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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1960)
4i THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1960 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE. ' . ft: V '.ft-. I! m m t'4 V8S The Rogue River Fisheries Major. Causes of Fish Ruri' Decline Reviewed Downhill Trend Starts When Man Moves Into Area (Editor's not: Thil ii the eighth in a series of article! on the Rogue river fishery and ill management. To day'i article ii a ganaral ac count of tht factori that have bean reipomibl for the decline of the migratory and resident fish popula tions in the Rogue drain age.) By COLE M. RIVERS Fisheries Agent Stale Game Commission i The runs of salmon and steelhead in the Rogue river system today are far below their former populi tion levels. Actual ally, there are only a few people living who can call the almost unlimited abundance of these fish be fore the de cline began, man's invasion Prior to I ilPll " V-- - - , J COLLECTED FISH Quart jars are filled with small salmon and steelhead which were collected from an unscreened irrigation ditch before the Oregon state game com mission started its screening program in 1945. This collection represents 1,465 fish taken from a ditch, on the Applegate. weather and the amount of Dawning gravel were prob ably the only factors that lim ited maximum populations. Records show this not to be the case since about 1870, when man began to change the face of the Rogue river valley. But it was not until the sports fishery became popu lar in the 1920's did the gen eral public become aware that salmon and steelhead were becoming scarce in the Rogue system. This was over fifty years after the decline actually started. Yet, the Rogue runs today are in far better shape and are better utilized than those runs re maining in many other streams in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Study Rogue's History If readers would study thoroughly the Rogue's his tory in respect to its use and development they w o u l a understand the causes behind the decline and probably be amazed that any migratory fish remain. Truly, the Rogue salmon and steelhead are de serving of admiration. Slides in the lower canyon, dams built without fishways, unscreened irrigation ditches and ' power developments, early mining activities, heavy silt loads, extensive commer cial and sports fishing, lack of protective laws and adequate enforcement, and heavy egg takes suggest that we have hearty races of fish in the Rogue to still be present in the numbers we have today. Too many words would be needed to describe in detail all of the factors that influ enced the downhill trend, but a few of the major causes are described briefly. Shortiy after the turn of the century a dam was built across the Rogue immediately below the present Caveman bridge at Grants Pass. At this dam, steclhead and salmon had to make a nine-foot jump to pass to upstream spawning areas. Hamper Rum The Anient dam between Grants Pass and Savage Rap ids ' seriously ' hampered the runs for 18 years, with an un satisfactory ladder In opera tion during the last five years of the dam's existence. In 1927, the story goes, "some conservation - minded person floated a boatload of dyna mite down on the dam. The result no dam and free pas sage for salmon and steel head." Today, we know that sal mon and steclhead that have trouble passing difficult bar riers arrive In the headwaters wth fungus Infections, many dying as a result before they are able to spawn. In the past, these losses must have in volved thousands of fish. Re cent changes and Improve ments to fish ladders have eliminated most Injuries and resultant losses.' Early packing records of commercial fishing at the mouth of the river tells a story in itself. Annual packs declined. year after year de spite the heavy plants made by stale, federal and private hatcheries. When the fishery could no longer be economi cally pursued, the river was closed to commercial fishing in 1935. Took Egg Supplies Because the runs of salmon and steelhead were thought to be inexhaustible, the U.S. bureau of fisheries in the early days took large supplies of eggs, many of which were ' shipped to all parts of the world. The records of these eggtakes show decided de cline and by 1938 ail but one of the stations had to be aban doned because so few fish were returning to the racks. General irrigation projects began in 1917 and 1918, but the big developments did not occur until after tne arougnt of 1931 and 1932. Hundreds of ditches were developed, and only a few were provided with screens for the protec tion of downstream migrant salmon and steelhead. The losses of young fish in these rrlgation canals were ex tremely heavy until 1945- at which time the game commis sion began its screening program. For the first four years after completion, the Savage Rapids dam was without satis factory fish ladders, seriously affecting a complete cycle of the salmon and steelhead runs. In addition, the turbine intakes and pumps took heavy toll of downstream mi grant fingerlings for 35 years before the installation of the llnkbclt screens in 1958. The losses of