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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Visit birding hotspots along Bear Creek Greenway MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash Drug raid in Rogue River leads to two arrests Since You Asked: No formal open house for new HHS building The big what-if Crime, Courts and Emergency Services MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash Drug raid in Rogue River leads to two arrests Emergency services Fire reported twice at Eastwood home; second call was real thing No one injured as fire torches patio at Medford apartment Politics and Elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Education Traveling artist sets the stage for Ruch School amphitheater Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament Environment Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams State News Dam problems force early fish transfer into Willamette Valley lakes Portland mattress stowaway cat back home Oregon missionary deported back to U.S. faces molestation charges Poverty rate in Oregon schools jumps since 2007 Northwest poultry producers fear bird flu outbreak may hurt exports Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Leonard Lyle Roberts Death Notices Sidney A. Stitt Edward James Kelly Dean Seaney Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? Sports Latest Stories Michigan AD Hackett: Harbaugh a long-term answer Facebook responses suggest Ducks win Tornado Title South drops tourney finale to Chaminade Aldridge comes back strong in Blazers win Varsity 541 College Sports Michigan AD Hackett: Harbaugh a long-term answer Facebook responses suggest Ducks win Balanced Beavers knock off Santa Barbara Stanford dominates Maryland in Foster Farm Gutches places sixth at Midlands Pro Sports Aldridge comes back strong in Blazers win Bryant's triple-double carries Lakers Lions’ Suh cleared top play Sunday Giants' Bumgarner chosen top male athlete Plumlee leads Nets past Kings Community Sports Business Latest Stories Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Milken economist headlines Southern Oregon Business Conference Ride & Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Silvio Calabi: Infiniti Q50 offers business-class driving Real Estate News Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate More sales, but no change in residential housing median price People In Business People in Business, Dec. 3 Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Agriculture Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: Resolutions redux Matthew T. Mangino: Judges lament ‘Prosecution by PowerPoint’ Jim Brock: You don't have to take it anymore Our View: Caves expansion worth the wait Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Editorials Our View: Caves expansion worth the wait Other Views: Oregon incomes still lag behind Our View: Council is barking up the right tree Other Views: Roseburg VA director sets the right goals Our View: Thanks to four departing leaders Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 30 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 28 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 26 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Lifestyle Latest stories Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health Mark L. Hopkins: New Year’s resolutions and more HealthStyle: New year, new you Food Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Food for Thought: Tips for cooking when you have food allergies Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Kitchen Call: The comfort of creamy soups Community blog: Baking contest finalists combine cookies, candies Home and Garden Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Dear Monty: Can a rookie real estate agent be a good choice? Bathtub or shower: What’s best for you? Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season How NOT to install drywall Health Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health HealthStyle: New year, new you Health Watch: Build up your glutes in the off-season Dr. Jeff Hersh: What's a monoclonal antibody? Dr. Murray Feingold: Have a happy and stress-free holiday Hiking Biking Faith (No heading) Churches, synagogs host seasonal events Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Milestones and Achievements Local landowners see no public good in proposed pipeline Pear Blossom queen has open heart surgery Hundreds enjoy Christmas dinner, gifts at St. Vincent de Paul SinceYou Asked: SBA would work with Mt. Ashland Ski Area about loan Fans, friends and family welcome home victorious SOU team at airport Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer Top 10 CDs of 2014 Ring in 2015 at a New Year's celebration near you Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Theater Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning Music The Farr Side: Top 10 album count-up for 2014 Top 10 CDs of 2014 A