Actress removing illegal rock work on Rogue River

Actress Kim Novak and her husband have begun removing large rocks illegally placed along the banks of the Rogue River to control erosion on their ranch in southern Oregon. Environmental Protection Agency officials told the Mail Tribune newspaper that Novak and her husband, Robert Malloy, had the rocks installed three years ago along a 345-foot stretch of the river in Eagle Point without the proper federal permits. EPA aquatic ecologist Yvonne Vallette says the river is regulated under the Endangered Species Act as critical habitat for salmon, and the rock work was changing the natural function of the river. She adds that authorities were willing to grant a permit after the fact, but negotiations broke down. AP