fish at the Gold Ray and Gold Hill power plants went unobserved for years. Work toward obtain- UAW Review Board Praised in Study By College Center New York - tUPn - A study published this week praised the work of a review board set up by the United Automo bile Workers union to review appeals from some of the union's own decisions, The report was written by Jack Stieber, director of Michigan Slate university's labor and Industrial relations center: Walter Obcrer, Uni versity of Texas law proles- sor and a former executive director of the board, and Mi chael Harrington, a journal ist specializing in labor problems. Increased Awareness Stieber said the board had brought about "increased awareness and respect on the part of UAW leadership for the Importance of due process." Oberer said guarantees of Highway Officials Cite Seven Menaces Washington - IUP1I - The American Association of Mo tor Vehicle Administrators lists seven types of motorists as "the biggest holiday men aces on the road." Here arc the seven types -and the association's com ments on each: -The Speeder: Going too fast whs a contributing factor in 21 per cent of fatal acci dents. -The Drinker: About 10,000 of the 32,000 fatal motor-vehicle accidents Involved a drinking driver, -The Sleeper: Non-collision accidents (Involving only one car) accounted for 40 per cent of the fatalities registered in rural areas and 16 per cent in urban areas. Fatigue was listed as a dominant factor in most of these accidents. -The Weaver: Improper passing is listed as the cause of over 5 per cent of all acci dents. -The Highway Hog: More than 18 per cent of accidents were due to failure to yield right of way. -The Road Bum: One out of five passenger cars and one out of four trucks sufetv checked were found in need of maintenance for safe driv ing- - The Blinder: Defective headlights is the leading cause for rejects among cars submit ted to safety Inspections. union members' "basic demo cratic rights" were provided by the UAW in the establish ment of the board. Harrington said that as a result of the board's work there was "practically no se rious opposition to the review principle in the union. In a foreword to the study report, University of Califor nia President Clark Kerr said the board "grew out of a vol untary surrender of power on the part of union leader ship" and represented a "posi tive step" in promoting due process in UAW actions. The report particularly praised the UAW for contin uing its support of the re view board although the board reversed six of 29 UAW International Executive board decisions it considered. Considers Appeals The board is empowered to consider most appeals from UAW executive board actions which are not concerned with collective bargaining. Its members are Professor Jean McKclvey, New York Slate school of industrial and labor relations; Rabbi Morris Adler of Detroit; Magistrate J. Ar thur llanrahan, Windsor, Out.; Msgr. George G. Hlg gins, director of the social action department of the Na tional Catholic Welfare con ference; Judge Wade 11. Mc Crce Jr., of Michigan's third Judicial district; Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, Washington, and W. Willard WIrtz, a Chi cago attorney. The report was published by the center for the study of. democratic institutions which was founded last year by the Fund for the Republic. Cos's Less To Feed A Larger Family St. Paul, Minn. -IUPP- While it may not be true that two can live more cheaply than one, the University of Minne sota s Institute of Agriculture says it costs less per person to feed a large family than a small one. The per person cost of food in a family of five is 5 per cent -less than In a family of four. In a family of six, it's 10 per cent less, Foresters Studying European Pine Moth Seattle (Science Service) Foresters of the U. S. forest service and the Washington state department of natural resources have begun an ex perimental program aimed at e r a d i eating the European pine shoot moth, an insect whose larvae likes to chew on tender pine shoots, by fu migating the larvae. 'Hie moths have begun In festing ornamental pines in parts of the Seattle area and could spread to lumber-producing pines in eastern Wash ington if not cheeked. Infect ed plants arc covered with a plastic covering and methyl bromide gas is pumped into the enclosed area. The larvae do most of their damage in the spring. They chew t h e new pine shoots, which can damage shrubs without kill ing them. Distorted and dead ends of branches are evidence of attack. ing corrections at these plants has been of recent history. Many studies in the North west show that the rise and fall of salmon and steelhead population are directly relat ed to logging of the drainages and the changes that occur in the pattern of season water runoff. Some of the decline of the silver salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout in the Rogue system follows this same pattern. There is little doubt that the complexion of the Rogue basin, with respect to cover and natural stream flows, has changed tremendously over the years. What were once stable tributaries now exper ience low and warm water flows during the summer