Corps to install gate at Blue River Saddle Dam launch

Launch will close Sept. 4-6 for installation; seasonally for resource protection

PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will install a gate across the Saddle Dam Boat Launch at Blue River Reservoir, about 4 miles northeast of the town of Blue River, Ore. 

Installation work will close the launch ramp 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, Sept. 4 to 6.  The gate will be closed annually Oct. 15 to March 1, when low water levels make the ramp unusable by most boats.

The Corps, which operates Blue River Dam and Reservoir, is installing the gate to prevent vehicles from accessing the lakebed when the reservoir’s water levels are lowered during flood management season.  Vehicles are not permitted anywhere in the lakebed because they can cause erosion, disturb wildlife, damage vegetation, destroy cultural resources and degrade water quality.

The U.S. Forest Service manages Saddle Dam Boat Launch for the Corps.  The two agencies are working cooperatively to find solutions to resource management problems caused by off-road vehicle use in the lakebed.

For more information about the dam and reservoir, please visit http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/WillametteValley/BlueRiver.aspx or call 541-688-8147.  For more information about the boat launch, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recreation/recarea/?recid=4390&actid=78 or call 541-822-3381.