For Immediate Release: September 17th, 2002

For More Information Contact:
Bob Hunter, WaterWatch of Oregon – (541) 772-6116
Steve Pedery, WaterWatch of Oregon – (503) 295-4039 ext. 26
Pete Raabe, American Rivers – (202) 347-7550 ext. 3006
Wendell Wood, Oregon Natural Resources Council – (541) 891-4006
Glen Spain, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations – (541) 689-2000
Bill Rittenhouse, Rogue Flyfishers – (541) 858-5981
Steve Rowe, Ashland Outdoor Store – (541) 488-1202

50 Commercial and Recreational Fishing Groups, Conservation Organizations Blast New Elk Creek Dam Scheme

Groups call on Senator Gordon Smith to stop waste of American tax dollars and Rogue River salmon.

Medford, OR - Fifty conservation, commercial and recreational fishing organizations today released a letter calling on Senator Gordon Smith to oppose a measure in Congress that will force US taxpayers to fund a permanent "salmon trucking" scheme at Elk Creek Dam. The legislation is in the form of a rider on the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill currently being drafted in the US House of Representatives. It will soon be before a House-Senate Conference Committee, where negotiators will be looking to Oregon's Senators for guidance.

"Millions of tax dollars have already been squandered on the failed Elk Creek Dam project," said Peter Raabe with the conservation group American Rivers. "We urge Senator Smith to restore the Rogue and its endangered salmon by putting a stop to this boondoggle."

Though construction of the dam on Elk Creek, a key salmon spawning tributary of the Rogue River, was abandoned in 1987, a new scheme is circulating in Congress to sink more money into the dam. The Elk Creek "rider" was introduced by Rep. Greg Walden and will establish a permanent program to trap salmon at the base of the dam and drive them around it in trucks. This absurd "trap and haul" plan would block a cheaper, more effective alternative-cutting a notch in the unfinished dam and allowing the fish to swim past it on their own.

Money already set aside for notching would be diverted into this scheme, but once it runs out American taxpayers will be left to foot the bill-forever.

"Senator Smith needs to do the right thing for US taxpayers, and give this 'salmon trucking' scheme the thumbs down," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the federal agency in charge of protecting America's threatened salmon runs, has said the "salmon trucking" scheme will likely violate the Endangered Species Act, which means it could end up generating more conflict and lawsuits. According to the agency, the only possible way to bring Elk Creek Dam into compliance with the ESA is to notch it.

"My business, and the businesses of thousands of other Rogue valley residents, depends on healthy runs of salmon and steelhead," said Steve Rowe, owner of the Ashland Outdoor Store. "It is unfortunate that our tax dollars could be spent on a program that may make matters worse for these fish."

The "salmon trucking" proposal is only the latest chapter in the troubled history of the Elk Creek Dam project. The US Army Corps of Engineers, an agency not known for its reluctance to build dams, opposed its construction because the dam doesn't make economic sense. The Corps has pointed out that if they were required to complete it, they would not operate the dam to store water because they have no customers who need it. The dam was never designed to generate any electricity, and the Rogue River valley has gotten along quite well without the marginal flood control benefits it might provide.

Worse, American taxpayers have nothing to show for the tens of millions of dollars that have already been squandered on the dam. According to a report by the United States General Accounting Office, the benefits of the project were overstated from the start. They noted that if taxpayers are forced to foot the bill for completing the dam, we can expect a return of about twenty cents for every dollar spent.

"When it comes to Elk Creek Dam, American taxpayers have a lot in common with Enron shareholders," said Bob Hunter with WaterWatch of Oregon. "Cooked books lie behind both investments."

The rider is attached to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill currently before the House of Representatives. It is expected to be passed out of the House in the next few weeks, and then will face the scrutiny of a House-Senate Conference Committee. The Senate version of the bill does not contain such a rider. Though neither of Oregon's Senators are members of the Conference Committee, they will be looked to for advice on whether or not to strike the rider. Smith's views in particular will be a key factor in the fate of the "salmon trucking" scheme.

The letter sent to Senator Smith outlines all of the reasons why this scheme makes no sense and will harm both Rogue River salmon and steelhead as well as US taxpayers. It urges him to contact the Senate Conferees and urge them to strike the rider.

"Down here on the river Rogue fishermen have long joked that Elk Creek Dam's only purpose is to kill fish," said Bill Rittenhouse of Rogue Flyfishers. "If this amendment passes there may finally be a second one… a giant sinkhole for American tax dollars."