Document text
Notch opponents rally for dam Mail Tribune photos / Andrew Mariman Jacksonville's Homer Mead, above, sings a song called "Elk Creek Dam," while Talent resident Tony Marin holds up a homemade sign at a rally in support of Elk Creek Dam. About 500 people attended Saturday's rally at Elk Trail School. By JILL BRISKEY TRAIL - It might have been a case of preaching to the choir, but supporters of the Elk Creek Dam still came to hear a sermon of fire and brimstone Saturday. More than 500 people packed into the Elk Trail School to show their support of the half-finished dam on the Rogue River. The rally was organized mainly by Jackson County Commissioner Ric Holt. Residents also came to learn how they could stop or delay the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to notch the dam. Notching the structure would allow salmon to reach spawning habitat on a tributary of the Rogue River, experts claim. "We have a chance if each one of you could go out and get 10 signatures," Holt said. "They're on the run, as the Taliban is folks, and we're going to get them." Supporters of the dam believe completing the structure would provide stored water, flood control and even some hydroelectric power for Rogue Valley residents. They fear notching it will lead to its removal. Currently, the dam's water storage is not used for hydropower, irrigation or drinking water. "When fish swim upstream, they need water," Holt said. "By blowing the hell out of the dam, they're not going to have any future water." The event was held on the day after Congress and President Bush gave the Corps of Engineers $2 million to notch the dam. The supporters vowed to fight the appropriation of the additional $5 million needed to complete work. Between speeches and a song about Elk Creek Dam written by resident Homer Mead, petitions were circulated. Shady Cove resident and volunteer Jeanne Hoover stood in front of the school during the event, encouraging people to sign up. "I really want that dam. I've never seen it so dry," Hoover said. "That dam is not hurting anything." Shady Cove Mayor Tom Anderson said the removal or notching of the dam affects all of Southern Oregon. "We'll need this water for this generation or the next," Anderson said. "Destroying the dam I believe is a travesty." Commissioner Sue Kupillas applauded the support of the crowd. "What we need now is a delay," Kupillas said. "You and I know that the impact of this tremendous issue will be horrific." Elk Creek Dam was authorized by Congress in 1962 as part of a three-dam flood control project for the Rogue River. Construction was halted by environmentalist lawsuits in 1987, with an injunction granted to halt construction based on the Corps' failure to assess impacts on local fish. The project was abandoned when it was halfway complete at a cost of $110 million. Spawning fish must be trucked around the dam to complete their life cycle. Notching the dam to save fish doesn't hold water with Medford resident Dwaine Davis, who came to the rally to show his support. "People come before fish. People first, fish second," Davis said. "We're going to need the water and storage." Medford resident Larry Baines said he will look for other dam supporters in the Rogue Valley and ask them to sign the petition as well. Baines said the region will need the water Elk Creek Dam can provide for future generations. "We need this dam. Underline it, several times. Need," he said. "This is a desperate situation. I get very disgusted that our politicians listen to lies." Alma Spicer, spokeswoman for the Upper Rogue Regional Tourism Alliance, also helped to organize the event. She said the removal of Elk Creek Dam could destroy the local economy. "We're really in a drought situation and we need that water," she said. "I'm really pleased with the turnout today. The good Lord smiled down and Ric (Holt) did a good job of bringing the sunshine here." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.