8A | NOVEMBER 11, 2021 |
CORPS
from A1
source project.
The Master Plan is part
of the Willamette Valley
Project, a system of 13
multi-purpose damns con-
structed between 1940 and
1969. The dams are all op-
erated under a single sys-
tem to manage water in the
Willamette River Basin.
The 13 dams sit on
six different watersheds,
meaning the Corps will
write six master plans in
all.
“Cottage Grove Lake
is unique in our system
because the Army Corps
manages all of the recre-
ation sites,” said Environ-
mental Stewardship Su-
pervisor Wendy Jones. “At
other lakes, that’s done in
partnership with either the
county, the state or other
entities. And there’s about
130,000 visitors per year
that visit this lake.”
Dorena is different in
that Baker Bay Park and
Marina is managed by
Lane County Parks under
a 25-year lease. The Bu-
reau of Land Management
manages the Row River
Trail along the north side
of Dorena Lake and there
are estimated to be about
150,000 visitors annually at
Dorena.
Recreation for Cottage
Grove Lake includes sites
such as Lakeside Park, Pine
Meadows Campground,
Wilson Creek Park and
Shortridge Park. At Dorena
Lake, they include Harms
Park, Schwarz Camp-
ground, Baker Bay Park
and Bake Stewart Park.
“There are 10 plants and
animals that are either fed-
erally listed on a state list
or otherwise rare,” said
Jones. “And these habitats
are not only important for
those rare species, but also
the game species and larg-
er mammals, as well as the
common species that we
want to keep around. Some
of the habitat restoration
projects that we do involve
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
prescribed burning, or in-
vasive plant removal.”
As far as cultural re-
sources, the program aims
at protecting, preserving
or trying to avoid impacts
to cultural resource sites,
which could include arti-
facts or any sites that are
important to tribes, as well
as historic resources.
Both Cottage Grove and
Dorena dams, completed
in 1942 and 1949 respec-
tively, are considered his-
toric resources.
“They are eligible for the
National Register of His-
toric Places,” said Jones.
Dustin Bengtson, deputy
operations project manag-
er for the Willamette Val-
ley Project, said that the
primary purpose of the
dams is flood risk manage-
ment.
“We take our Dam Safe-
ty Program very seriously,”
said Bengtson. “We’re con-
stantly looking at the con-
dition of these structures,
understanding the risk and
communicating that. And
so, we’ll be rolling out with
an update to the nation-
al inventory of dams that
talks about the condition
of these dams, the risks
and how we’re managing
those.”
The Corps’ manage-
ment of Dorena and Cot-
tage Grove lakes includes a
wide array of responsibili-
ties such as recreation, wa-
ter resources, vegetation,
mineral, cultural, recre-
ation and fish and wildlife.
For the purposes of the
Master Plan, public input
was limited to these re-
sponsibilities.
Corps members noted
that master planning does
not directly address water
quality, water supply, water
level management, hydro-
power, navigation, shore-
line management or flood
risk management. These
topics are addressed in
other planning documents
such as the Environmental
Impact Statement.
“That
Environmental
Impact Statement is where
the parks.
On weaknesses, par-
ticipants noted safety is-
sues such as instances of
break-ins or vandalism
and hoped to see illegal
camping and fires dealt
with. Trash dumping and
the need to upgrade some
facilities were brought up
while others expressed a
desire to address water ac-
cess for kayakers and pad-
dleboarders as well as im-
prove boat ramp situations.
For opportunities, group
members came up with
ideas for education and
outreach which could ex-
tend to local schools. Many
comments pointed to the
possibility of enhancing
trails and public access
while finding ways to im-
prove recreation facilities.
Some questioned if there
could be better water man-
agement to create more
wetlands.
Under threats, the most
common concerns were
around water levels. Next
to that, participants com-
mented on maintenance
and funding levels with
the Corps. Other concerns
were homelessness, illegal
camping and environmen-
tal impacts causing loss of
habitat.
Breakout groups next
held focused discussions
on natural resources, cul-
tural resources and recre-
ation, pinpointing areas
on maps which represent-
ed “Rights, Blights and
Mights,” or positive as-
pects, negative aspects and
future possibilities.
Out of these discussions,
participants pointed to the
need to put aside money
to begin building new in-
frastructure and maintain
aging facilities.
Many raised the need for
wildlife preservation and
animal habitat protection,
along with dealing with
litter and preventing a loss
we are looking at how we
operate and maintain our
dams and facilities over the
next 20 years or so,” said
Bengtson. “That is where
we are looking at how can
we operate the system bet-
ter in terms of water stor-
age and water use for the
variety of benefits and legal
requirements that we have
in the system.”
There are several feder-
al acts to be considered in
planning such as the Na-
tional Environmental Pol-
icy Act, Clean Water Act,
Endangered Species Act,
Fish and Wildlife Coordi-
nation Act, Migratory Bird
Treaty Act, Eagle Protec-
tion Act and National His-
toric Preservation Act.
The Corps’ plans for
Dorena and Cottage Grove
lakes were last completed
in 1989. In the last several
decades, there have been
changes in land use, en-
vironmental conditions,
legislation and how people
recreate, which prompt-
ed the Corps to revisit the
management plans and
conduct the public input
meetings.
Public Input
During public input on
Saturday, the room was
broken into groups and
each was tasked with iden-
tifying different elements
of a SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportuni-
ties and Threats) analysis.
Groups who focused
on strengths of the lakes
pointed to swimming,
boating and fishing rec-
reation and the quality of
facilities. The Row River
Trail and its facilities also
received good marks as
well as human interactions
along the trail.
