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72 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 4, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 14, 2004 Salmon-friendly project may hit lottery jackpot By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A project that could bring wild steelhead into a planned southeast Medford housing development and plans to transform some of Medford’s treated effluent into irrigation water are in line to get Oregon Lottery profits this week to help make it a reality. The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board will decide this week whether to grant funding requests for these and other projects across Oregon. Locally, OWEB will decide whether to contribute $154,480 toward a $950,000 habitat-improvement project for two tributaries of Larson Creek in conjunction with the development of a subdivision off North Phoenix Road. The project is designed to replace irrigation canals with buried pipes, remove fish barriers and open nearly three miles of the two creeks to wild steelhead spawning. It is within the new Stonegate Estates, a 203-home, 96-condominium subdivision. If completed, the Larson Creek project is considered a blueprint for salmon-friendly development in the Pacific Northwest. Advertisement The project ranks fourth in 16 prioritized regional projects for funding through OWEB, which has about $4.5 million of lottery profits available for grants statewide. OWEB is expected to grant anywhere from $800,000 to about $1 million toward southwest Oregon projects when it takes up the issue Wednesday during the board’s meeting in Hood River. "Barring some unforeseen event of catastrophic proportions, Larson Creek should be approved for funding Wednesday," said Mark Grenbremer, OWEB’s southwest regional coordinator based in Grants Pass. On even stronger ground is the region’s top priority for funding — a request from the city of Medford for $313,580 toward a $6.5 million pilot project aimed at turning the city’s summer effluent into sprinkler-quality water for summer irrigation of some of the area’s croplands. The pilot project would cover about 500 acres in the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District, and organizers plan to use the OWEB money to fit the participating farmlands with sprinklers and drip- irrigation pipes, said Jim Hill, Medford’s water-treatment division administrator. The city is now seeking bids on the project’s filtration system, and engineers are still designing the pumping and piping system used to deliver the treated water, Hill said. The water will be treated to a so-called "level 4" quality that is swimmable and legal for crops and is one step below drinking-water quality, Hill said. Monterey County, Calif., and the city of Santa Rosa, Calif., have similar projects, which help municipalities meet water-quality requirements without using more expensive measures like cooling the water before discharge. "I think they’re both very exciting projects for this area, considering the rate that land is being developed here," Grenbremer said. Voters in 1998 agreed to set aside 15 percent of all lottery revenues for restoring Oregon’s salmon, watersheds, and state parks. Under the program, half of these funds are used to enhance watersheds and salmon habitat. Other funding sources include the sale of salmon-themed license plates, federal salmon-restoration funds and money that comes from the purchase of "salmon-friendly" power. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times