Wetlands backers oppose quick dam removal

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August 19, 2009

By Mark Freeman

Mail Tribune

WHITE CITY — Supporters of the vast wetlands behind Gold Ray Dam urged Jackson County officials Tuesday to slow down on their fast-track plans to remove the 105-year-old dam from the Rogue River, saying the consequences of dam removal are too great for getting vetted so quickly.

Many of the more than 100 people attending a public meeting Tuesday in White City voiced concerns over potentially losing most or all of the slackwater wetlands and their vast flora and fauna should the county use $5 million in federal stimulus money to remove the structure near Gold Hill by next year.

"What's back there can't be replaced," said Don Pfaff of Central Point. "Once that dam is gone and that water drains out of there, it's dead. It's been there a long time. Let's forget about taking the dam out. Let's repair it."

The meeting, which the county held in conjunction with the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, represented the first opportunity for the general public to tell county officials what they think of the dam and its future since June, when the county won the federal grant.

If done, it would remove the last large human-built impediment to 157 miles of free-flowing Rogue River.

The project must be done by December 2010 to qualify as a federal stimulus project, compressing time for environmental studies and public digestion of them.

That seemed way too quickly for Glenn Archambault of Phoenix, who expressed astonishment at the fast timeline considering all the current unknowns about impacts.

"All things considered, I think we should rethink what we're doing with that money," Archambault said. "It seems to be on an accelerated time frame."

County officials have been concerned about the liability of county ownership of an old dam whose fish ladder does not meet federal requirements and is listed as one of the top 10 impediments to salmon passage in Oregon.

Also, county officials have voiced concern over future repairs to keep the dam, which county officials said would be expensive and currently are unfunded.

County officials simultaneously are gauging public opinion on the proposal while also soliciting bids from potential contractors who, if they win the bid, would be responsible for environmental studies, design and ultimately the dam's removal.

The county is expecting to award a contract some time in September to a company that will design a dam-removal plan and then study the plan's potential impacts on everything from the flow of rocks stacked upstream to the impacts on the upstream wetlands.

Not until the studies are done will Jackson County commissioners ultimately determine the dam's fate.

"The challenge for this project is time," said John Vial, the county's roads and parks director who is overseeing the project. "This is extremely fast, extremely tight."

The potential impact of dam removal on the upstream wetlands — including places like Kelly Slough and other areas that are home to many species of birds and warmwater fish species not found elsewhere on the Rogue — generated the bulk of the public comments.

Everything from bald eagles to great horned owls, waterfowl and river otters were mentioned as animals whose fate would be harmed by losing the wetlands.

"There's over a 100-year-old ecosystem in that wetland," said Vicky McGee of Eagle Point. "It's beautiful. I just can't believe we don't have more support behind it."

Historical maps show that some wetlands were there before the original dam was built in 1904 to light Medford. But unstudied so far is how vast the wetlands are and how much will change if the dam is removed.

County officials expect to provide at least some mitigation for lost wetlands.

Others attending the meeting offered support for the dam's removal, largely for improving salmon and steelhead migrations and recreational use of the river.

James Jones, Central Point, said removing the dam would generate a recreational asset for driftboaters and rafters currently blocked from passage there.

"I can't see any reason for leaving that damn thing in there," Jones said.

But many chided the county for taking the stimulus money for dam removal instead of looking for money to improve the dam.

"This money is here because of political correctness going amok, and because people with their twisted thinking think fish are more important than people," said Randy Shock of Gold Hill. "Money's out there, so people are wanting to grab it. But is it the right thing to do? We should look for what's the right thing to do, not the most convenient thing to do."

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