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The
Chiloquin Dam has generated a number of negative ecological impacts for the Sprague River. This reality has led to the call
by several different groups to have the dam removed from the river. Beginning
in 2002, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for the dam, proposed
to have the dam removed. In 2005, the U.S. Fish and wildlife service
completed a biological opinion which supported the BIA’s
call for removal, clearing the way for the planning phase of the project to
begin. In the first phase of the removal, a pumping station will be installed
on the nearby Williamson
River that will replace
the irrigation water provided by the dam. This phase is expected to be completed
by late 2007. For the second phase, a contract has been awarded to a local
company which will be in charge of breaching the actual dam. The Slayden
Construction Group of Stayton,
Oregon was awarded a
multimillion contract by federal government which is solely responsible for
funding the removal project. It’s expected that the removal process will be
completed by December 2008.
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