The deal would be final when signed by the U.S. Department of Justice, said Steve Odell, attorney with the U.S. Justice Department.

Tualatin resident Mark Shuholm filed the initial lawsuit seeking the permit system, saying he wanted to help protect the river and preserve public access.

Local government representatives and outfitters and guides who operate on the lower Deschutes opposed the permits.

“We were quite upset that a decision was made to alter the open access that we have enjoyed on the river,” Dennis Oliphant, owner of Sun Country Tours, said.

Tribal representatives have said the agencies were legally obligated to implement permits because of the 1993 agreement they signed outlining usage levels that would trigger a permit system.

The permits would be required Friday through Sunday, July 1 through Labor Day.

Permits would be required in later years on other segments of the river if high usage warrants it.

The permit system will operate under what is called “common pool,” which means commercial guides and boaters and the general public will compete for the same permits.

Many rivers that require permits operate under a system known as “split allocation,” which means there are different sets of permits for guides and for the public.