Winchester Dam Repairs Begin Despite Permitting Irregularities, Collapsing Summer Steelhead Run, and Fears of Another Fish Kill

Winchester Dam | Kirk Blaine

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

On August 7th, the fish ladder at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg closed and will remain so until August 28th to allow reservoir drawdown and structural repairs at the 450-foot wide, 17-foot tall, 130-year-old wood, steel, and concrete structure. This drawdown method, chosen as the cheapest dam repair method by dam owner Winchester Water Control District over other well-established and more fish-friendly dam repair options, will release stored sediment downstream onto state-designated Essential Salmonid Habitat/federally-designated critical Coho salmon habitat while creating a migratory dead-end for imperiled summer steelhead, spring Chinook salmon, and other native species attempting to move upstream to the 160 miles of excellent cold water habitat above the dam. 

LINK (via Native Fish Society

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *