SECTION IV - APPLEGATE RESERVOIR

4-01. Project data. - Applegate damsite is located on upper Applegate River about 25 miles south and slightly west of Medford, . The primary purposes of the project would be , irrigation, fishery enhancement, and recreation. At full pool the dam would create a reservoir about 4 miles in length, having an average width of one-fourth mile, and a surface area of 945 acres. At minimum pool elevation the reservoir surface area would be reduced to about 228 acres.

4-02. Reservoir area description. - The reservoir would extend in a southwesterly direction for a distance of 3 miles where it would branch into two arms, each about three-quarters of a mile long extending up Carberry Creek and Applegate River. The extreme upstream end of the reservoir, on Applegate River at the mouth of Elliott Creek, would be in . A side-arm of the reservoir would extend easterly up Squaw Creek for a distance of about 1-1/2 miles.

4-03. Applegate River flows through a narrow, steep-walled in the reservoir area. The hillsides and upper valley areas are densely covered with young second-growth fir, canyon live oak, and underbrush. Minor portions of the valley floor have been cleared and are under cultivation. The reservoir would be deep and narrow with occasional well- defined ravines on either shore. Shoreline topography is generally steep. While the project would be located within the external boundaries of the National Forest, the greater portion of the project lands are in private ownership. Present planning calls for a perimeter road around the reservoir.

4-04. Reservoir operation. - Applegate Reservoir would be operated in the interest of , without reference to conditions in Rogue River or Rogue River Valley proper. A hypothetical reservoir operation study was made for the 31-year period, 1929 through 1959. Under the proposed operation schedule the reservoir would be filled by early May, and drawdown normally would begin in early July. In the majority of years the pool would have been drawn down 20 feet or more by early August and 40 feet or more by early September. On the basis of the above, it is considered the major recreation use period for water- associated activities would be from April to mid-August. In five of the years studied the reservoir would have lacked from 4 to 22 feet of reach- ing full pool level by the end of the filling period.

4-05. Land acquisition. - All project lands would be acquired in fee. Basic criterion for land acquisition for the project would be a guide taking line 300 feet landward from full pool. For Applegate Reservoir, however, other factors must be considered. The project area is almost entirely in private land but is surrounded, at a relatively short distance on all sides, by Federal lands. The U. S. Forest Service, after considerable coordinated study, has determined that a major

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