Lovelace Dam Removal

Produced by Crystal Nichols, formerly of the Rogue River Watershed Council, this video details the 2023 demolition of Lovelace Dam along Slate Creek, a key spawning tributary of the Applegate River in the Rogue Basin in Josephine County, and features remarks from WaterWatch's Southern Oregon Program Director Jim McCarthy and other key stakeholders. An important dam earmarked for demolition on Oregon's Fish Passage Priority list, the removal of Lovelace Dam was not only built upon earlier successful dam removals, but improved access to some 26 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead, and was the first dam in the nation to be removed with funding from NOAA Fisheries under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.