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Politics looms large in debate It can overwhelm dam-related science, some say By Peter Wong of the Mail Tribune Foes and friends of Savage Rapids Dam agree on one point -- its significance has gone beyond Southern Oregon. "When it comes to the removal of dams, especially large ones, it becomes a political issue that overshadows what makes sense economically or ecologically," said Bob Hunter, a Medford lawyer for the environmental group WaterWatch of Oregon, which supports its removal. "Because it is in the political arena, I think it's hard to move ahead. Dams and dam removals are symbolic for both sides, so this issue goes beyond Savage Rapids Dam." Brady Adams of Grants Pass, as Senate majority leader in 1995 and Senate president in 1999, sponsored or advocated bills to let the Grants Pass Irrigation District pump more from the Rogue River without tying that right to the dam's eventual removal. He also wanted to let the Legislature have the last word on whether to remove most dams in Oregon. The bills passed, but Gov. John Kitzhaber used his veto to block them. "I still think they were worth the effort, because in regard to dams in Oregon, and Savage Rapids Dam in particular, it is an issue that needs more public discussion," said Adams, whose district includes the dam. "I believe the Legislature should have a role, because these decisions deal with public assets such as dams -- and they are irreversible." Though Hunter and Adams seem to be on opposite sides, Hunter says he does not oppose all dams, and Adams says he does not support dams at any cost. "Contrary to popular belief, dam removal is not new and radical," said Margaret Bowman, director of the Rivers Unplugged campaign for American Rivers in Washington, D.C. A study released last month by environmental groups "shows that for decades, dam removal has been an accepted approach for dam owners and communities to deal with unsafe, unwanted or obsolete dams," she said. The study by American Rivers, Friends of the Earth and Trout Unlimited said that of more than 2 million dams in the United States (75,000 of them 6 feet and taller), 467 have been removed since 1912. Five of them were in Oregon. Among the report's 25 case studies was the Jackson Street Dam, which was removed from Bear Creek in downtown Medford in 1998. Hunter said its removal was easier because of support from Medford city and urban renewal officials, an alternative of diversion pumps for the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District, "and there was no constituency with a love affair for the dam." Savage Rapids Dam is different. The current controversy dates to 1987, when GPID asked the state to let it pump more from the Rogue for its 7,000 patrons. The state did so in 1990 but required GPID to study problems with water use and fish passage. The possibility of removing the dam came up when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it would be cheaper to replace it with electric pumps than to revamp it to ease fish passage. The bureau's environmental impact statement in 1995 accepted an earlier estimate by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the Rogue's runs of salmon and steelhead, the most in Oregon outside the Columbia River system, could increase more than 20 percent if the dam were removed. Dam supporters hotly dispute that conclusion. The state Water Resources Commission let GPID continue to pump more from the Rogue in 1994, but it tied that right to GPID's progress toward removing the dam. It canceled that right in 1998, after a new GPID board with a pro-dam stance took control, but GPID has appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals. After south coast runs of coho salmon were listed as a threatened species for federal protection in 1997, the National Marine Fisheries Service sued GPID in U.S. District Court in 1998. GPID's latest plans for dam removal stems from negotiations for a settlement. WaterWatch's Hunter said he is wary because GPID officials have reversed course before, and he believes they have attached unacceptable conditions. "I think the proposal they have put out is geared more toward allowing them to gain a reprieve while they hope there is a change in federal or state administration -- and they can prevail," he said. Kitzhaber, who will be governor three more years, opposes GPID obtaining supplemental water outside normal channels. He vetoed legislative approval of dam removals for several reasons, mainly that the job can be done better by the Water Resources Commission, and that controversy over federal dams on the Columbia cannot be decided by the state. The 1999 bill he vetoed for legislative approval of dam removals was sponsored by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association. Citing his members' economic dependence on the Columbia, executive vice president Glen Stonebrink said, "we believe the Legislature should be heard as the people's voice." Fisheries advocates say the potential economic difference between removal and retention of the Savage Rapids Dam is significant to them. Dave Strahan of Grants Pass, a sporting-goods dealer who spoke for the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, said the region's economy already benefits by $12 million annually from sports fishing. He said it would benefit even more with greater runs if there were no dam. According to Liz Hamilton, its executive director, each angler spends $83 daily in direct expenses -- $150 when multiplied through the region's economy -- on trips averaging six to nine days. "People are not looking at the big picture," Strahan said. "I feel the economic aspect needs to be discussed, but unfortunately, it is approached as an environmental and political issue." Strahan is critical of legislators, particularly Adams, who he says are using the dam as a "political battle shield." "Brady Adams would like to be governor one day," he said. "But if he were to come out in support of the dam's removal, he would turn off a lot of Republicans he needs if he is ever to be successful in moving on in state politics." Adams, who has disclaimed such intentions after he leaves office next year, sees it another way. He said support for dam removals may have crested after the Army Corps of Engineers said last month it could not conclude whether fish runs would be helped by the proposed breaching of four dams on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington. "Part of my frustration is that the science on either side of this issue is not very good," Adams said. "So what we have left is a dedicated political agenda on the part of some that is opposed to all dams, starting with Savage Rapids Dam." For Hunter and the three environmental groups that issued last month's national report, the case for dam removal is selective. "The operation of dams could be improved to minimize their environmental and societal impacts while still providing their intended benefits," the report said. "However, some dams cause such significant damage that no amount of improved operation will alleviate the harm." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA