Demolition of Evans Creek Dam Will Restore Native Salmon and Steelhead Breeding Grounds

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Work crews this week completed the demolition of a concrete dam to restore habitat of native salmon and steelhead in Evans Creek which is now completely free flowing at the dam site for the first time in 128 years, according to a Press release by WaterWatch.

The abandoned former diversion dam is part of a collaborative effort to reintroduce salmon to the key spawning grounds of Evans Creek.

Demolition Has Improved 37 Miles of Spawning Habitat

The William Whalen Dam, listed on the statewide Fish Passage Barrier Priority List by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), is the third dam on the Evans Creek to be removed in the last nine years, and will significantly improve access to 37 miles of spawning habitat.

Southern Oregon and Northern California Coast Coho salmon are listed as an Endangered Species. Federal and state agencies have identified Evans Creek as integral to the recovery of the endangered fish because it provides spawning and rearing habitat for fall Chinook salmon, winter and summer cutthroat trout, Klamath small-scale suckers, and steelhead, as well as Pacific lamprey.

The project manager of the Rogue River Watershed Council, John Speece, says the project is a collaborative effort by two private landowners, non-profit and pub agencies, working towards the common goal of restoring fish to the river, streams and creeks.

Brian Barr, the executive director of the Rogue River Watershed Council, says the project is a shift in focus to restoration of smaller streams. Barr says Evans Creek is one of only a handful of streams in the Rogue Basin that provide Coho salmon with quality spawning and rearing grounds.

Takeaways

WaterWatch partnered with several federal and state agencies to finance the Evans Creek dam removal project, obtaining the biggest donation of $472,000 from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Rogue River Watershed Council oversaw the removal of the dam, while a Eugene-based construction and demolition company undertook the dam demotion and the restoration of the stream.

WaterWatch has been protecting and restoring the flow of rivers to sustain fish and wildlife, and to help the people who depend on healthy rivers, since 1985, and was the first organization in the West to fight for structural reform of outdated water laws.