Michelle Gardner opened the meeting welcoming the attendees. John Porter commented on the economic status of the Benbow Inn and the RV Park and Golf Course with or without the dam. He said it was difficult to determine because now that the Inn is open year-round it’s harder to get accurate figures. Porter said that 2007 was the first year they were open from January to March and have been getting good response from fishermen during the winter months.
The economic condition of the country, including high gas prices, certainly has something to do with the number of people traveling. Porter did say that it seems to him that people are staying for longer periods of time at the RV
Gardner said the park numbers are also down somewhat, although the number of people coming through the Visitor Center are up, probably due to the fact that the euro is so much better than the dollar right now. She said they are getting more foreign visitors, but many of them may not be camping, but traveling through the area to see the redwoods. Gardner also said the fact that the 4th of July events were canceled meant fewer people attended Benbow State Park over the summer.
Gardner went on to say they had received 56 of the surveys back from the public asking for their feedback regarding the dam vs. river restoration. A total of 30 people wanted to see the dam stay and 25 who did not, and one with no opinion. There were 23 for river restoration and 29 against it. Out of the 56 surveys, 14 were from out of the area. Six were for the dam and seven were against the dam.
The survey was also recently sent out in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter, so hopefully there will be more responses.
Nadananda said that on a recent KMUD show she had a good response from people calling in. Some of the callers were very interested in the river restoration.
She did say, “This is KMUD and it is the environment show, but it has a huge listening audience. Most of the people did not want to see the dam go back in. There were some people who called and said they had been here for several generations and said that although they had enjoyed the lake when they were younger, it was not like it was in the past. There were a lot of people who liked the idea of the river going back to its natural state with good swimming and fishing holes.”
When asked about the cost of possibly putting the dam back in, Gardner stated that with all the permits, studies, and work required, the cost could be as much as $1.6 million. And to make matters worse, even after all the studies and reports are completed the dam installation may be denied anyway.
Horvitz said that if the study said they had to do bank stabilization it could cost up to $45,000. Then, if the study says they have to secure the banks it could cost between $400,000-$500,000.
Porter wanted to know who is requiring the state to do all these studies and how do all those figures relate back to the river restoration. The questions have been asked whether or not people want the dam or the river restoration, but there have been no discussions about how much the river restorations will cost.
Gardner explained, “We have what we estimate it will cost for the dam. We figured at the most it would be around $1.6 million to get this up and running. As far as the river restoration goes, there are grants out there. We have even been contacted by people who would be willing to help with the restoration, so that wouldn’t be coming out of the department’s funding. I can’t find anyone who is going to give us a grant to put the dam in. That’s where some of the differences in the money costs are.
”We aren’t saying we do not want the dam and we aren’t saying we want river restoration. The fact is, in order to do the dam we have to come up with this money. Even if someone handed me a check today for $1.6 million, I still couldn’t guarantee the dam would go in. Once the studies are done and the environmental impact reports are done, they could turn around at the end, and I’m not saying they would, but they could say that with this environmental climate and the way the Coho are running, we are not going to allow you to put the dam back in. Here we would have spent all this money and we are still not getting the dam.
”We haven’t written the dam off if we can come up with the money to do the studies, but the department doesn’t have it. You saw what we just went through with the budget. Rather than just sitting to see if someone is going to hand us this money, we want to go ahead and start pursuing some of the ideas about getting a feasibility study done and looking into getting grants. Realistically, we have more opportunity to come up with money from grants for river restoration and helping out the recreation area at Benbow than we are putting the dam back in because of the environmental issues.”
Porter asked, “Where does State Parks stand in terms of this being designated as a recreation area? It is my understanding that state law requires the parks to provide recreation in these designated areas.”
Gardner responded, “The river would also be considered recreational. I do sympathize with the fact that the lake has been there and it is a cultural and historic thing. But we just don’t have the money and I don’t know where we would get it when we don’t know if we would be allowed to put it in anyway.
”The first step we need to do for river restoration is a feasibility study. It’s not actually digging or taking down the dam structures; it’s not saying there won’t be a dam. Let’s see where we go with that and let’s see if I can get a grant for it.”
Gardner said she has already begun her research and there are various organizations she will be contacting requesting the processes involved in obtaining grant monies. She made it very clear that one of the reasons she is pushing to get this process started is that the applications have to be submitted by December.
Gardner has hopes that Benbow can become a winter destination as well as a summer recreation area. She said the river could provide a great place for kayakers and rafters when the water is high. Things such as kayak holes can be made for visitors to enjoy the river.
She said, “If we can bring people in from January to March, we can get more months out of the year. And, I think we can get some good concessions at Benbow.”
This would bring in more money to the area during those long winter months when things slow down economically. During the summer months, State Parks hopes to install shade in the form of cabanas, provide more picnic tables, and plant more grass down by the water.
Nadananda reinforced this idea by saying, “We do a lot of running the rivers, mostly the main stem on a four-day. We get a lot of calls for a one-day or for maybe just a few hours. You could do a really nice run from Richardson Grove down to Benbow or even Tooby. It’s amazing how long it takes when you are on the river. We put in at Dora Creek at 10 and it took us until 6 that evening to get to Richardson Grove. That is a fun run, especially on this section of the river because you don’t have Class 3 and Class 4. You have maybe a 2, which is not quite a beginner.
”We have also seen an incredible turnaround with kids on the river. Many of them become river guides and go for more training. They have gotten away from drugs and alcohol and have gotten into working with people on the river and eventually they go on to college to get their degrees. People love the Eel River.”
River rafting can be big business. The different kinds of watercraft can be very expensive and all the connected costs can be a very good source of income for area businesses.
Gardner said she is anxious to see the results of the Chamber’s survey in the next few weeks to get more feedback to help State Parks decide what direction to pursue. Another meeting will probably be scheduled in the future to discuss this even more and see what progress has been made.
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