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A2 The BulleTin • Sunday, January 30, 2022 The Bulletin LOCAL, STATE & REGION how to reach us CIRCULATION didn’t receive your paper? Start or stop subscription? 541-385-5800 PHONE HOURS 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday and holidays GENERAL INFORMATION 541-382-1811 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. ONLINE www.bendbulletin.com EMAIL bulletin@bendbulletin.com AFTER HOURS Newsroom ................................541-383-0348 Circulation ................................541-385-5800 NEWSROOM EMAIL Business ........business@bendbulletin.com City Desk .............news@bendbulletin.com Features.................................................................. communitylife@bendbulletin.com Sports ................. sports@bendbulletin.com NEWSROOM FAX 541-385-5804 OUR ADDRESS Street .............. 320 SW upper Terrace drive Suite 200 Bend, Or 97702 Mailing ........... P.O. 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The dams, collectively known as the Willamette Val- ley Project, were built more than 50 years ago to provide flood control from heavy spring rains. Other authorized purposes include irrigation, hydropower, recreation and fish and wildlife habitat. Officials at the Corps’ Port- land District outlined seven alternatives for project oper- ations during a virtual pub- lic meeting on Jan. 19. The changes described in each al- ternative are intended to im- prove water quality, tempera- ture and fish passage at the dams for spring chinook, win- ter steelhead and bull trout. A federal judge in 2020 ruled the dams had pushed endangered Upper Willamette salmon and steelhead runs to the brink of extinction, while the Corps lagged years behind making scheduled upgrades that were agreed to in an ear- lier court settlement with envi- ronmental groups. The Corps is now updating its environmental impact state- ment for the Willamette Proj- ect, walking the tightrope be- tween the needs of fish and the needs of other users. “It is a delicate dance that has increasingly become more complex,” said Erik Petersen, operations project manager for the Corps. “Everyone is giving something up, and everyone is gaining something. No one is getting anything exactly the way they want it.” Public scoping for the up- dated environmental statement began in 2019. The Corps re- ceived 717 suggestions for mea- sures that could be implemented at one of the dams. From there, the list was whittled down to 23 measures based on their feasibil- ity and benefits. The measures are divided into four sub-categories — fish passage, water quality, flow and “common to all,” which in- cludes hatchery improvements More Information For more information about the Willamette Valley Project eiS, including details about each alternative, visit https:// gather.cdmsmith.com/v/nk- jxe7erqlQ A federal judge in 2020 ruled the dams had pushed endangered Upper Willamette salmon and steelhead runs to the brink of extinction, while the Corps lagged years behind making scheduled upgrades that were agreed to in an earlier court settlement with environmental groups. George Plaven/Capital Press file Detroit dam is one of 13 dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette River Basin. and gravel augmentation. The Corps mixes and matches these measures into each of the seven alternatives, looking to strike the right bal- ance of actions to maximize the dams’ benefits. For example, alternatives 3A and 3B focus on boosting fish passage by modifying opera- tions, rather than substantially changing any of the structures. That would involve a deep spring and fall season reser- voir drawdowns, boosting river flows at a time when adult and juvenile salmon are migrating. Alternative 4, on the other hand, takes a more build- ing-based approach, adding new downstream passage and water quality facilities to keep fish healthy and moving. Kelly Wingard, project man- ger, said the Corps is still as- sessing the impact of alterna- tives. The agency will release its draft environmental impact statement sometime in the fall, which will include a preferred alternative. A final statement and record of decision could be finished by 2024. The last time an environ- mental impact statement was done for the Willamette Proj- ect was in 1980, Wingard said. Since then, the project’s de- mands have changed substan- tially. “Really, we’re re-looking at how we balance the differ- ent priorities for the system,” Wingard said. Last year, irrigators gained access to 328,000 acre-feet of water stored in the project’s reservoirs, part of a realloca- tion plan that divvied 1.6 mil- lion acre-feet of water among farmers, cities and fish and wildlife. But Kathy Warner, a tech- nical expert and water supply specialist for the Willamette Project environmental im- pact statement, said changes in dam operations could mean changes in timing and avail- ability of water for irrigation. Agriculture, she said, is part of Corps’ analysis of the alterna- tives. “Each of these alternatives could have a different level of impact, or effect,” Warner said. “They’re looking at the differ- ent ways the system could op- erate.” Life. Live it right! 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