Oregon Residents Attempt To Rescue Popular Roslyn Lake From Death

SANDY, Ore. - Residents can complain all they want, but a popular lake will one day be no more.

"They're not going to close the lake," says Candy Grantz, a groundskeeper at the placid, tree-rimmed Roslyn Lake and its adjoining park. "No way. Everyone around here is going to throw a big old fit."

People who use the popular recreation area desperately want to save the reservoir, but Portland General Electric officials say their decision to drain it won't be influenced by local criticism.

"We're not asking for input. We really don't have any choice," said John Esler, project manager in PGE's hydropower licensing division.

PGE, which owns the 160-acre lake and the adjacent park, jolted local residents recently with an announcement that the power company plans to dismantle Marmot and Little Sandy dams within two years.

As part of the demolition, the utility will end more than 80 years of diverting water out of the Little Sandy and Sandy rivers and into Roslyn Lake, a fishing, boating and picnicking destination about four miles north of Sandy. A favorite getaway for nearby residents, the man-made lake draws more than 60,000 visitors each year.

Taking out the dams and returning the water to the Sandy and Little Sandy rivers would mean the end of Roslyn Lake.

The lake wasn't built with recreation in mind, Esler said. Its primary purpose is to store water for powering a set of four hydroelectric generators built in the early 1900s. Demolition would get PGE out of an aging, unprofitable hydropower project, he said.

Environmentalists hailed the decision to remove the dams, saying it would give endangered wild salmon and steelhead a chance to return to former spawning grounds. Although Marmot Dam has a workable fish ladder, the Little Sandy Dam blocks fish passage.

Despite PGE's intentions, residents are scrambling to rally opposition. At the Reel Tackle Shop in Sandy, the owners post the latest news and meeting announcements behind the counter. Telephone trees have formed.

Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, an alternative school, makes a visit to Roslyn Lake an annual end-of-the-year tradition. Standing in line to reserve a paddle boat, senior Donyell Davidson learned about the planned demise of the lake.

"That's sad," Davidson said. "I like this place. When you've got time off in the summer and you want to get out and chill, you can just come out here."

Even PGE refers to Roslyn Lake as a "gem" among the utility's network of power dam parks.

"It's a beautiful lake," Esler said. "But that has nothing to do with how we operate the project."

"It was never created as a recreational lake," he added, saying it still can be a nice place to visit without the lake there.