By Jim McCarthy
This past fall, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists found fall chinook salmon spawning in a stretch of the Illinois River previously submerged under the Pomeroy Dam reservoir pool. This development came just a few months after WaterWatch removed the 10-foot high, 270-foot wide concrete structure from this Rogue Basin tributary, and replaced its irrigation diversion function with two fish-friendly pumps.
The former dam had no constructed fishway and impeded access to 100 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, which made it the state’s highest priority for fish passage correction in the Rogue, and among the highest priorities for dam removal in Oregon.
WaterWatch’s multi-faceted Pomeroy project continues this spring with improvements to on-ranch irrigation systems and local roads designed to eliminate barriers to native migratory fish.
Banner photo of the former Pomeroy Dam site courtesy of Crystal Nichols and Dustin Saigo.
This originally appeared in the spring 2025 issue of WaterWatch of Oregon’s Instream newsletter.
