Illinois Valley news., July 26, 2017, Page 5, Image 5

Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 26, 2017
RIVER ...
Continued from A-3
“You need to work with the agencies. The
rules are there for a reason and they’re put in
place by smart people who know what they’re
doing.”
Ironically, Ismaili’s effort won’t
accomplish his desired goals, according to Dave
Haight, a fisheries biologist with the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Even with
the amount of work done there, the river will
just smooth it all out within a few years. That’s
all rounded river rock.”
Rudenko agrees. “The Illinois is one of
the more powerful and dynamic rivers in the
area,” Rudenko said. “All rivers move over time
and some more than others. So that’s why we
defer to engineers who design projects that can
actually be effective.”
Page A-5
fish.”
Haight said that as the river moves
rocky material downstream every winter,
most damages caused by Ismaili’s project are
relatively short term: “In this case, there was
certainly short term disturbance, some loss of
wildlife, aquatic organisms, suffocated by the
sediment.”
However Beckord feels the damage scope
is wider: “That particular river bank was full
of wildflowers and there was beaver activity
and now that’s all wiped out. It’ll take years to
recover.”
“Everyone has to go through a process of
learning about river sensitivity and this incident
points out the need for that education,” said
local biologist Bill Gray. “We actually have
a relatively healthy fishery and aquatic eco-
systems in the Illinois Valley. A lot of us value
that. All those rocks, positioned just as they are,
creates an amour that prevents finer sediments
Haight added that “Ismaili has a legitimate
problem but made a mistake by trying to
address it himself without looking into the
regulations and getting expert advice and
permits. The proper fixes would involve putting
in woody structures, natural logs and root wads
to stabilize the bank and encourage material
to deposit - and not erode - in that spot. And
the key is to extend work far enough upstream
to catch the upper end of the erosion area. Or,
putting in rip-rap and weirs, but that’s less
desirable. We much prefer the former methods,
for the health of the river.”
Another irony, according to Sanford, is
that Ismaili likely sped up the erosion process
by logging a lot of trees along the river several
years ago. He also noted that county riparian
ordinances require people to leave vegetation
along the river intact. “And that’s important,”
he said, “not just because the tree roots stabilize
river banks, but also, they provide shade for
from being picked up and spread through the
water - and those fine sediments suffocate fish
eggs and harm young fish. Having a vibrant
fishery also help us maintain a healthy tourism
economy and that helps support the commercial
ocean fishery, which also provides jobs.”
So what happens now? Rudenko said
there’s two separate enforcement issues: “We
need to remediate for damages and determine
what needs to be done to restore the river at
that spot; and secondly, any future project
to stabilize that bank must be appropriately
designed with input from the agencies
involved.” Regarding fines to Ismaili, Rudenko
added, “We follow a calculation written into the
laws governing this type of violation. We don’t
have an agreement in place yet, though we’re
negotiating a ‘Consent Agreement’ with Ismaili
that can expedite the restoration process. We
may have that in the next several weeks.”
You can reach Rudenko at 503-986-5200.
Navigating water rights, rules and regs can be complex
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
Back in the day - when
Europeans first settled Southwest
Oregon and up until the 1970s
- “people logged right up to the
river’s edge and mined and damned
the rivers, basically doing whatever
they wanted,” said longtime Illinois
Valley resident and land developer
Mal Sanford.
“Then in the ‘70s the Oregon
Department of Land Conservation
and Development came into play
with new zoning laws and rules
about where people could build
homes and where they could log and
mine - and where they couldn’t,”
Sanford said. Today, these set-backs
and restrictions for waterways are
enforced by the Oregon Department
of State Lands (DSL).
Over the decades, as more
people arrived in the west and
competition for limited lands
increased, the complexity of
issues gave rise to many new
regulations that were administered
by increasing numbers of county,
state and federal land-use or natural
resource agencies, commissions
and boards (often with over-lapping
jurisdictions). The missions of these
organizations: ostensibly to conserve
waterways and forestlands; protect
fish and wildlife; ensure orderly
and efficient development; regulate
Valley, water use has become a hot
topic, with many residents concerned
about water pirating. Also, with the
strong river flows of last winter, the
powerful Illinois River rearranged
itself: in some locations, consuming
chunks of peoples’ land and edging
closer to their developments.
