Winchester, OR ¬- On Monday August 7th, the fish ladder at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg will close until August 28th to allow reservoir drawdown and structural repairs at the 450-foot wide, 17-foot tall, 130-year-old wood, steel, and concrete structure. This drawdown method, chosen as the cheapest dam repair method by dam owner Winchester Water Control District over other well-established and more fish-friendly dam repair options, will release stored sediment downstream onto state-designated Essential Salmonid Habitat/federally-designated critical Coho salmon habitat while creating an migratory dead-end for imperiled summer steelhead, spring Chinook salmon, and other native species attempting to move upstream to the 160 miles of excellent cold water habitat above the dam.
