Charter boat operations will occur on a more limited section of the Upper Rogue River under rules adopted by the Oregon State Marine Board at its meeting in Salem on Thursday.

Other provisions will limit motor size to 15 horsepower above Dodge Bridge and allow closure of the river from Dodge Bridge to Fisher Ferry County park to motors over 15 horsepower in the event of low water levels.

Rogue Jet Boat Adventures has been operating charter jet boat excursions boats out of the Table Rock Bridge area for over a decade to Fishers Ferry County Park downstream and to Rattlesnake Rapids upstream. Under the new regulation, the company could only run from the bridge to Fishers Ferry. Operating dates would be May 8 to Sept. 10.

Asked to comment on the ruling, business owner Taylor Grimes wrote to the Rogue Valley Times:

“We’ve built a successful business centered around safety, education and leading by example. While we are not solely concerned with the impact on our business, we are concerned by how this decision affects the public’s right to access and enjoy a vital natural resource.

“Specifically, we are concerned about the decisions limiting access to a section of the river that provides invaluable opportunities for school groups, veterans, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities — people who otherwise may not have the chance to experience this area of natural beauty and educational significance,” Grimes wrote.

“This section of the river holds a deep cultural and historical connection to Native American communities. This decision limits the public’s ability to engage with the rich history and culture of our community, suppressing the message,” he continued.

“All of our services will remain the same with slight modifications for our community, and we’ll continue providing safe, educational and inclusive services to the residents and visitors of Jackson County.”

The Upper Rogue Guardians group made up of conservationists and riverside homeowners, which has long fought jet boat operations, hailed the marine board’s decision.

“We won!,” the group posted on Facebook. “The OSMB actually made the best decision to protect fishing guides and traditional recreational users and allow tour/jetboats only below TouVelle State Park/Tablerock Bridge.”

The ruling concludes a long and volatile period of debate about what sort of uses should be allowed on the Upper Rogue. Issues included safety concerns about power boat operations, preservation of fish and wildlife habitat, impact of boats on the stream bank, noise that disturbs residents and more.

After a long public input process, the board in October issued the rules that would have limited commercial jet boat operations to no more than 300 trips per year and included other restrictions.

Public testimony on the proposed rules was heard at a Dec. 4 session in Medford. The agency staff subsequently amended the rules to set minimum river flow levels when boats could operate. The amendment was the topic of a Jan. 16 online meeting.

Polled by Marine Board Chair Laura Jackson Thursday, none of the members supported adopting the proposed rules.

“Nobody wants to adopt the proposed rules that we came up with and the amendment,” said Steve Lambert, a Jackson County resident on the board. “I don’t think it solves the problems.”

In the end, the board incorporated parts of the earlier proposals and unanimously passed an alternative that was proposed by Lambert. The alternative also incorporated a suggestion from board member Dax Messett of Medford.

The adopted alternative addressed issues that Lambert saw in volumes of public input that he reviewed. Those included different environmental concerns, different uses and different conflicts.

At the December public session, river users including fishermen, hunters, boat companies and fishing guides said the proposed rules would have curtailed river activities they had enjoyed for decades.

“I don’t support any restrictions on the historical boat community that has operated below Table Rock Bridge,” Messett said.

Public comment sessions brought more awareness of unintended consequences, Jackson said.

“Jet boats have used that section for decades for recreation,” Lambert noted at Thursday’s meeting, which was livestreamed. “They are just getting caught up in the web. I don’t think those boats were intended to be affected.”

While the ruling did not exactly follow the October and December proposed rules, there is not a need to re-notice the new rule, Alan Hanson, agency policy and environmental program manager, told the board.

Hanson spoke with counsel, who told him a rule that reflects a lot of comments already received did not need to go through a re-noticed public process and that the board could adopt changes it deemed appropriate.

Board staff discussed the impacts both motorized and non-motorized boat users have on fish habitat. The board opted to allow the ban between Dodge Bridge and Fisher Ferry County Park in the event of low flows rather than more stringent restrictions.

A streamflow of 1,350 cubic-feet-per-second, equivalent to a 3.2-foot depth, would need to be present for all boating activities for motors exceeding 15 horsepower. The flow would be measured at Dodge Bridge. The streamflow would need to return to the required level for three days for boating to resume.

Historically, the river has seldomly dropped below that level, but the rule provides protection against future drought conditions, agency staff told the board. Staff worked with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify the parameters that would help protect fish.

“The point is not to restrict any users, but to protect salmon,” Hanson said. “If the water is that low, (a) paddler could impact the fish by scraping the bottom of the river.”

The other rule provision prohibits use of a motor in excess of 15 horsepower to propel a boat on the main stem of the Rogue River above Dodge Bridge County Park and on Rogue River tributaries between Fishers Ferry County Park and the Lost Creek Dam.

After both public sessions, testimony was allowed to be submitted in writing. For the December amendment, the record closed Jan. 21. For the previous rules from October, the record closed Dec. 20.

The first comment period drew approximately 1,200 written comments, mostly email, agency Public Information Office Ashley Masey reported. The second comment period saw approximately 430 written comments, again mostly via email.

At the rule hearing held in December, 34 people provided testimony, both in person and online. The virtual rule hearing held on Jan. 16 saw 16 people provide online testimony.

The board members received all of the public comments and video from the rule’s hearings. Following board policy, the group will review the new rules in one year.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Upper Rogue Guardians.