Hydrojet and excavator dredging planned on the Lower Rogue River
Jerry’s Rogue Jets, a commercial jet boat company out of Gold Beach, Oregon is attempting to renew their dredge and fill permit with the Department of Environmental Quality.
The Rogue River is regionally significant river that provide key salmon habitat, limitless recreation opportunities, and a beautiful landscape for all to enjoy. Rogue Riverkeeper supporters, Rogue Basin residents, and visitors to this special area enjoy all these activities, which are beneficial uses that depend on clean water, excellent aquatic habitat, and healthy fish populations. Excessive dredging projects like the one proposed by RogueJets Inc. has the potential to put all the elements we love about the Rogue River in jeopardy.
RogueJets Inc., or Jerry’s Rogue Jets, proposes to dredge up to 42 sites, distributed over 30 river miles, annually. With over 1,000 cubic yards of sediment, sand, and gravel to be redeposited and discharged per proposed dredging location. Jerry’s Rogue Jets also proposes to redistribute up to 55,986 cubic yards of river sediment each year, or 279,930 cubic yards of river sediment over the course of 5 years! This will all occur during summer months at low flows when such loads are not naturally transported or rearranged in the channel significantly impacting federally threatened coho salmon.
Given the extent of the proposed dredging, Rogue Riverkeeper is deeply concerned that the project will result in too many areas of destabilized gravels. When salmonids, such as Chinook, spawn in spoils leftover from dredging, the loose gravels are more prone to scour during high flow events the following winter, and could lead to reduced reproductive success due to lost eggs. Downstream of dredging sites, large areas of the stream bed will likely be coated and clogged with harmful fine sediment for months, smothering the spaces between rocks important for invertebrate life.
How can you help Rogue Riverkeeper keep Jerry’s Rogue Jets from causing harm to salmon habitat?
Send in your comments telling the DEQ not to dredge the Rogue River!
Click the video above to watch harmful dredging on the lower Rogue River in action.