This Saturday we celebrated the removal of Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River with a “Victory Float” organized by Rogue River Keepers. It was a foggy and cool but beautiful fall day – the perfect weather to see the many spawning salmon!
The stretch of river above what was the reservoir is absolutely beautiful. Lots of gravel bars for the spawning Salmon, fall colors, and vistas of Table Rock and the Siskiyous – definitely a hidden gem. The newly freed stretch of river that was once under the backwaters shows the scars and debris of many years under water. However the river, along with help from restoration projects , is already re-establishing itself and beginning to clean up the area. A little winter flooding will help a ton and by next year the banks should be green and alive! It was a really unique experience to see a stretch of river that only a month ago was buried under a reservoir.
There was also a clean-up effort going on the same day and we got to help out on some of the lower stretches.
It was amazing to see a happier, freer flowing Rogue! Look for a new one day trip combining this section with the Nugget section coming soon!
Check out a bunch of photos on the Momentum Face Book Page.
