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Fish needs could doom 2 dams Ashland to consider options for creek By SARA MURPHY ASHLAND -- The Parks and Recreation Commission is expected to decide the fate of two Lithia Park waterfalls at its Monday meeting. The commission will consider whether to build fish ladders or remove two small dams along Ashland Creek just above the Lithia Park playground, said Ken Mickelsen, city parks director. The commission already had decided to remove a third dam near the tennis courts, he added. The commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Ashland Civic Center, 1175 E. Main St. City officials agreed to improve the fish habitat in Ashland Creek when it received permission from the Oregon Division of State Lands to repair the stream after the 1997 floods, Mickelsen said. The city hired Scott English, a biologist with Northwest Biological Consulting, to make a recommendation on what should be done with the dams. In a report issued Wednesday, English recommended "removal of the two dams and restoring the creek bed to a desirable topography." The cost of modifying the dams with fish ladders, he said, "may not be worth the effort." English estimated the cost to remove the three dams at $60,000, plus another $35,000 to install a pump station that would provide water for the park's lower duck pond. The second dam from the playground now diverts water into the lower pond, where the city's signature swans reside. That's considerably more than the $50,000 the parks department had budgeted for the project, Mickelsen said. Using city crews to do the work could keep the project within the budget, he said. The city doesn't have the resources to construct fish ladders as it originally had hoped, Mickelsen said. The parks department doesn't have the funds to contract out and city crews don't have the expertise to build them, he said. Constructing concrete fish ladders at the two dams nearest the playground would cost the city $200,000, according to the consultant's estimate. A pair of "natural rock" fish ladders is estimated at $220,000. Originally, the commission had hoped to preserve the ambiance created by the dams, Mickelsen said. "Some people think they're very aesthetic," he said. "They like the effect of the cascading water." The largest dam, at the top of the park, creates the Granite Street Reservoir, a popular swimming hole. For now, Mickelsen said, the parks commission is not considering altering that dam. Mickelsen said he doesn't know the extent of the dams' affect on the fish habitat in Ashland Creek. But, he added, that's not a question for the city to decide. Because of the city's agreement with the Division of State Lands, keeping the dams as they are is not an option. "We really have no choice," Mickelsen said. "We have to do something." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA