Agencies need to take balanced approach to jet boats

There are many opinions about what should be allowed on public lands/waterways, and many different ways that people enjoy these lands — but there are also guidelines and agencies to protect public health/safety, environmental impacts, property owner rights, public access, etc.

In the case of Rogue Jet Boat Adventures’ business presence at TouVelle and on this section of the Upper Rogue, these protections are not happening.

I share all concerns expressed in previous letters, particularly the following: The owner of RJBA says “If we can slow down for anglers, we will” and “We try to be neighborly when we can.”

This seems to abdicate responsibility for, and be counter to, any notion of safety in a public area. Many bodies of water in our state have speed limits to protect people and the environment. It seems that the Oregon State Marine Board is dangerously remiss in addressing this here.

While it is technically legal for RBJA to operate below the high water mark at the park, apparently they haven’t been granted a permit for operations at their Discovery Park location downriver. Why are they being allowed to operate without one?

Overall, I cannot understand why agencies tasked with protecting the public’s safety, the environment, and access to public lands are not taking a more proactive stand here. There always needs to be a balance in these situations, but in this case it certainly appears to be skewed toward one private business, and that just seems wrong.

Lisa Johnston / Jacksonville

Jet boat operation only endangers those on river

TouVelle State Recreation Site was donated to Oregon by an orchardist for the relaxation and enjoyment of his workers and general public.

Visiting TouVelle in summer, you saw kids swimming, picnickers, and others who enjoyed its tranquility. Historically, the park has been used by non-motorized drift boats, rafts, inflatables, kayaks and paddle boards. You would see fishing guides and their clients, hikers and birdwatchers.

That tranquility has been shattered. Rogue Jet Boat Adventures (RJBA) is now operating multiple jet boat tours in the Upper Rogue each day.

Decibel-busting RJBA tour boats now tear up and down the river, endangering users of TouVelle and Denman Wildlife Area. The risk to fishermen and swimmers at TouVelle has increased manyfold due to RJBA operations.

Salmon spawn here but jet boats disregard measures to protect fish. I have seen no evidence of RJBA jet boats avoiding spawning riffles or spawning fish.

TouVelle and the Upper Rogue River are NOT Hellgate Canyon — where there is no historical Oregon State Park, there are few or no spawning areas, where rock banks are not subject to erosion, and there are few homeowners to disturb.

I have been an avid TouVelle and Denman area fisherman and user for 29 years and annually pay for a park pass. Commercial jet boat operations must cease upstream from TouVelle now.

John Hamilton / Ashland

Late-night motorcycle use at Roxy Ann is dangerous

I read the comment from Mr. Hartman questioning if the recent fire at Roxy Ann could have been started by a motorcycle, as he has witnessed them traveling on that road to Roxy Ann after the 9 p.m. curfew.

I too have witnessed these motorcycles as late as 10:30 p.m. on that road, as I am in my yard with my pets. I do know that the exhaust pipes, from a motorcycle, can be as hot as 1000 degrees and certainly on dry grass if they are off roading is a huge concern.

I wonder who will take the responsibility of loss, if another fire is started, if a solution isn’t found to stop those motorcycles from driving around the gates.

V. Kuhn / Medford

Alleged fire-starter should not have been released

I just read the story in the Rogue Valley Times about the person who witnesses reported allegedly started a fire in a field in Ashland and was released on his own recognizance on July 13.

I investigated Senate Bill 48 mentioned in the article as the reason for release. Second-degree arson is an offense where release on personal recognizance is allowed and pertains to a person starting a fire that intentionally damages any building of another that is not protected property or causes damages to the property that exceeds $750.

However, first-degree arson, a Class A felony, requires the alleged offender be held for arraignment or other court actions. First-degree arson is when a “person intentionally damages any property, whether the property of the person or the property of another person and such act recklessly places another person in danger of physical injury or protected property of another in danger of damage.”

Starting a fire in a field in Ashland is how the 2020 Almeda Fire originated that destroyed 2,500 structures and killed three people. The witnessed actions of the alleged offender on July 13 recklessly placed people in danger of physical injury and property in danger of damage.

Why was this person released on their own recognizance?

Mary Kwart / Ashland

Crying foul over elections can be traced to Trump

I’m writing in regards to the elections. An all the people that are crying foul.

We had no problem with the mail in ballots until 2020 when Mr. Trump was crying about his loss. Now, his Republican base has turned out to be like a bunch of crazies.

It’s sad to see as there are a lot of great people in the Republican Party.

Mary Nutter / White City

Medford maintains oak savanna at Holmes Park

An oak savanna can be loosely defined as a lightly forested grassland with scattered fire-tolerant oak trees. At the site of Holmes Park, these are the native Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana.

As our population increases, open land for naturally occurring oak savannas decreases. This is happening on a global level.

Oak savannas are a unique ecosystem supporting a greater plant species diversity than either a prairie or a woodland. They provide critical habitat for birds, butterflies, and other desirable insects.

Without fire, savannas gradually become a forestland where the encroaching vegetation chokes out the oaks and the reduced sunlight through the canopy cover does not allow for young oaks to grow. Additionally, fire breaks down nutrients making them easier for the oaks to absorb.

At Holmes Park, we are maintaining the oak savanna through human intervention by mowing, by not irrigating and by adding biochar as a replacement for wildfire since it is obviously unsafe near residential areas.

Biochar is a residue produced by applying high heat without oxygen to biomass, such as wood, grass or agricultural waste. It is a form of charcoal. Biochar has long been known and used to improve soil nutrient availability and aeration in soil.

This remaining carbon is stable. Studies by scientists all over the world have shown it can remain in the ground.

Richard Weed / Medford city arborist