In all, nature lovers
seemed pleased with the
management of these as-
pects and spoke highly of
camping opportunities in
Complete
tech,
networking,
security and
IT solutions
for your
home or
business.
SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS
EUGENE
CRESWELL
622 E. 22nd Ave Suite C
195 Melton Rd.
541.686.1732
541.686.1732
or visit us at www.thornton-ortho.com
DENTAL Insurance
If you’ve put off dental care, it’s easy to get
back on track. Call Physicians Mutual Insurance
Company now for inexpensive dental insurance.
Get help paying for the dental care you need.
1-844-328-1291
Dental50Plus.com/cgs
Get your FREE Information Kit
Product not available in all states. Includes the Participating (in GA: Designated) Providers
and Preventive Benefits Rider. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/certificate of
this type. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer
is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A
(ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN).
Rider kinds: B438, B439 (GA: B439B).
6208-0721
711 E. Main Street | Cottage Grove
541-649-1073 |www.pcgargageoregon.com
Get ready for
winter with
our stock of
wood stove
supplies and
fi re starter.
n Fruit Trees
20 Palmer Ave. n Cottage Grove n (541) 942-0510
David Debysingh, R.Ph.
Mike Hankins, R.Ph.
MCCOY’S
PHARMACY
IS BACK!
√ Immunizations
√ Medication Synchronization
√ Rx Compounding
√ Prescription &
OTC Medication Counseling
√ Convenient Drive-Th ru
Turn your yard into a
• landscape design & planting
• complete lawn care
• trimming, weeding & mulching
CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION • 541.686.1732
CALL TODAY
n Flowers, Herbs,
& Shrubs
Safe & Relaxing Sanctuary
EVERYONE
DESERVES
A GREAT
SMILE!
Getting back to the dentist couldn’t be easier!
n The Northwest’s
Finest Gardening Seed
n Vegetable Transplants
From its Creswell meet-
ing, the Corps shared that
some of the main topics
included improved/addi-
tional bike infrastructure
at both lakes, finding more
opportunities for interpre-
tative learning and histor-
ical signage at both lakes
and there was a general
concern about water levels
and boating infrastructure.
The input collected
during the sessions will
inform the Corps’ creation
of new documents over
the next year. Plan devel-
opment has a scheduled
deadline of September
2022, after which public
review meetings will be
conducted that October.
A public comment period
will also be held between
October and November
2022. The final plan is to
be delivered in May 2023.
Though the public ses-
sions have concluded for
this year, those interest-
ed in providing their own
feedback for the current
participation period may
still do so until Dec. 10,
2021, by emailing info@
coastforkplan.com.
of land value. One com-
munity member suggested
assigning stewards to take
responsibility for sections
of roads or lakes to pick up
the trash and keep the en-
vironment clean.
Safety issues came up
again, mainly regarding
homeless camping around
the edge of the lakes.
Dovetailing with this, fire
safety remained a major
concern.
Others discussed the
idea of including more
signage about natural and
historical resources along
the Row River Trail and
wondered if old sites of
settlements now in the lake
bed could be marked.
Another group rose the
issue of managing invasive
vegetation and some talk-
ed about dealing with low
water levels by building
berms to keep water which
could offset the acres of
dead land in summertime.
Parking along the near
shore of Cottage Grove
Lake was also pointed out
as being very dangerous
and some raised concerns
about mercury levels in the
water.
Family owned and operated for over 50 years.
LANDSCAPE AND
BUILDING MATERIALS
Free Delivery Within
Cottage Grove City Limits
Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm
100% Contactless Service! Details Online
Open M-F 9AM-6PM
Saturday 9AM-1PM
Honest. Dependable. Authentic
PO Box 341 | Cottage Grove, Oregon
541-731-8528 |www.prasadalandscapes.com
7919 N. River Road
541-942-4664
1205 N. PACIFIC HWY #3, Cottage Grove, OR
541-942-7799 • mccoyspharmacy@mccoyspharmacy.com
SPRING
Tune-Up
Fruit Favorites Gift Box
O
nly
$
ONLY
$23 99 *
Special, limited-
time offer!
SAVE $15!
Reg. Price $37.99
The Delightful Gift
4
4
4
4
4
4
1
8
Butcher’s Cut Top Sirloins (5 oz.)
Filet Mignon Burgers (5.3 oz.)
Boneless Chicken Breasts (1 lb. pkg.)
Gourmet Jumbo Franks (3 oz.)
Individual Scalloped Potatoes (3.8 oz.)
Caramel Apple Tartlets (4 oz.)
jar Signature Seasoning (3.1 oz. jar)
FREE Filet Mignon Burgers (5.3 oz.)
65658LQM separately $223.93 *
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE
Get 8 PureGround
Filet Mignon Burgers
TM
FREE
99 99
$
ORDER NOW! 1.877.890.0182 ask for 65658LQM
Call 1-844-950-0018 to order item 296X
or Visit HaleGroves.com/H2YF11
* Only $23.99 (reg. $37.99) plus $5.99 shipping and handling per pack to
48 contiguous states. Some restrictions may apply. IC: H2YF11
OmahaSteaks.com/TheGift1098
*Savings shown over aggregated single item base price. Photos exemplary of product advertised. Limit 2.
8 free (5.3 oz.) Filet Mignon Burgers will be sent to each shipping address that includes (65658). Free product(s)
may be substituted. Standard S&H added per address. Off er available while supplies last. Cannot be combined
with other off ers. Other restrictions may apply. Expires 12/31/21. ©2021 OCG | Omaha Steaks, Inc.
We’ll make sure your system is
running eff ectively and effi ciently.
Call for details and an appointment today,
and beat the spring rush!
129*
Complete Heating & Cooling System Service
Reasonable Rates • All Work Guaranteed