The upper section of the river extends from LaGrande for a 

 distance of about 50 miles upstream. From LaGrande up to the mouth 

 of Meadow Creek, a distance of about 2$ miles, it extends through 

 a very narrow, steep-walled valley. In the lower 6J miles of this 

 section, up to the mouth of Five Point Creek, the spawning area is 

 only of fair quality, since the stream bed contains a large amount 

 of bedrock and large rubble. The Orodell irrigation diversion is 

 located about $0 yards upstream from the old road bridge in LaGrande, 

 or 2f>0 yards above the LaGrande ditch. The low stone dam in con- 

 nection with this diversion is not a barrier to fish. The Gekler 

 irrigation diversion is located $0 yards upstream from the Orodell 

 ditch. The diversion dam is on a side channel, and is not an ob- 

 struction to fish. Above the mouth of Fivepoint Creek the quality 

 of the spawning area begins to improve. Above Meadow Creek the 

 valley opens to a width of h to 6 miles, and the river exhibits 

 almost continuous excellent spawning area for a distance of 2 miles 

 up to Starkey, Oregon. A short distance above Starkey the valley 

 becomes increasingly narrow, and the stream gradient increases, 

 although it is still classed as moderate. Several tributaries enter 

 about 10 miles above Starkey, and the flow in the main stream above 

 this point was reduced to $ c,f,s. at the time of the survey* About 

 Ik miles above Starkey there are three log and debris jams at 100 

 yard intervals, all impassable to fish at low water. Good spawning 

 areas continue for a distance of 15 miles above Starkey, At this 

 point the stream bed has been literally torn up by a gold dredge and 

 deposited as conical mounds of gravel tailings. This upheaval con- 

 tinues for a distance of two miles upstream. At the time of observa- 

 tion,, on August 10, 19 Ul, the flow was entirely beneath the surface 

 of the stream bed in this two mile section, due to the former dredg- 

 ing operation. There is also a debris jam at the lower end of the 

 mining tailings that is impassable at low water. The principal bad 

 effect of the gold dredging operation has been the excessive silting 

 of the excellent spanning areas farther downstream. In the main 

 stream above LaGrande there are approximately 2^0,000 sq, yd. of 

 suitable salmon spawning area, constituting 23 percent of the total 

 main stream bed in this section. Since the salmon runs in the upper 

 Grande Ronde river had been already depleted to the point of extinction, 

 the mining operations cannot be blamed for their present condition. 

 However, any attempt to reestablish a run of salmon in the upper 

 portion of the river would encounter serious difficulties if such 

 mining operations are continued. The stream extends for a distance 

 of only five miles above the upper end of the mine tailings to its 

 source at Grande Ronde lake. This is a very small body of water near 

 the crest of the Blue Mountains at an elevation of more than 7,000 

 feet* The stream is very small in the uppermost five miles, and the 

 gradient is so steep that it is of no possible value to migratory fish, 



13A. Joseph Creek . — (Not surveyed) Joseph Creek enters the 

 Grande Ronde River approximately l»^ miles above the mouth. It extends 

 for a distance of about 60 miles through a deep canyon to its source 



39 



