CAMPAIGN WIN: No charter jet boats above Table Rock Road Bridge on the Rogue River!
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Boat Operations in Jackson County, OAR 250-020-0151
(9) Upper Rogue River and its Tributaries:
(a) No person shall use a motor in excess of 15 horsepower to propel a boat on the main stem of the Rogue River above Dodge Bridge County Park and Rogue River tributaries, between Fishers Ferry County Park and William L. Jess Dam, (Lost Creek Dam).
(b) In the event that the river flow rate drops below a three-day average flow of 1350 cubic feet per second, (CFS), or equivalent water level of 3.20 feet, as measured by the United States Geological Survey – USGS – 14339000 Rogue River at Dodge Bridge, near Eagle Point OR, use of a motor in excess of 15 horsepower shall be restricted between Fishers Ferry County Park and Dodge Bridge County Park. Restriction shall maintain in place until the three-day average flow increases above 1350 CFS.
(c) In addition to the above restrictions,
Charter boats may not operate upstream of Table Rock Road Bridge.
Charter boats may only operate between Table Rock Road Bridge and Fishers Ferry County Park between May 8 and September 10.
For purposes of this section, a charter boat is a motorized boat used to carry seven or more passengers for hire for angling, sightseeing or other recreational purposes.
At the OR State Marine Board (OSMB) meeting on January 23, 2025, the OSMB approved its first-ever rules for boat operations on the Upper Rogue River, unanimously approving a rule that will effectively ban charter jet boat trips upstream of Table Rock Road and prohibit all motorized boating on the main stem Rogue River over 15 hp upstream from Dodge Bridge to the William Jess Dam (Lost Creek Lake Dam) and all Rogue River tributaries, between Fishers Ferry County Park and William L. Jess Dam, (Lost Creek Dam).
The process of the OSMB digesting all the comments and developing this rule took several months but ultimately, Rogue Riverkeeper and numerous community members succeeded in communicating the need to regulate high speed jet boats on the Upper Rogue and put habitat protection, water quality, safety, and other users ahead of a single charter operator’s activities which included multiple trips a day of up to 25-seater jet boats. Rogue Riverkeeper believes this rule-making highlights the importance of protecting water quality and aquatic habitat and building policy resilience in the face of climate change as our environment faces changes in use as well as the impacts that climate change itself will bring.
While the OSMB’s decision offers some protections, it doesn't completely protect this river section from boats over 15 hp. It does, however, eliminate impacts from the charter operation that had been taking hundreds of trips a year with boats as large as 25-seaters. The charter boats will still be allowed between Fisher’s Ferry and Dodge Bridge.
How did we get here?
While OSMB staff initially proposed a rule that allowed charter boats to operate upstream of Table Rock bridge, during their meeting, the OSMB members drafted, discussed, then approved a modified rule prohibiting tour boats upstream of Table Rock Road Bridge. This, along with the prohibition of boats over 15 hp upstream of Dodge Bridge, is a significant win for the Rogue River.
The OSMB was able to draft and vote on a revised rule at their January 23rd meeting without another comment period, as advised by OSMB staff and counsel. This decision was based on the similarity between the new rule and previously proposed rules, for which comments had already been received.
During its process, the OSMB worked to develop a rule that balanced safety, opportunity, environmental concerns, and historical boat uses. Marine Director Larry Warren proposed a review of education, outreach, and enforcement after one year, followed by a review of collected safety data the year after. The adopted rule will be reviewed again in five years to ensure its effectiveness.
The question for Rogue Riverkeeper has always been, at what environmental price do we allow activities and businesses to operate? We appreciate the OSMB recognizing that the different users on the river have different impacts and we feel that they have appropriately limited the activity with the highest impact on this section of the river.
Rogue Riverkeeper heard from many people and river users on this issue, both reaching out to us directly, hearing their testimony at public meetings, and seeing their comments on various channels. What is very clear is that there is a huge number of people who love the Rogue River, and are willing to stand up and participate in the process that we are privileged to have that provides opportunity for the public to engage in developing these regulations .
Rogue Riverkeeper’s Impact
Rogue Riverkeeper sent out three action alerts just to the Oregon State Marine Board on this issue. Thanks to the over 1,400 comments that went through the RRK action alerts as well as the hundreds of others from community members responding just to the OSMB and its decision making, we were heard. Our success in defending the Rogue shows the benefits of civic engagement on natural resource issues in our own backyard to advocate for the places that we love. During this time of challenges as we see some parts of government actively tearing down much of what is good, it feels great to see an agency, governed by a board of volunteer citizens, invites input, considers it, and makes a decision that may not make everyone happy, but is all-around protective of the many concerns happening about jet boats on the Upper Rogue.
Thanks to the Upper Rogue Guardians, fishing groups, business owners, and community members who stepped up and were a part of this campaign.
Change only happens when communities activate. Your support made the difference.
We appreciate the attention given to this issue by the OSMB and the agency staff. Other concerns will still remain on this section of the Rogue River. Downstream of the former Gold Ray dam site, there are erosion issues that are becoming urgent as the channel continues to adjust after the removal of Gold Ray dam and former gravel excavation sites, some of which include ponds with huge volumes of water, are at risk of being captured by the Rogue in a high water event which would decimate salmon spawning areas with sudden shifts in the volume and type of sediment and the changes to the channel hydrology.
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Rogue Riverkeeper will remain vigilant to this issue as well as so many others that are ongoing in this watershed.
While we are fortunate to have laws and regulations in place to protect the Rogue basin and people to steward and protect it, Rogue Riverkeeper’s work serving as a watch dog is essential: sounding the alert when threats appear and urging agencies and people to action through the appropriate paths.
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