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Rogue might get new visitor center Would let managers give information about Wild Section By BETH QUINN Federal managers of the wild Rogue River want a new 4,000-square-foot visitor center -- including a 30-seat theater -- but some private and commercial floaters don't think it's needed. The larger visitor center near the Rand boat ramp would enable river managers to provide river users with information on no-trace camping, pack-in-and-pack-out disposal of human waste, matching camp size with party size and proper use of required fire pans, said Jim Leffmann of the Bureau of Land Management. "Right now the existing facility is woefully inadequate for the number of customers we serve," he said. "We don't get a chance to get all of the public in there so they can see the data and look at maps." Commercial outfitters who guide paying guests on lodge and camp trips during the five-month permit season aren't sure they'll make use of the new center when they stop by on their launch dates to pick up permits. "I don't see foresee us taking a lot of time at Rand. We want to get on the river," said Hugh Hague of Noah's Rafting of Ashland, which runs 40 commercial trips each summer. "Our clients don't even get out of the vehicle. One reason we don't let them out of the vehicle is that there's nothing to see, but that might change," he said. The proposed center would include a Wild Section permit office, a river information desk, interpretive display areas, staff offices, public restrooms, a conference room and a 30-seat video theater for multimedia presentations. Additional future development might include secure overnight storage for the public and a 10-site campground. The existing river office at Rand, which has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, is 600 square feet, with a single bathroom shared by the public and federal staff in the 250-square-foot public portion of the building. As many as 150 people a day visitor the Rand river office, with up to 23,000 visitors a year. Private boater Lloyd Knapp of Applegate isn't sure the new visitor center is necessary. "I see some of this as federal managers coming along with a lot of money in their hand, and they just want to do something," he said. "I share concern from a number of people in the rafting community who feel we're going to be forced to put on the river at Rand rather than Grave Creek and run the gauntlet of jet boats." But rafter Frank Burch of Jacksonville thinks providing more information to Rogue floaters could reduce conflicts over camping spots and promote safe river-running. An environmental assessment of the proposal is expected in June, followed by a 30-day public comment period. Leffmann said river managers hope to have construction under way before the end of the year. New management plan in works Federal river managers in June plan to unveil a new management plan for the 27-mile recreational stretch of the Rogue River below Grants Pass that's shared by jet boats and float boats. "The primary issue driving the environmental impact statement is motorized versus nonmotorized use, power boats versus float craft, and the effects of each on the environment," said Jim Leffmann, river manager for the Bureau of Land Management. The recreation section of the river extends from the Rogue's confluence with the Applegate River to Grave Creek, and local fishermen, rafters and riverbank homeowners have long complained about the 19 commercial jet boat trips daily from May 1 to Sept. 30. Fishermen say the jet boats harm salmon and steelhead fry. Rafters say their safety is at risk from motorized jet boats. And riverbank homeowners say the boats make too much noise. But scientific studies begun by BLM in 1991 suggest those objections are overstated. "Out scientific study program has indicated that things are operating fairly well," Leffmann said. "The physical, biological and social environments down there are more resistant to impacts than we might have assumed." After a 60-day public comment period, river managers by the end of the year will finalize the new plan, which will govern river policy for years to come. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA