Minutes Oct 19 , 2011

FEDERAL LAKES RECREATIONAL COMMITTEE

Meeting was called to order by President Dave White at 6:30 PM

Self introductions were given by all in attendance.

Dave White gave a short report on the Detroit Lake Restoration & Enhancement Study. The study was presented at a meeting with the public being receptive to the study. More work to be done on study.

CORP OF ENGINEERS:

The summer of 2011 was a good season for the Willamette system. All the lakes were full and Detroit stayed at 1553 at the end of Labor Day with all the boat ramps operative.1533' at Labor Day means longer recreational season and is allowing the mixing of cold and warm water together for fish habitat. Water level today is1511'

OREGON MARINE BOARD: 

Wayne Shuyler  presented  FLRCDL with an award that was presented to us in LaCross, Wisc for   boating access and our efforts toward the winter boating ramp which is now open and being used everyday.

OREGON STATE PARKS: 

Bob Rea  reported that the park will remain open all winter with F loop open for camping. Mongold  has a credit card machine available for fee’s during the winter season. The park is working on new trails throughout the park. Bob reported he is down to2 boxes of the boater pamphlet. Corp.will help with printing costs.

FOREST SERVICE: 

Dave Hallimier reports the restoration of the Detroit flats and Lake Front project will be worked on with the fill dirt removed from the Piety Island channel. The National Guard will begin the Piety Island project on Friday October 28 2011. Project to take about 30 days. Channel will be 250 feet wide tapered to the natural slope. Some of the dirt removed will be placed on the end of the flats project to enhance the bird watching area.

DRAFT INCREASE UNDER MARINAS; 

Project has lots of work to accomplish. Funding is a major hurdle.

MCCOY CREEK ATV/SNOWMOBILE PARKING LOT: 

Project complete enlarging parking lot with gravel

SPECIAL THANKS: 

A big thank you to the U of O group for their hard work on the Restoration and Enhancement Design Study.

Next meeting to be held weather permitting on 18 January 2012 at the new Gates Fire Station.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM

 

 

Minutes April 20, 2011

  FEDERAL LAKES RECREATIONAL COMMITTEE

 17 members present.

 A $100 Donation received from the Stahlman Summer Homes.  THANK YOU!

 Two board positions up for re election:   Larry Marr was re elected for a two year term.  Another position remains open. Paul Carr came forward after the meeting to say he would agree to run for the open position, which will be voted on at the 20 Jul 2011 meeting.

Army Corps of Engineers: The Corps could not be present but did send an email briefing to the FLRCDL. Detroit Lake was 8’ above the rule curve and the lake level will be lowered back down to meet the rule curve in order to avoid over-filling the reservoir.  The Corps needs to maintain some emergency flood storage capacity during the late spring. The Corps will not “over fill" the lake beyond the 1563.5’ for the sole purpose of enhancing recreation. Going above that level is only permitted for flood risk management and other operational or safety reasons. Summer forecast for Detroit Lake is that it will fill and stay above the 1546’ level through the summer. Snow level at Marion Forks is 115% above normal. Big Cliff Dam is getting funding identified to begin this year on the engineering and design for spillway gate repairs at Big Cliff Dam. Construction will begin in early summer 2012. Repairs will be made one gate at a time, and may not get all three gates repaired in 2012.  Big Cliff water level restriction will continue at least through the summer of 2011 and 2012, with the boat ramp remaining closed, except for boats that can be carried to the water. THIS IS BIG CLIFF, NOT DETROIT LAKE.

 

Marion Forks Hatchery Report: The work at the Minto Fish traps upstream from Gates will begin next week, with Slayton Construction getting the 23.9 million dollar bid. All of the hatchery’s Chinook and summer Steelhead smolts went out last month during a flush of water to send them on their way to the ocean. During construction the brood stock will be transported to the McKenzie hatchery for holding and spawning.

Projects;

U OF O Restoration & Design study: Final paper work being completed to launch the study this summer. 

RAC grant: Final paper work is being completed to pay for the above study. 

Piety Island Channel:  Awaiting word from the Oregon National Guard on timing & funding.

 

Increasing Draft under the marinas: Pending information on the amounts of dirt to be removed and finding funding sources. 

Floating Heads:A brand new one is ready to join the “fleet” of two others this season. 

Lake Debris Clean up: It appears that it should be a “normal” year as to the amount of floating debris. Looking to ID funding sources in the future.

 

Please send in your comments and concerns to us if you can not make our meeting. They are held on the 3rd Wednesday of Jan, Apr, July and Oct each year.