months and scouring high waters in winter. With the wild scramble for available water, we are now facing critical shortages, not only in the tributaries but in the main Rogue channel as well. More Valuable Today, each salmon . and steelhead that escapes to the spawning grounds becomes more valuable than ever. In spite of this, reports indicate that more spring chinook are being foul-hooked in the up per river sections than ever before. For every foul-hooked fish landed, better than four others are lost. Those that are lost usually die before spawn ing because of the serious wound which becomes infect ed and kills the fish. Pitch forking and gaffing of spawn ing salmon and steelhead from tributaries continue at an alarming rale. Although a few appear in court each year, these flagrant violators are difficult for law enforcement agents to appre hend. In addition, most ang lers turn their backs on the practice, and refuse to report or appear against the gaffers, pitchforkers or the foul-hookers. The increased numbers of people that fish the Rogue annually, combined with the public s need for more out door recreation, are creating a fishing pressure problem. Smaller Supply ' As mailer supply of fish and fishing waters in the valley must be distributed among a larger number of anglers. The problem becomes even more acute in southern Oregon where anglers insist on more fish per angler day to be satisfied than in any other section. of. Oregon. The sports fishing industry has attracted thousands of res idents, to, the Rogue basin an nually and it entertains large numbers of tourists each year. From three to five million dollars are spent annually In the pursuit of the Rogue fish ery - dollars- on which the basin's economy is in part de pendent. Many river systems -have completely lost their migra tory salmon and steelhead runs. The disappearance and decline follow a pattern that is related to the rate and kind of development. With valu able segments of the Rogue's! resources still Intact, we have a great opportunity to bene fit from the mistakes made elsewhere. Public agencies and much of the public at large are ' truly concerned about the fishery in the Rogue river system, and they are striving to work out a pro gram of orderly development. Moon Roundtrip, $10,000 Cape Canaveral-fflPD-Look-ing for a vacation that's dif ferent? How about a round trip to the moon, or a one way flight to Mars-for only $10,000? Some American scientists predict that programs already underway to tame the unseen pieces of energy that make up the universe may some day make space travel as sim ple as air travle for Mr. Av erage Citizen. The day may be less than a few decades in the future -and if this all sounds far fetched, remember there was a time when predicing that jet planes would flit about the sky at faster than the speed of sound would not have been considered sane conversation. Fellowship in Journalism Set At Columbia New York - fliPD - Colum bia University President Grayson Kirk has announced establishment of a new ad vanced fellowship program in international reporting at the university's graduate school of journalism. Kirk said the project will provide an opportunity for outstanding mass media re porters to spend an academic year at Columbia acquiring specialized knowledge for careers in reporting and in terpreting international affairs. One Year's Tuition It is distinct, he said, from the recently established in ternational fellow program, which is designed to give younger students in various Columbia professional schools improved backgrounds for careers in the international community. The new fellowships cover one year's tuition and fees and provide grants of ud to $4,400 for travel and living expenses for the nine-month academic year. At least six fellows will be accepted for the first year of the program, which begins in September, 1961. United States Army heli copter pilots help out as cow boys during the annual round up of buffaloes on the Wich ita, Kan., wildlifs refuge. Scientists Develop New Feed 'Wringer' San Jose, Calif-IUPD-Scien- tisls at Food Machinery and Chemical Corp. have develop ed new equipment that can literallly wring water out of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish without changing the shape or size of the product. Food processed in this way will keep without refrigera tion and weighs only a frac tion of its original volume And Clie product can be re stored to its fresh state by a quick soaking in water. The company researchers explain that the new equip ment dehydrates foods by a freeze-drying principle. Lady Cops Have Names Written on Pavement Scituate, Mass. -IUPD- Out-of-town motorists, passing through Scituate, are puzzled by names of girls on the pave ment at various intersections. Dotty, Peg, Rose and Helen -painted in 18-inch letters in side large ovals-designate the spots where trim-uniformed lady traffic cops are on duty to safeguard children going to and from school. Police Chief William Kane says the idea of personalizing the women traffic guardians has proved popular with the townsfolk. Despite some startling ac complishments, the world still is in the gaslight era of