Work continues at Carmen Smith

MCKENZIE BRIDGE: The 40-year operating license at Carmen Smith, issued in 2019, includes 10 natural resource and recreation management plans and over 300 individual commitments.

Part of the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s license agreement calls for providing passage for federally threatened bull trout and Chinook salmon so they can move safely past the Trail Bridge Dam. In that area, populations of native trout are being monitored, along with a focus on returning historic fish spawning and feeding areas to a more natural environment.

Controlling how fast and how much water moves through the hydropower project can support the survival of fish at different life stages, in addition to other aquatic life that live in the nearby waterways. In addition, monitoring water quality throughout the project calls for including dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, and total dissolved gas as a way to help understand and protect the aquatic environment.

Other issues identified in the license include terrestrial wildlife, recreation facilities, public education, vegetation management, historic and cultural resources, along with transmission line management, roads, waste areas, staging areas, fire response, and suppression.