Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-08

problem could there be in oul
busy city?
Actually, In our own backyard
we have q golden opportunity
In dollar value alone it would
pay for itself in a few years
not to mention the many hours
Of recreation 1t would provide.
We are referring to the Snake
Island Fishway on the Potomac
This fishway. or fish ladder
would be built over and through
the Little Falls Dam now near
ing completion. 1t would double
the spawning area for the shad
herring, white perch. striped
bass and other anadromous fish
which each spring swarm up
the river.
Submerged in q swirl Of ris-
ing costs, the flshway has been
tossed about since 1858. Ad-
vocating it are the Fish and
Wildlife Service and the States
of Maryland and Virginia
Funds would be provided by
Congress and the District Com
missioners. The Army En-
gineers would do the work.
Hearings Scheduled
Shortly there will be hear
ings before subcommittee con-
sidering District appropriations
for fiscal 1859. The fishway's
principal protagonists. Senator
Butler and Representative
Hyde. both Maryland Repub-
licans. will have another
chance to press their case.
There have been recrimina-
tons and there may be more
At one time Gov. McKeldin
said Maryland would sue the
Engineer Corps unless the fish,
way was built. But this is nc
time to argue over who might
have been dragging his feet. II
is time for a careful reap
praisal and prompt and favor
able action.
The Little Falls Dam is part
Of q major project that includes
q pumping station and tunnel
to provide more water for the
District. Directly below it is
a low dam which also would be
encompassed by the flshway.
Under control Of the National
Park Service, it was built more
than a century ago to divert
water into the Chesapeake &
Ohio Canal.
Nothing more than a pile Of
rocks, this dam was preached
repeatedly by high water. Thus
fish we're able to pass over 1t
to spawn as far as Great Falls,
some 10 miles up river. But in
1894. repairs were made to
the dam and a concrete cap
placed on top, effectively bar
ring the fish.
Fishery Valuable
Fish and Wildlife says the
value Of the commercial fishery
for striped bass. shad and
alewives on the Potomac during
the last 10 years has varied
between 100000 and $500, 900
annually.
However. there has been an
appreciable decline in the
harvest since 1851, which Fish
and Wildlife feels may have
constituted a delayed reaction
to the nearly complete barrier
created by repair of the old
dam.
1t also estimates that con-
struction of the fishway may
double the supply of anadro-
nous fish and increase their
potential, value by as much as
100000 q year.
In addition, Fish and Wild
life says the sport fishery In
this area can be expected to
increase by more than $4,000
fisherman days, having an an
nual value to the area of
$250,000. The full potential of
the added area for spawning
and nursery grounds probably
would be realized within eight
to 10 years.
It only takes a little arith-
metic to add up the economic
justification for the project.
Backers More Optimistic
Fishway hackers are slightly
more optimistic than they were
earlier this year. They feel they
can show a little less dispro-
portion between the cost Of the
fishway and the cost Of the en-
tire dam.
Though the fishway cost is
now pegged at $4,000 and nc
amount Of refigurng seems able
to lower this estimate. the pre-
dicted cost Of the dam has risen
TO $835.013.
That estimate was given by
Col. George B. Sumner of the
Army Engineers in a recent
letter TO Col. Alvin c. yelling,
District engineer commissioner
Col. Sumner said the figure
sis some $4,000 higher than
the original contract cost be-
cause of over-runs in the
amount Of rock required to be
removed and the additional
concrete necessitated by the
extra depth"
The engineer pointed out
that bids on the dam varied
between the $685,49l submitted
by the McHugh Construction
Co. to $l,616, $40. I'VE under
stand the actual cost to the
contractor" he went on. "it