Middle Fork Irrigation District Supplementary Scoping Meeting for the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project 

Public Notice Announcing Supplementary Scoping Meeting 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in Oregon, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) and the Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID), is preparing a Watershed Plan-Environmental Impact Statement (Plan-EIS) for the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project (Remedial Project). MFID is the project sponsor, and the Forest Service is a cooperating action agency in the planning process.

A Watershed Work Plan for Middle Fork Hood River Watershed in Hood River County, Oregon, was authorized by NRCS and its partners in 1962 under the authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, 83rd Congress, 68 Stat. 666), as amended. Construction of Clear Branch Dam was completed in 1969 with assistance from NRCS. The dam is owned and operated by MFID and is located in the Mt. Hood National Forest near Parkdale, Oregon. The reservoir (Laurance Lake) behind Clear Branch Dam provides water to more than 400 users to irrigate over 6,300 acres in the Upper Hood River valley.

The purpose of the Remedial Project is to continue to provide a clean, dependable water supply for the Upper Hood River valley. There is a need to remediate Clear Branch Dam to extend its service life and meet current dam safety and environmental compliance standards for NRCS, the Forest Service, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and other regulatory agencies. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that federal projects such as this one evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with alternatives with input from the public.

NRCS and Forest Service published a notice of intent (NOI, original NOI) to prepare a Plan-EIS for the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project on September 19, 2022. NRCS and the Forest Service are revising the NOI to update the project timeline, preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives, expected impacts, and identify the substantive provisions for potential forest plan amendments to the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1990). The revised NOI also provides an additional 30-day scoping period and the notice of a supplementary public scoping meeting.

You are invited to attend a supplementary public scoping meeting on July 9, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. NRCS, Forest Service and MFID will provide project updates and be available to answer general questions about the NEPA process. Participants will have an opportunity to submit their comments, ideas, and concerns. 

Supplementary Public Scoping Meeting

Date: July 9, 2025
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Mount Hood Town Hall at 6575 Highway 35, Mount Hood, Parkdale, OR 97041 
Register at: clearbranchdam.com 

A slide presentation from the meeting will be made available afterward on the same website. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting to Ed Salminen, WPN, at 541-490-6644 or info@clearbranchdam.com.

A 30-day public scoping period will begin with the publication of the NOI in the federal register on June 18, 2025. Commenters are responsible for verifying the actual date of publication of the NOI and the close of the public comment period. Comments may be emailed to info@clearbranchdam.com or mailed to:

Ed Salminen, Watershed Professionals Network LLC
P.O. Box 8, Mt. Hood, Parkdale, OR 97041

Following the public scoping period, NRCS and project partners will develop a draft Plan-EIS. The public will have an opportunity to review the draft Plan-EIS and provide additional input.

For more information about this project, visit clearbranchdam.com or the NRCS Oregon public notice webpage.