The Elk Creek project was initiated in 1971, the third dam authorized by Congress to be built in the Rogue River Basin. After years of litigation the project was stopped in 1988, leaving an incomplete dam 83 feet tall, one-third its designed height. Once construction was stopped, plans were developed to restore Elk Creek to a free-flowing creek. The dam was notched on Aug. 17, 2008, and the Corps diverted Elk Creek into the new channel on Sept. 15, 2008.