No Dam = Good Dam

This is great news on a crisp (read 34 degrees F.) Saturday morning in early September.

The historic Buck and Jones irrigation dam on the Little Applegate River flows into history today.

The end of the old structure, part of the Buck and Jones Ditch Association irrigation system whose water rights tap into the 1880s, begins when an excavator armed with a special attachment from M&M Services of Central Point starts breaking apart the concrete base around 10 a.m. today.

Removing the dam to improve fish passage and conserve water has been a primary goal of the Applegate River Watershed Council, explained council member George Rice.

"Removing this dam has opened up about 35 miles of habitat to steelhead salmon on the Little Applegate River and its tributaries," he said.