Rogue Program

Top Priority Dam Removal Nears Completion in Rogue River Basin

For Immediate Release August 10, 2015 Contacts: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon Board Member, 541-778-3310 Brian Barr, Geos Institute Project Manager, 541-621-7226 Denise Hoffert, American Rivers, 541-619-5896 John DeVoe, WaterWatch of Oregon Executive Director, 503-295-4039 Photos and map showing both dams are available here. Video of Wimer Dam removal available here. Top Priority Dam Removal Nears Completion

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Major Grant Awarded to Top Priority Rogue Basin Dam Removal Project

For Immediate Release April 28, 2015 Contacts: John DeVoe, WaterWatch of Oregon Executive Director, 971-322-5635 Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon Board Member, 541-778-3310 Brian Barr, Geos Institute Project Manager, 541-621-7226 Major Grant Awarded to Top Priority Rogue Basin Dam Removal Project Funding Means Salmon and Steelhead to Regain Access this Fall to 70 Miles of

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Conservationists Seek Solution to Critical Salmon Barrier on Rogue Basin’s Evans Creek

For Immediate Release Contacts: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch, 541-708-0731 Janette Brimmer, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 x1029   Conservationists Seek Solution to Critical Salmon Barrier on Rogue Basin’s Evans Creek Fielder Dam Ranks in Oregon’s Top Ten List of Barriers Harmful to Salmon, Steelhead For a pdf copy of the legal complaint click here. For additional background on this issue click

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Diverse Coalition Celebrates Landmark Upper Rogue Valley Water Plan

For Immediate Release September 26, 2012 Contact: State Rep. Peter Buckley, 541-488-9180 Bryan Baumgartner, Rogue River Valley Irrigation District, 541-261-2465 Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-778-3310 Leigh Johnson, Medford Water Commission, 541-944-2222 Steve Mason, WISE Project Coordinator, 541-951-0854 Diverse Coalition Celebrates Landmark Upper Rogue Valley Water Plan Rep. Buckley presides over ceremony kicking off comprehensive

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Rogue River Runs Free at Savage Rapids

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rogue River Runs Free at Savage Rapids Storied Salmon Stream Undergoes Historic Restoration October 8, 2009 Contact: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch Staff Attorney, 541-778-3310 John DeVoe, WaterWatch Executive Director, 971-322-5635 Tomorrow, the Rogue River will move freely for the first time in nearly a century on a stretch of river near Grants Pass,

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New Level of Protection Achieved for Rogue River Flows, Fish, and Recreation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Level of Protection Achieved for Rogue River Flows, Fish, and Recreation Substantial New Instream Water Right Provides Certainty for Rogue’s Future The Rogue River Watershed (click image to enlarge) MEDFORD, OR Aug 14, 2009 Bob Hunter (541)826-4399 Continuing an unprecedented series of recent restoration achievements for the Free the Rogue Campaign, this

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Scientists test sediment behind dam

Scientists test sediment behind dam By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune July 15, 2009 GOLD HILL — A 7-foot tube of gooey muck stuck for decades behind 105-year-old Gold Ray Dam is splayed out Tuesday before geologist Bill Elliott, and the mud-loving kid inside the Southern Oregon University professor all but takes over. Elliott’s gloved hands

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Making the river wild again

Making the river wild again By Opinion Mail Tribune July 03, 2009 A federal grant will help remove Gold Ray Dam, but the clock is ticking Jackson County leaders have a golden opportunity and a big challenge: Move quickly to take down Gold Ray Dam before the clock runs out on federal stimulus money awarded

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$5 million of Federal Stimulus Awarded to Remove Rogue River’s Gold Ray Dam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE $5 million of Federal Stimulus Awarded to Remove Rogue River’s Gold Ray Dam Project will mark fourth significant dam removal on Rogue River in three years MEDFORD, OR Jun 30, 2009   Media Contact: John DeVoe (971) 322-5635 Continuing an unprecedented wave of dam removals on the internationally famous Rogue River, today federal

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WaterWatch Media Advisory: Demolition Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WaterWatch Media Advisory: Demolition Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam Work Crews Move Closer to Historic Restoration GRANTS PASS May 28, 2009 Media Contact: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch, 541-826-4399 For more information online, visit www.waterwatch.org June 1st will mark another milestone in the ongoing restoration of the Rogue River when dam demolition will

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Beginning of end for landmark dam

Beginning of end for landmark dam By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier April 03, 2009 The removal of Savage Rapids Dam begins in earnest next week, when Slayden Construction begins building a 26-foot-tall coffer dam to reroute the Rogue River away from demolition of the north side of the dam. The 88-year-old dam on

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Another Dam Bites the Dust

Another Dam Bites the Dust By Dennis Newman Natural Oregon April 02, 2009   Derided by environmentalists as a “fish killer”, next week marks the beginning of the end for Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River near Grants Pass. After it’s gone, almost 126 miles of the Rogue will be free flowing. It starts

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Removal Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Removal Commences on Rogue River’s Savage Rapids Dam U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Announces Work Crews Will Begin Task by End of Next Week Apr 01, 2009 Media Contacts: Bob Hunter, WaterWatch, 541-826-4399 Carolyn Devine, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, 503-986-0195 Dan Shepard, Grants Pass Irrigation District, 541-476-2582 Darren Funk, Slayden Construction Group, 503-769-1969

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End of a controversial dam

End of a controversial dam By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune July 16, 2008 Explosives launch a $7.9 million project to notch Elk Creek Dam for salmon recovery TRAIL — The crack of explosives Tuesday sent waves of concrete crumbling and launched a plume of dust skyward, signaling the beginning of the end to Elk Creek

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Rogue River dams to come down

Rogue River dams to come down By Matthew Preusch Oregonian June 08, 2008 Salmon runs are expected to grow in iconic Oregon river GRANTS PASS — One of Oregon’s iconic rivers is on the cusp of a major makeover. What’s happening on the Rogue River isn’t so much transformation as reversion. Dams built during the

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The End of an Era

The End of an Era By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune May 16, 2008 Credit: Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — As the last steel panel descended by crane and slipped into place at Savage Rapids Dam, Grants Pass Irrigation District Manager Dan Shepard was too distracted to relish history. His eyes were riveted on three GPID

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Tear it out?: Study will determine the future of Gold Ray Dam, which officials say is no longer practical

Tear it out?: Study will determine the future of Gold Ray Dam, which officials say is no longer practical By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune July 14, 2007   The 35-foot-tall concrete wall that spans the Rogue River makes Gold Ray Dam a large form with very little function. The turbines that first sent electricity to

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The beginning of the end

The beginning of the end By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune October 07, 2006 The days are numbered for Savage Rapids Dam: the structure will likely be a footnote by Dec. 19, 2009 Construction crews are scheduled next week to begin the precursor work that eventually will lead to Savage Rapids Dam’s removal from the Rogue

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Quiet Waters

Quiet Waters By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune December 11, 2005   State fish biologist Chuck Fustish dips his net into a special fish trap to discover two of the Rogue River basin’s most storied critters are inside. The two tiny fish are juvenile summer steelhead-to-be, infant varieties of the fish hallowed by Zane Grey and

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