|
Become a friend of the Klamath Bucket Brigade All donations are tax deductible |
|
This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Salmon
unlikely to return to the Basin
Though old records indicate salmon were once here, it has been nearly a century
 |
| Jack Elbert |
If
a federal judge has his way, salmon will one day again swim in
You
have to dig deep to find references to salmon being caught in Basin
rivers. It’s there, but it appeared in newspaper and personal
communications many years ago.
The
first time settlers blocked salmon runs was at the beginning of the 20th
century when a small dam near the river’s mouth was constructed to
provide ponding for logging operations. It didn’t take long before
adjustments were made to permit spawning salmonids to continue their
journey up the
It
was still early in the 1900s when, fish or no fish, the dam construction
on the river began and the salmon, steelhead and sea-run lamprey
disappeared from the Basin.
Now, a century later, the effort to bring back the
runs is well under way.
Just how it will happen has yet to be decided. Will it
be by removing the dams, putting up fish ladders or some other method?
That has yet to be decided and, in fact, it may be years before final
decisions are made.
The decision to return salmon to Basin streams has
brought the watershed fisheries management plan back into focus. In
1997, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, through the actions of
commissioners, established a plan for the
Recent activities in the Basin have presented the
state with opportunities to re-introduce previously lost species. With
the passage at PacifiCorp’s four main
According to ODFW fisheries biologist Roger Smith, the
first salmon that will be reintroduced will most likely be fall chinook
(king salmon). He says coho (silvers) are seldom found east of an
imaginary line following the crest of the Cascade Mountain Range. Even
in the Columbia River System, where passage is available, cohos are not
found east of this line. Also, since they are on the federal Endangered
Species list, the state agency cannot take actions involving the
silvers.
Without manipulation, it is possible that coho salmon
will eventually find their way to Jenny Creek and maybe a couple of fish
might even make it as far upstream as
At the May 8-9 meeting in La Grande, Smith will
present a proposed plan to the commissioners for their consideration.
Prior to that meeting, in accordance with policy, ODFW
will discuss its proposal and take public input at two meetings. The
first will be Tuesday in Central Point at the ODFW office at
Second meeting
The second meeting will be Wednesday at Oregon
Institute of Technology in the College Union’s
Both meetings will be from
Here is a chance to learn and to be heard.
One voice may not seem like much, but I remember a
fish and game commission meeting where just one person, who cared enough
to attend and speak up, changed a regulation recommended by the ODFW
staff. It wasn’t much, just a possession limit on black brant, but
that single voice swayed the commissioners.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source: http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Daily/Skins/heraldandnews/
navigator.asp?skin=heraldandnews