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CLEAR Temp: 94 °F Wind: WNW at 5 mph Saturday, September 27, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 15, 2003 John Isaac of Jacksonville casts a fly on the Rogue River near TouVelle Park on Thursday. A scheduled water release from Lost Creek Lake was delayed a few days by an early August storm that bumped up river flows. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Corps delays water-release ‘spike’ By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune As a water-saving measure, fish managers delayed for three days this week’s annual "spike" of water from Lost Creek Lake released to aid the Rogue River’s migrating salmon. With the lake about two feet lower now than this time last year, fishery managers made the rare move not to boost the lake’s releases into the Rogue — a bump of almost 20 percent had been scheduled for Monday. Cool weather during the past week and the freak Aug. 6 rainstorm helped boost and cool downstream flows enough that fall chinook salmon did not require the extra flows used to curb fatal diseases tied to warm river water. "Very rarely do we get summer rain and low air temperatures in August," said Tom Satterthwaite, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who recommended the delay. "So the water was not needed. Advertisement But the flows were increased late Wednesday and again late Thursday night, and the Rogue’s flows today hit their planned level of 1,900 cubic feet per second out of the dam. The delay saved about 2,000 acre-feet of water, or enough to flood the city of Medford with 1.5 inches of water. But keeping that water in the reservoir will help conserve water that spring chinook could need during a future hot spell. The move also will help keep reservoir levels high enough that the Stewart State Park boat ramp will remain usable through the Labor Day weekend — a key need for lake visitors to end their summer season. "That wouldn’t have taken precedence over water for fish," said project manager Jim Buck of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dam and lake. "It’s something we plug into the equation and hope we can meet everybody’s needs." The Corps manages summer water releases largely on ODFW recommendations. Downstream fish needs and flood control are the project’s primary purposes under a 1962 act of Congress that led to the dam’s construction. In August, biologists eye water temperatures in the Agness area 33 miles upstream from Gold Beach. When water temperatures reach the 70s, fall chinook migrating through there are at risk for natural and often fatal warm-water diseases like columnaris, which attacks a salmon’s gills. Each Aug. 11, the ODFW calls for a one-month "spike" of water to cool the river in the Lower Rogue Canyon while the bulk of the all-wild run of fall chinook move through toward spawning grounds throughout the valley. This year’s spike raised the releases by 300 cfs. But the river rose and cooled on its own last week after unseasonably cloudy weather and the Aug. 6 storm bumped up the Rogue at Agness by 300 cfs. That allowed Satterthwaite to request the delay. But hot weather forecast for this weekend prompted him to request that the Corps have the spike in place by Thursday night. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times