Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River, Oregon

[Lamplighter]

The Rogue River is famous but probably not many have heard of the relatively small but important Gold Ray Dam.
It was built around 1904 and has blocked wild salmon from migrating up the Rogue ever since.

After years of negotiation a contract was let to remove the dam to give free passage again.
They built a coffer dam to allow heavy equipment to access the dam.
But Oooops, the coffer dam suddenly gave way !
No one was injured, but for a while 3 workers were stranded along with one major piece of equipment.

Now the Rogue is again a "wild and free running river.

The coffer dam break is shown on the right side of the middle pic
If you are interested in more pics of the event, here are 3 links.

The iFish thread has the most pics, but Facebook is the easiest to access.
iFish thread
Facebook
Mail Tribune

[xoxoxoBruce]

Looks like when the coffer dam broke, they'd already removed a third/half the dam, and were getting ready to do the rest. In that case they would have broken the river free soon anyway, so no real harm, just a surprise.

Oh, and there was a fish ladder, for the spawning run, on the far side.

[Gravdigr]

It was built around 1904 and has blocked wild salmon from migrating up the Rogue ever since.

Isn't this a fish ladder?

ETA: Guess I should read the whole thread before I spout.

[Lamplighter]

Yes, it is a fish ladder. But it was so poorly designed that ODFW used it as a primary reason for dismantling the dam.
Fish often died in the pool below the dam rather than use it.

Other governmental agencies had other reasons, but the dam was not being used for anything except as a place to count fish.
Many biologists, fishermen, environmentalists, etc believed it was actually harming the fish-run as a physical barrier, causing higher water temps, and silting of spawning grounds.

There is a strong movement to get rid of dams in the NW.
This one was one of the first successes in this movement.
Last year, the Marmot dam on the Sandy River (OR) was removed.

[TheMercenary]

Sounds like a great place to Catch fish!

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Yes, it is a fish ladder. But it was so poorly designed that ODFW used it as a primary reason for dismantling the dam. Fish often died in the pool below the dam rather than use it.

Do other fish ladders work, or is it a problem with the entire concept? I'd never heard of such a thing until this thread, but admittedly I'm not up on my icthyology.

[TheMercenary]

I am pretty sure well designed fish ladders work, they have been around for some time. But I am also sure someone will post a link to some contrary study that says they don't work. Blehhhh...

Beautiful pics either way, thanks for posting them Lampster.

[Lamplighter]

Yes, some fish ladders do work, and without them there would be no fish.
But some of the early designs just did not work.
Gold Ray Dam was built in 1904 (or there about)

As another example, the Clackamas River has several dams with ladders, but there is no native fish-run above the 3rd dam because that ladder failed.

[Lamplighter]

Sometimes it seems you just can't win...

NY Times article
Where Dams Once Stood, Prospectors Spur Anger
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: September 3, 2010

GOLD HILL, Ore. — When four dams on the Rogue River here were scheduled for removal, environmentalists predicted many benefits: more salmon and steelhead swimming upriver to spawn; more gravel carried downriver to replenish the riverbed; more rafters bobbing along 57 miles of newly opened water.

What they did not bargain for was the arrival this summer of a clutch of people, eager to sift through the tons of gravel for flakes of gold once hidden behind the dams.

Resentment now flows as freely as the river. Environmentalists and some riverside homeowners see the gold dredgers as noisy invaders rearranging the riverbed without care for the insects, fish and people who live in and along the Rogue.

Senator Atkinson and the environmental leaders point out that many cars parked along the river carry California license plates.
But Beth Moore, general permits coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
said 1,205 dredging permits had been issued this year, up from 934 in 2009.
Of 432 new applications, only about 54 — or 12.5 percent — of the permits went to Californians.

Oregonians have some negative feelings when it comes to Californians...

Remember the 1960's road signs at the OR/CA border saying
"Come for a visit and enjoy Oregon, but then GO HOME"