In a proposal nearly 28,000 acres of the Elk River drainage east of Port Orford would be designated a salmon emphasis area to protect the fishing interests. The proposal was announced by sports fishing and conservation groups. The plan also calls for designating 22 miles of the river and its tributaries as wild and scenic.
Shady Cove resident Mike Beagle, field coordinator for Trout Unlimited in Oregon, said that the proposed area would be known as the Elk River Salmon Emphasis Area, it would be considered for special “back country management” to safeguard its salmon and steelhead waters. Beagle also said that the project would allow the Forest Service to continue to manage the area, for thinning or for disease, but the management focus would be for the big fish.
Jim Rogers, a professional forester from Port Orford, admit that protecting the watershed’s fishery is vital to both the local and regional economy. He also added that the Elk River drainage is the economic lifeblood of coastal Southern Oregon. He told that there is strong annual return of salmon and steelhead, and upstream habitat is still healthy and productive for spawning and rearing.
The proposal would also designate about 22 miles of the Elk River and its tributaries as part of the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The river system is in the western portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, which receives about 150 inches of rain annually and contains the Grassy Knob and Copper-Salmon wilderness areas.
Beagle said that unlike a wilderness area, rules for the additional 28,000 acres would permit the use of vehicles and equipment such as chainsaws for forest management. He added that a wilderness area would be much more restrictive than what we are proposing. Veteran fishing guide Mark Kimball, owner of the Steelblue Chameleon Lodge in Port Orford, said that the project would keep the drainage intact that would protect the fishery. He said that in this part of rural Oregon, they depend heavily on the ocean-going fish that return to the Elk River every year.
