Comments should be made on this one - why would one not make this a passage friendly bridge - who knows what may happen with a dam down the road; why not require passage on BOTH?! Certainly better to set the precedent now than to retroactively argue it later....
ODFW seeks comment on fish passage exemption for proposed bridge project near Selma
August 21, 2015
SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife is seeking public comment on a request to exempt from fish
passage requirements a proposed bridge replacement on McMullin Creek, a
tributary to Deer Creek in the Illinois River Basin located near
Selma, Oregon. Comments are due by Sept. 11, 2015.
The existing bridge located on Lakeshore Dr. and owned
by Josephine County, crosses McMullin Creek immediately downstream of
the Lake Selmac Dam. The county has proposed replacing the existing
bridge with a new bridge, triggering ODFW fish passage requirements.
According to Ken Loffink, ODFW assistant fish passage
coordinator, ODFW may grant the exemption if there is no appreciable
benefit to fish from providing passage. Currently, coho, steelhead, and
cutthroat trout are found in McMullin Creek downstream of the Lakeshore
Dr. Bridge. However, the Lake Selmac Dam is located approximately 100
feet upstream of the bridge, and the dam spillway extends downstream to
and beneath the bridge. The dam and spillway is a complete barrier to
all native migratory fish.
Because there is a complete barrier immediately
upstream, Loffink said ODFW has determined that even if fish passage was
provided at the proposed new bridge, the action would not result in any
appreciable benefit to native migratory fish.
Therefore, unless the agency receives public comment
that would affect its determination, the exemption request will be
approved. If, in the future, a trigger occurs at the Lake Selmac Dam,
passage would be required at Lake Selmac and the exemption at Lakeshore
Dr. would likely be revoked. Fish passage exemptions can be revoked and
fish passage required if an appreciable benefit to native migratory fish
develops in the future.
In the meantime, members of the public will have until
Sept. 11, 2015 to submit written comments on the proposed plan. The fish
passage exemption application and the Department’s benefit analysis are
available at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/passage/.
Members of the public can send written comments to or
request additional information from Ken Loffink, ODFW Assistant Fish
Passage Program Coordinator, 3406 NE Cherry Ave. NE, Salem, OR 97303,
e-mail, Ken.J.Loffink@state.or.us, or by calling (503) 947-6256
