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M/SUNNY Temp: 46 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Sunday, April 13, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate 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 Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 1, 2003 Elk Creek Dam memorial passes with much opposition By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — A memorial to Congress urging completion of Elk Creek Dam was approved by the Oregon House Monday, but not before drawing 27 no votes. Memorials do not have the force of law and most are passed with little or no opposition. But the Elk Creek resolution managed only 35 "aye" votes after several legislators got up to oppose it. The chief sponsor was Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, who listed a number of benefits that would result from completing the dam. They included water for agriculture, additional power generation, flood abatement, jobs for Southern Oregon residents and recreation. For example, Richardson said, Elk Creek would store enough water to irrigate 10,000 acres of fertile farmland in Sams Valley. "This is particularly important because we are in jeopardy of losing 30,000 acre feet of Klamath River water," he said. The controversial project was authorized in the 1960s as part of a three-dam complex in the Rogue Valley. But environmental opposition and a report by the General Accounting Office in 1982 brought Elk Creek construction to a halt. The GAO in 1982 said the dam would return only 10 cents for every dollar spent. In 1990, the Army Crops of Engineers recommended the project be scrapped, as did the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which was concerned about blocking salmon runs on the Rogue River tributary. Richardson argued that environmental concerns about fish runs were answered when Congress approved $2 million for a trap and haul facility to carry migrating salmon around the uncompleted structure. "There is no environmental reason now not to complete the dam," he said. The Corps had initially proposed notching the dam to allow salmon to migrate freely past the dam, but local opposition stopped that effort. Instead, money was appropriated to trap fish below the structure. Also speaking in support of the memorial were two other Rogue Valley legislators, Rep. George Gilman, R-Medford, and Rep. Gordon Anderson, R-Grants Pass. Rep. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, led the opposition to the memorial. Citing the numerous federal reports critical of Elk Creek and editorials against the dam in the Mail Tribune and Oregonian, Dingfelder commented, "Colleagues, boondoggle doesn’t do this project justice. "I urge you to be more careful before you attach your name to one of the most troubled public works projects in our nation’s history," she said. The opposition comments obviously irritated Richardson. In his closing remarks, he said the memorial "is not about politics; it’s about water and power and jobs." The Central Point freshman conceded memorials to the state’s congressional delegation don’t have much meaning. "But it can be a sign of how the state is feeling," he said. Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. 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