space exploration-with "horse-and-buggy"chemical rockets that, at best, can lift only small payloads (anything under 10, 000 pounds is considered small) into the skies. The big dream is exploring and . possibly colonizing the moon and planets. But human beings are delicate creatures, and the sheer weight of equip ment needed to protect them would impose severe prob lems in getting sufficient rock ket power. Most scientists consider chemical rockets-solid or liq- ued fucled-almost out of the question. Instead, they are looking to the energy of atoms, ions and photons-the invisible "building blocks" of the universe for power for interplanetary flights. Nuclear Rover The United States already has begun development of a nuclear-powered rocket called Rover which it hopes to test in space in 1965. Rover will be boosted by a chemical rocket, the 1.5 million-pound-thrust Saturn. In the nuclear engine, hy drogen will be heated by a reactor and rammed through a thrust chamber. The result, says Maj. Gen. Don R. Os trandcr, Air Force director of launch vehicle programs, is that Rover "can potentially double the thrust" of the most powerful liquid rocket. This means simply that a nuclear rocket will need less fuel for more power. Rover's first flights will test an atomic system that American scientists are seriously con sidering using to' land a man ned spacecraft on the moon and return a 10,000-pound payload to earth. Engine Need Drops Once in space, the need for gigantic rocket engines im mediately drops off since the pull of gravity has been over come and air friction is prac tically nil. Unless you are in a hurry, your spaceship can use another type of propul- sion-ion, plasma or photon Ostrander explained that ion or plasma systems rely on the speeding up of electrically-charged particles, rather than the physical expansion of hot gases, to get push. Pho ton systems would use the radiant pressure of light to drive a spacecraft on its way. In contrast to the mighty power of chemical rockets, these "electrical" systems gen erate less push than the pres sure of your little finger on a set of scales. But at inter planetary distances, a small but steady thrust can build up near-fantastic speeds. The National Aeronautics and S p a ce .Administration (NASA) has ordered a test model of a small iron engine it said could send spaceships soaring among the planets. The Hughes Aircraft Co. of Culver City, Calif., is expect ed to have the engine ready sometime in 1961. The government also has awarded Electro-Optical Sys tems Inc. of Pasadena, Calif. a $1,190,000 contract to de velop a tiny ion engine to control the direction of space craft, which would need only a small push to change course. M. W. Hunter, a space sys tems engineer for the Doug las Aircraft Co. of Santa Mon ica, Calif., has taken things a step further and proposed what he called "the nuclear solution to the high cost of space travel." Same Cost Hunter suggested that re fined nuclear rockets work ing on the Rover reactor prin ciple, built to be used for at least 100 trips, "would be able to haul cargo and people around the solar system for essentially the same price and degree of convenience that now applies on the surface of this planet." In his calculations, "pas senger costs are of the order of $10,000 per roundtrip to the moon and the same price for a one-way trip to Mars," although Hunter explained this operation would be "lim ited to the tourist season." He said further improve ments in nuclear engines could reduce-these figures to $1,000 per roundtrip to the moon and $3,000 one-way sea sonal fare to Mars, "although the year-round price Is still well over $10,000 per passen ger." But even at that, $10,000 is little more than some people pay these days for round-the- world trips now-pay later" deals-except. And your travel agency perhaps, on Hunter's one-way may offer one of those "go flight to Mars. VERL G. WALKER CO. SP 3-7S57 205 W. Jackson St. Mcdford, Oregon THE DANMOORE HOTEL 1217 SW Motriion St. PORTLAND, OREGON All transient guests. All those who co mi, return. Rates not high, not low. Free garage, TV's and radios. Reputation for cleanliness Children Under Seven No Charge Holiday Season Glose-Oul Burn-Rite Logs KOGAP Lumbor Industries is liquidating, their stock of Burn Rite Loqs. Now you can save as much as 26c per carton. Burn-Rite Logs are packaged in easy to carry 10 packs and 6 packs. Each log is 3 inches in diameter and 12 inches long and will give hours of warm, comfortable heat. Burn-Rite logs are available at our mill on South Pacific Higway 99 or w will deliver orders amount ing to $1 5.00 or more. 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We could devote pages to explain ing why, but here are just a few reasons. You save the cost and inconvenience of trav el time, the harassment of looking for park ing space. You pay no more, often less for the same merchandise. You help boost local prosperity and make our community a bet ter place to live in. AND, you will find that after -sale service and exchanges are SO MUCH SIMPLER! JOIN THE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING PARADE TO MEDFORD MERCHANTS Medford Mail Tribune