“The Illinois Valley Soil
and Water Conservation District
and Watershed Council provide
free, non-regulatory services and
consultations to landowners,” said
conservation technician Tracey
Brandt. “We have grant funding,
so assistance may be available for
projects to conserve, restore and
enhance our natural environment.”
She said the organizations have
been involved with a lot of bank
stabilization projects and that
funding may be available to
landowners. “We have a big project
right now at a vineyard, where the
land owner was losing a lot of land
to the migrating river. We’re putting
in a large wood and rock protection
structure to redirect the water away
from the bank and slow the velocity
of water that flows through there.”
Brandt said the public
cannot “do any form of work in a
riparian zone without a permit.”
That includes cutting trees or any
vegetation removal. County permits
are required, and if work is to occur
below the ordinary high water line,
then joint permits from both the DSL
water use; coordinate with various
government entities; and empower
citizen involvement - can also give
rise to controversy and disputed
interpretations of the rules.
And, even with that entire
regulatory infrastructure, “some
damaging practices are still
allowable in the state’s waterways
when landowners possess certain
historic in-stream water rights,”
explained Sanford, who is also a
former president of the Josephine
County (JoCo) Homebuilders
Association. “However for the most
part the days are long gone when
people can do anything they want
with water and natural resources
in the region. Lord knows we need
to keep standing up to protect this
fishery. This whole region, from the
coast up to the spawning grounds
around here, all that fish habitat was
nearly destroyed by unregulated
logging, mining and development
many years ago.”
Today, to discern individual
water rights on any given piece
of property, whether regarding a
waterway or pertaining to rules and
regulations governing private wells
and irrigation allowances, it’s best
to contact the state watermaster
assigned to your area. Kathy Smith,
watermaster for JoCo, can be
reached at 541-479-2401.
With the massive influx of
marijuana growers flooding into the
ALL CuStOm jEwELry dESIgnS
& rEpAIrS dOnE In HOuSE!
for transportation needs, like
maintenance or reconstruction
existing structures like culverts
under roads. But it’s best to check.”
She said beneficial habitat projects:
doing things to benefit salmon and
other aquatic organisms are also
exempt.
“Timing is important and
precautions are required, like
sediment requirements,” Rudenko
said. “And there’s prevention
measures, like isolating heavy
equipment from the water to prevent
extreme turbidly and to protect fish.
This all means it’s best to coordinate
with the agencies. You can call me
at 503-986-5200 - and if I’m not the
right person, I’ll tell you who is.”
Finally, Rudenko said the
Oregon Department of Fish &
Wildlife regulates projects that
affect fish passage. “They’re the
experts when it comes to fish
habitat. Really, though, your local
Watershed Council and Soil &
Water Conservation District is the
best place to start. They’re a great
technical resource and have a lot of
information for people.”
Sanford added that sometimes
there’s a need for nonprofit, non-
governmental organizations to help
watchdog all the different agencies.
He said that in this region, a good
resource is the Klamath Siskiyou
Wildlands Center. They can be
reached at 541-488-5789.
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and the United States Army Corp of
Engineers may be required. “There’s
a lot of layers of regulations,” she
said.
“It’s always preferential
to help people ahead of time
rather than having to go back and
repair the damage,” said JoCo’s
Community Development Director
Julie Schmelzer. “If the damage has
already occurred, then you usually
have to involve the state agencies
and then fines might be assessed.”
People can call the county
planner assigned to the Illinois
Valley, Ranya Aboras, at 541-474-
5427, with questions about any kind
of development issues, including
riparian issues.
And to make complaints about
potential riparian violations - from
heavy equipment in the water to
potentially illegal water diversions
- Schmelzer said people can call
Denise Montijo, JoCo’s Planning
Code Enforcement Administrator,
at 541-474-5425. “She can also
direct people to the right agency, if
needed,” Schmelzer added.
Many waterways in this area
possess “Essential Salmon Habitat”
designations and that means that
“anything you’d want to do in those
waters will require a permit,” said
DSL resource coordinator for this
region, Melody Rudenko. “There
may be exemptions associated
with old water rights, and also,
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