tribute to Joe Cocker Ring in 2015 at a New Year's celebration near you SugarBeats headline an all-ages dance party at Historic Ashland Armory Community Events New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Dancing People Company celebrates the solstice Dining Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Coffee shops roll out holiday-inspired drinks Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash ... Drug raid in Rogue River leads to two arrests ... The big what-if ... MADGE bust at Medford Walmart nets meth, $20,000 in cash ... Drug raid in Rogue River leads to two arrests ... The big what-if ... WILLAMETTE VALLEY Dam problems force early fish transfer into Willamette Valley lakes Some lakes may not yet have adequate food suplies Comment By Christian Wihtol The (Eugene) Register-Guard MailTribune.com By Christian Wihtol The (Eugene) Register-Guard Posted Dec. 30, 2014 @ 8:09 pm By Christian Wihtol The (Eugene) Register-Guard Posted Dec. 30, 2014 @ 8:09 pm » Social News The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife has implemented an emergency early transfer of more than 50,000 trout from its Leaburg hatchery into Willamette Valley fishing spots because of the problems at the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie River, ODFW said Monday. Due to mechanical problems, two of the dam’s three gates are stuck in the closed position, letting little water through; the third gate is open, allowing water through. EWEB has said it does not want to raise or lower the third gate by very much because it does not want to risk that gate also malfunctioning. As a result, Leaburg Lake, which is created by the dam, is rapidly draining, reducing the supply of water to the Leaburg hatchery, and to a state salmon hatchery 2 miles below the dam. ODFW normally allows water to gravity feed from the lake to the adjacent Leaburg hatchery, said Jeff Ziller, the department’s district biologist. But with that water flow dwindling, ODFW trucked 50,000 trout from the hatchery to lakes and reservoirs in the south and mid-Willamette Valley that are usually stocked by the state in the springtime. In mid-winter, there is much less food — such as insects — in the lakes and reservoirs for the young trout to eat, Ziller said. The state stocks the lakes and reservoirs with trout for people to fish. Dumping young trout this early “is a bit of gamble. There’s not enough food to give them good survival” chances, Ziller said. ODFW is still keeping 430,000 trout and 110,000 steelhead at the Leaburg hatchery, using five portable diesel pumps to draw water from the McKenzie in the hopes of providing sufficient fresh water flowing through the breeding ponds, said Ziller and Eric Withalm, the hatchery manager. “We hope that pumping the water can sustain the fish that we have left,” Withalm said. But Ziller said pumping water from the river uses a lot of power and is very expensive. “There may be some further transfers of fish out of the hatchery” and into bodies of water, he said. EWEB says it working to fix the Leaburg dam gate problems. When functioning, the gates roll up to allow water to flow out of the lake, and roll down to shut and build up water in the lake. The No. 2 gate, in the middle of the dam, abruptly crashed down and shut in 2012. Repair work is underway. The No. 1 gate stopped working earlier this month. It is largely closed. EWEB said it is evaluating how to make repairs. ODFW is also pondering what to do with salmon at its McKenzie hatchery. The hatchery draws its water flow by gravity from the Leaburg Canal. The canal is fed by Leaburg Lake, and as the lake level has dropped, the canal flow has declined, Ziller said. The McKenzie hatchery is also fed by a small natural stream that is helping to provide fresh water for the salmon pens, he said. But with canal flow dwindling, “we are looking for another home for those fish,” Ziller said. The hatchery has over 800,000 salmon that normally would be released into the McKenzie in the spring. Releasing them now “is not a great time of year. It’s not as good as in the springtime” when rivers have more insects for feeding, Ziller said. ODFW may opt to release some of the salmon into a river, and may try to move some to the Willamette hatchery in Oakridge, he said. The Leaburg hatchery is one of ODFW’s main trout producing facilities, providing fish for lakes and reservoirs throughout the southern and middle Willamette Valley. The 50,000 fish released Monday consisted of 9,300 one-pound trout, with the rest fingerlings, the department said. They went to Cottage Grove, Dorena, Hills Creek, and Detroit reservoirs, Junction City Pond, Walter Wirth Lake, and Walling Pond, ODFW said. By Christian Wihtol The (Eugene) Register-Guard MailTribune.com By Christian Wihtol The (Eugene) Register-Guard Posted Dec. 30, 2014 @ 8:09 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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