The future of partially completed Elk Creek Dam in
southern Oregon remains murky. Federal judge James Burns recently
decided that the Army Corps of Engineers has not adequately
considered new studies which show the dam significantly impairing
salmon runs. But instead of ordering the dam razed, or lifting an
injunction against completing work, the judge ordered the agency to
study how to modify the flood-control dam to save salmon runs. The
new ruling, almost a year in coming, keeps the 1987 injunction in
place. "It is a hollow victory," says Andy Kerr, conservation
director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council. "Fish are still
bumping their noses on the dam." For the last two years, the Corps
has been trapping and hauling fish around the one-third built dam,
and environmentalists say the effort is expensive and ineffective.
Dave Brown, Corps assistant chief of programs, estimates that,
until the dam is finished or destroyed, annual caretaking will cost
$450,000 to $500,000. According to Corps project manager Doug
Clarke, his agency has never supported building the dam because it
will return benefits less than one-third of its construction costs.
But the Corps must carry out Congress' mandate to build the dam,
Clarke says. The agency has not yet determined how long the fish
passage study will take or how much it will cost, but Clarke says
he is confident the agency can build a dam that saves salmon runs.
For more information, contact Dawn Edwards, Army Corps of
Engineers, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946