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| Dam modification project on Rock Creek garners State Land Board award | ||
| 04/10/2007 | ||
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For immediate release 07-11 More information: Julie Curtis, State Lands – 503-378-3805, ext. 298 Paul Robertson, Devils Lake Water Improvement District – 541-994-5330 Project praised for benefiting Coho salmon
Salem – The State Land Board today recognized a project to modify the Rock Creek Dam for fish passage in an awards ceremony honoring exemplary wetland and stream projects throughout Oregon. In presenting the 2006 Stream Project Award, State Treasurer Randall Edwards, a Land Board member, said the project is “significant because it’s the first time in the 70 years since Rock Creek Dam was built, and a full 20 years after the dam had any use to humans, that fish have been able to migrate freely up the stream unimpeded.” He praised the project for being a “low-impact, common-sense solution.” Rock Creek is the only productive stream in the Devils Lake Basin for native Coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout. Modifying the dam, which involved cutting and removing a 20 by three foot concrete section, is expected to have long-lasting, positive impacts for Oregon’s fish populations, according to project partner Paul Robertson, Lake Manager for the Devils Lake Water Improvement District. The project was completed in September 2006, and involved the Salmon Drift Creek Watershed Council, the City of Lincoln City, the Preservation Association of Devils Lake, the Devils Lake Water Improvement District, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Agency staff and volunteers worked on all aspects of the dam modification project. “We are so pleased with the results of our efforts,” said Robertson, who noted the project was completed “without the loss of the water resource, without the potential cost of rebuilding a dam, and with the additional benefit to the landowner, the City of Lincoln City, of becoming good stewards of the natural resource.” The State Land Board Awards were created in 2003 to promote and recognize responsible, sustainable stewardship of natural resources. To be eligible, stream and wetland projects must have received a removal-fill permit from the Oregon Department of State Lands and must meet or exceed all permit conditions. The State Land Board consists of Governor Theodore Kulongoski, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and State Treasurer Randall Edwards. The Department of State Lands administers diverse natural and fiscal resources. Many of the resources generate revenue for the Common School Fund, such as state-owned rangelands and timberlands, waterway leases, estates for which no will or heirs exist, and unclaimed property. Twice a year, the agency distributes fund investment earnings to support K-12 public schools. The agency also administers Oregon’s Removal-Fill Law, which requires people removing or filling certain amounts of material in waters of the state to obtain a permit. ####
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