 

 Minutes January 19, 2011

  FEDERAL LAKES RECREATIONAL COMMITTEE

 Meeting called to order at 6:33 PM by Chairman Dave White. 

 Members and guests introduced themselves. 

 Minutes of the Oct. 2010 meeting were passsed out and a motion was made by Larry Marr, seconded by Dane Loveberg.  The      minutes were approved as presented. 

 Finance officer not in town.  Bank account was $512 for Dec 2010. Dave filed the IRS Form 990-N-E-for the 2010 filing year   and the IRS accepted it on 17 Jan 2011. 

 U of O Restoration and Enhancement of shore line: (Santiam Flats, Detroit Flats and Piety Island).  All student designs have been submitted so the project will begin to move forward. There are many steps to be completed in the planning, etc. The posters are available right now at Detroit Ranger Station and they may be moved to other locations. You may make comments on the individual designs. We are in the earliest stages of the process. Final paper work for the grant payment should be completed and submitted this month. 

 Piety Island Channel Enhancement: The funding has not been available at the time line for the work to be done this past fall.  This time USFS put in specific dates in a new request to the Oregon Army National Guard.  They are looking for a fall/winter 2011 completion if everything lines up.

 

 Increasing Draft under the Marinas: Hopefully there will be more information by the middle of next month.  Kanes Marina will bring in a surveyor to start the process to see just how much material would need to be moved. 

 Down Stream Gravel Bed Enhancement: The project is still in the works, and they (N. Santiam Watershed Council) are looking for funding.  The project is projected to cost more (a lot) than was originally expected. 

 Winter Boat Ramp: The winter boat ramp was closed for about 10 days during the first part of Jan 2011 due to water levels below the winter 1450’ level. Request from BPA for extra water for winter power demands was the Corps reply to why this happened.  Need to try and keep the “toe” of the ramp at or above 1450’ to be usable.  It was suggested to have a press release from the CORPS to apprise the public of the closure and when they expect it to be reopened.  Detroit State Park is in the first winter of trying to stay open year round and the winter ramp is the big draw in getting campers to stay and fish.  More ideas were discussed.

  

 Boaters Guide:  There are enough guides for this season.  They have been well received by the public.

 

 Floating Head(s): The new replacement head is in and will be put into use this spring.

Lake Debris Clean up: There is lots of wood in the lake this year from recent inflow/flooding. Lake levels rose 65’ above winter low level this date.  This brought in the largest amount of debris in five years.  The larger trees will be used for additional fish habitat. USFS is looking into how best to fund this larger than normal clean up season.

 

 ATV Parking Lot: ATV information can be found on the OR State web site for more information on the area.  The McCoy Creek trail system will be available in the summer, fall and  spring for ATVs and the winter for snowmobiles only when we have snow on the trails.  The group wants to have the parking lot, trails, etc enhanced.  They will be looking for grant money from Parks and Recreation and State of OR.  They are looking to convert extra roads for ATV and snowmobiles. A letter of support was provided by the FLRCDL to the USFS on this subject. For more information go to : http://atv.prd.state.or.us/fetch_regions.php?usemap=1&regionByMap=inland

 Discussion on the stumps underwater in the flats area that are a hazard as the lake rises and lowers.  There was talk about marking the stumps or the area.  The stumps may be moved during the U of O Project.  The area hazards are covered in the boater guide. We will address this after the channel project is completed and see if more buoy markings are needed.

 

 Minto Fish Traps:  There was no report this meeting. 

 CORPS Report: No one from the CORPS to present their reports. 

 USFS: They are canvassing the area roads for damage.  There is a slide on French Creek about 3 miles up.  The road is closed.  Watch for slides, rocks, and washouts.  The campgrounds on the Breitenbush arm seem to be in good condition.

 

 Question: Will the sediment washing into the lake keep the algae bloom down?  There may be less this year because of the in coming sediment that will coat the bottom of the lake. It will take awhile for the nutrients to recover.

 

Question: Would the marina dredging be eligible for grant money, Federal funds, or work done by National Guard?  There may be funds available.  There was good discussion on funding or dovetailing projects together.  Could some of the dirt be moved to the enhancement project to build some of the islands? More to come on this at a later time. 

 The next meeting will be April 20, 2011.

 Meeting adjourned 2002.  

 

 If those of you reading these minutes have time to stop by the Forest Service building in Detroit to look at the UO posters, please do so. There are some very interesting concepts presented. At some point the U of O poster will be moved to Detroit City Hall