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> By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier September 10. 2014 4:53PM Summer ends Thursday for Hellgate jetboats The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started its annual September cutback of releases from Lost Creek Reservoir at 6 p.m. Tuesday. By Sunday the water will have dropped from 1,850 cubic feet per second to 1,100 cfs. Rogue River flows at Grants Pass won’t be much different, as virtually nothing is flowing in tributaries. Those reduced flows are intended to benefit chinook salmon, which spawn in fall, historically at low water levels. Thursday will be the last day of Hellgate Excursions jetboat trips because of low water, said Robert Hamlyn of Hellgate. Sept. 11 is among the earliest, if not the earliest, end date of trips since Lost Creek Dam was completed in 1977. The former cutoff of Oct. 1 gradually crept into late September, then mid September, as studies by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife found benefit to the fishery from low flows in September. Last year Hellgate made it through Sept. 15, but it was no go this year in a historically dry year. Southern Oregon has been in a drought all summer. “A couple hundred more cfs and we could have gotten through the weekend,” Hamlyn said. “That would have been helpful.” Had Lost Creek Dam not been in place, Hellgate may not have operated at all this summer. “After the 1,500 cfs in July and August, we’re lucky we made it through summer,” Hamlyn said. The river went up 300 to 400 cfs the previous three weeks, as the Corps opened the spigot to help fall chinook migrate up the Rogue River. Flows even topped 2,000 cfs in Grants Pass a few days. Despite the drought, ODFW was successful in keeping mortality of migrating salmon to a minimum. A boost in flows in May for spring chinook, then in August for fall chinook, helped minimize the occurrence of gill diseases, which flare up in low, warm water. More than half the runs in 1992 and 1994 perished from gill diseases. Dan Van Dyke, ODFW district fisheries biologist in Central Point, estimated losses to be no more than 7 percent this year. He said there were scattered reports of dead fall chinook, and fish gathering at mouths of tributaries, typical in a drought year. He said there was no evidence of stressed spring chinook. “Overall this was a very successful year given the drought and hot temperatures,” Van Dyke said. At some time in late September the outflows from Lost Creek will be set to match the inflows, which are already below 1,000 cfs, the Corps said. By November Lost Creek and Applegate reservoirs will be around minimum pool, offering the maximum amount of flood control heading into the rainy season. Authorization by Congress of the two dams does not allow for operation of the dams based on recreational needs, with flood control and fisheries the top two priorities. Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or [email protected]   http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20140910/News/140919950 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->