Written by For over a decade the State Department of Fisheries, the Army Core of Engineers, and other jurisdictions have been placing man-made log-jams in local rivers and creeks to improve fish spawning habitat. While the goal is worthwhile, the practice has remained controversial, as swimmers and boaters have had many close calls with these obstacles on our waterways.
While I have always wanted our rivers to remain more natural, I have only reluctantly accepted the man-made log-jams; my nephew nearly drowned from the first one of these we encountered while floating on the Cedar River back in 1994.
Now, a question has been raised about whether the practice made the latest flood more dangerous. It will be interesting to see whether the man-made log-jams stayed in place during the flood, or broke away creating hazards to bridges.
I’ll be interested to learn more as the flood waters recede.
Example of a man-made log-jam on the Green River.
Here is the website for WRIA 9, which oversees Salmon Restoration efforts in our area (and I have served as a member)
and, Here is a website where boaters have documented their concerns about the man-made log-jams.
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