Life on the McKenzissippi.
Byline: The Register-GuardHippocrates' first rule of medicine is to do no harm. The same advice applies to federal government efforts working to restore fish and wildlife habitat.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently did significant harm to the lower McKenzie River - and the people and businesses who make their living from the river - through a construction project that sent tons of silt billowing downstream. The muddy water conditions that caused river recreation to plunge, threatened fish and other wildlife and caused local residents to refer to the "McKenzissippi."
The Corps is in the first year of a three-year project to build a water temperature-control tower at Cougar Dam. After nearly two months of drawing down Cougar Reservoir on the river's south fork, the turbidity of the river became so severe that the Corps stopped lowering the reservoir a week early.
River guides and other businesses that rely on a busy spring and summer on the McKenzie suffered major losses. They feared that the problem would continue through much of the summer, ruining the river's famed trout and salmon fishing. The poor water conditions also raised a few eyebrows in Eugene, which draws all of its drinking water from the river.
That anxiety eased somewhat last week as muddy conditions, exacerbated by a bout of rainy weather and accelerated snowmelt in the Cascades, began to improve. Although still murky and a far cry from its normal sparkling clarity, the Mckenzie was once again providing fine fishing conditions. The timing couldn't have been better, given this weekend's annual free-fishing event that traditionally draws crowds of visitors to the McKenzie River Valley.
That doesn't mean all is well with the McKenzie - or the Corps' project, which ironically is intended to improve conditions for threatened salmon and bull trout. Biologists say native fish so far appear unharmed by the turbidity but intend to continue monitoring for possible damage. There's also concern about damage to spawning beds and the fate of the insects that fish rely on to survive through the winter.
Corps officials were commendably candid in accepting responsibility, saying they underestimated the amount of silt that the reservoir drawdown would send downstream and how long it would take the river to clear. While they could - and should - have acted sooner to halt the drawdown, the decision to stop a week earlier than planned still helped limit damage to the river.
As the water continues to clear and recreation returns to normal, the Corps should re-evaluate the remaining two years of the Cougar Dam project. While officials insist the danger of excessive turbidity will be much lower during future drawdowns, it's important that engineers take every possible precaution to avoid interfering with the fishing and recreation season that's vital to McKenzie River valley communities. Corps officials should also work closely with state fish biologists and the guides who intimately know the river, and be prepared to react quickly to limit or halt drawdowns, if necessary.
For now, there is reason to hope that the McKenzie River, a liquid gem of extraordinary beauty and worth, will soon return to normal. The Corps should make sure it stays that way.
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| Title Annotation: | Well-intentioned Corps project fouls water; Editorials |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) |
| Article Type: | Editorial |
| Date: | Jun 9, 2002 |
| Words: | 527 |
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