Massive Chehalis River log jam finally being cleared

Massive Chehalis River log jam finally being cleared

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Story Published: Aug 27, 2008 at 6:23 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 1:20 AM PDT

By Bryan Johnson

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LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. -- Tons and tons of logs are being hauled out of the Chehalis River. The big flood was eight months ago, but finally the last of the log jams is being cleared away.

The state says it had to act. Fall and winter rains could create a disaster if the river remains blocked.

The log jam was massive, the largest anyone has seen on the Chehalis River. In some spots it's 40 feet deep. It would fill a football field 15 feet deep.

Normally salmon like woody debris, but the experts say not even a sockeye would like this.

"This is too much," said Eric Schroff with Department of Natural Resources. "It jams up the channels. It diverts the rivers. So it's just too much, for fish and humans."

So salvage crews are hauling the mess out. The contract was signed by the state, signed by a man who may have exceeded his authority.

"I have absolutely no authority," said Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland "I had no money. But as I flew over this and as I drove around up here, it was very clear to me that somebody had to take the initiative to do what is right."

Clearing this huge log jam will take about three weeks. And the state won't have to pay. The contractor is doing it for the salvage rights.

Not all the logs will be ground up, some of the root balls will be saved. Why? So they can be placed across the state as fish habitat.

The land commissioner says everyone will benefit from this deal -- homeowners near the river, the fish, and the taxpayers.

As for exceeding his authority, Sutherland says sometimes is it better to act quickly and ask for forgiveness later rather than waiting for approval. But he added no one is complaining about what's happening here.

The land commissioner says the cleanup near PE Ell is the last in the state's to-do list. There are some other big log jams in eastern Lewis County, but because they are on federal land, Sutherland says there is nothing he can do.



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