Rogue River Freed Of Savage Rapids Dam
The weekend provided kayakers, salmon, and others the first opportunity to experience the Rogue River in a different way.
For the first time in eighty-eight years, they can travel the Rogue without passing the Savage Rapids Dam. April Baer reports.
Construction crews finished removing the dam ahead of schedule. Attorney Bob Hunter was there to see it.
Bob Hunter “A huge section of the dam is gone, there’s a little bit of section of concrete on the left that houses the turbine pump system that will stay. And the new channel is carving its way through the sediment. It’s moving big boulders, a very dynamic situation right now, as the river is finding its way.”
Hunter is with the group Water Watch, which worked for years to see dams along the Rogue removed in the interest of salmon.
Their efforts turned a corner when they reached a consent decree with the local irrigation district in 2001.
The riverbed may be unstable for a few days yet, but boaters and others look forward to using it soon.