However, the river's flow through this area is controlled by a system of weirs and canals that provide water to irrigate the pasture lands that have replaced the marsh.

[9] In the late 19th century, cattlemen turned the Chewaucan Marsh into pasture land by building a series of dams, weirs, and canals to provide irrigation.

[9] In 1996, biologists discovered a small population of native Great Basin redband trout in River's End Reservoir, a private impoundment dam collecting the Chewaucan water just before it flows into Abert Lake.

This discovery proved that redband trout could repopulate the entire Chewaucan watershed if they could get past the man-made obstacles into the upper river to spawn.

[9] The United States Forest Service and Oregon Fish and Wildlife biologist partnered with the Paisley community and local ranchers to make the entire Chewaucan a fish-friendly river once again.

As a result of this cooperation, the Forest Service and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board funded several projects to reopen the Chewaucan to migrating fish.

The town of Paisley now holds an annual fishing derby to celebrate the return of the river's native redband trout population.

[9][10][11] In addition to the fish habitat, the Chewaucan Marsh supports a diverse population of nesting ducks and sandhill cranes.

The campground is located along the Chewaucan River in the Fremont– Winema National Forest approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) southwest of Paisley on a paved access road.

Chewaucan Crossing is the trailhead for access to the middle section of the 115-mile (185 km) long Fremont National Recreation Trail.