Environment

Twice within this past week I have enjoyed a jetboat ride on the Rogue River out of Grants Pass, Ore., just a short trip up Interstate 5 from my home. We’ve had a lot of company recently, and these two-hour jaunts are a great way to share some of the local area with out-of-town guests, especially on 90-degree-plus days. Hellgate Excursions hosts some 85,000 visitors a season (May to September) on its prop-less, hydro-jet-powered boats that can skim, fully loaded with 60 passengers, over the rocky riverbed in just eight inches of water. With sudden stops and 360-degree turns executed by the highly entertaining pilots, one is guaranteed to get a little or a lot wet, depending on where in the boat you sit.

A typical 36-mile roundtrip takes one from the banks of the river in downtown Grants Pass to the beginning stretches of Hellgate Canyon, the start of the “wild and scenic” stretch of the waterway that was one of the eight original rivers designated in the 1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, signed into law by President Johnson. This particular part of the river has long been popular as a film location for movies and T.V. shows (Gunsmoke, Rooster Cogburn, The River Wild . . . even the jump-off-the-cliff scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), but what we found most fascinating on our trip this past Friday afternoon was the wildlife we encountered along the tamer banks of the river.

The driver/guides on the boats do a great job of pointing out all manner of critters they spy while concurrently piloting the boats over the riffles and rapids at up to 40 mph. There are great blue herons, geese, ducks, Western pond turtles, deer and beaver (usually, one only sees their lodges). There are lots of osprey nesting in the tall trees along both sides of the river, and one can easily hear the high-pitched calls of the young in the nests while the parents circle over the water looking for fish for dinner. Huge, ugly turkey vultures share the air currents waiting for something to scavenge, and we were told there were three nesting pairs of bald eagles along the stretch of river we would cover that day.

Only a few miles after we got underway, our guide spotted a single eagle, white head and tail feathers clearly visible, high up in a Douglas fir, and he dropped the boat into an idle and let out a piercing whistle. I’m not sure that the bird was responding to that or something else, but he launched himself off his perch and began circling lower and lower over the water until he made a quick dive towards the surface a short way downstream from the boat. He came up empty-handed (empty-taloned?), but it was nonetheless thrilling to see such a large, magnificent specimen of our national bird in action in the wild. Later on, we spied a pair of eagles which once again seemed to respond to our pilot’s whistle and circled directly over our heads only 20 feet above us — beautiful!

The most fascinating sight we encountered came when we were nearly back at the dock. A large osprey sat on the bank, perched atop a large 3- to 4-pound spring steelhead he had somehow managed to pluck from the water. Apparently tired from the effort of the catch and marshalling his strength before attempting to carry the fish back to his babies and nest high in the treetops, he eyed some unwelcome company not far away — and it wasn’t the humans in the boat. About 20 feet downstream was a hulking turkey vulture, eager for an easy dinner. As we watched, the scavenger hopped slowly towards the hunter, all hunched over and sneaky like some villain in a melodrama, his black, drooping wings like a cape draped about him. I would’ve loved to have watched the scene play out, but we needed to get back for the next tour, so after five minutes or so the guide started up the engines again and we lost sight of the foes. We were told that it was likely the osprey would lose the fish, as his mate didn’t dare leave her babies alone in the nest (eagles could swoop in and snatch them up without an adult standing guard), and the turkey vulture could expect reinforcements of others of his kind who would eventually wrest the prize from the exhausted bird.

It made for a great conclusion to our river trip. Each of the excursions I’ve taken on the Rogue has been unique and interesting, and I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with the next group of friends who come to town. Headed my way? Let me show you what I’m talking about!

– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor