A privately-owned dam on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg must update its fish ladder by 2030.
Members of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 6-1 Friday to adopt an administrative law judge’s order ruling that the Winchester Dam has been in violation of fish passage laws since its owner did construction work in 2023.
The violation was brought to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s attention by environmental nonprofit WaterWatch, a group that has in the past offered to remove the 136-year-old dam at little-to-no-cost to the owner, Winchester Water Control District.
"Right now that dam is just harming fish and the people who depend on and care about that river,” said Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon’s southern Oregon program director. “That’s the bottom line. Harm is ongoing at that dam and it needs to stop"
District Board Chair Ryan Beckley did not grant KLCC an interview, though he sent a statement by email.
“ODFW's ‘ruling’ was expected and is basically the beginning of the process,” he wrote. “Except to say that the WWCD completely disagrees with the position of ODFW, and intends to appeal to an actual court, we really have no comment.”
Winchester Dam was built in 1890, and has been on the National Register of Historic Places for 30 years. It is surrounded on most sides by private property, though the registry paperwork said it does have public access via a stairway from a state-owned parking lot.
