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programs
Fisheries Program
MKWC participates in a variety of fisheries enhancement and
education projects.
Off-Channel Ponds Project
MKWC is working with landowners along Seiad Creek to construct
several off-channel ponds as crucial rearing h abitat
for threatened coho salmon, which prefer slow, low-gradient habitat.
These are ponds that have only one connection to the creek and act
as a spring fed back eddy. These ponds do not divert any water from
the creek, but use creek level groundwater flow to fill. Extensive
flood control berms along lower Seiad Creek, built in the past 60
years, have disconnected this prime floodplain habitat. The
ponds project began in winter 2009 and is expected to be completed
in fall 2010.
Thermal Refugia
Mid Klamath Creek Mouth and
Off-Channel Enhancement Project: 2007 -2009
(funded by the Bella Vista Foundation)
Thermal Refugia on a Klamath Tributary
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In 2007, the Mid Klamath Watershed Council was
funded by the Bella Vista Foundation to identify and implement
restoration projects that enhance access and habitat at cold water refugial areas for both adult and juvenile salmonid use along the
Klamath River from the Scott River to the Trinity River.
Partnerships between tribal agencies, adjacent landowners, and area
residents are being formed to focus restoration efforts on these
critical habitats. Recent scientific studies in the Klamath by the
Karuk and Yurok Tribes, the Mid Klamath Watershed Council, Bureau of
Reclamation and US Fish and Wildlife Service have shown the critical
importance of thermal refugia associated with creek mouths during
the summer months when mainstem Klamath temperatures exceed the
lethal levels for salmonids. By understanding the dynamic
relationship between the mainstem Klamath and these tributaries
through historic photo analysis, data collection, synthesis of
existing related research, and strategic field work aimed at filling
data gaps we can identify opportunities to improve these refugial
habitats and access to them from the Klamath River.
Since 2001, MKWC volunteers have analyzed and modified creek
mouths in the lower Mid Klamath, with good results.
Through funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for
Fish and Wildlife Program, MKWC and the Karuk Fisheries Department
have been assessing over 60 tributaries along the Klamath River from
Iron Gate Dam to Weitchpec for juvenile and adult fish passage. Under the
guidance of fish biologist experts, volunteers move rocks and
materials to channelize and cool the water entering the river. On
Sandy Bar Creek, we lowered the temperature at the mouth by six
degress Celsius. At Ti Creek, we increased the size of the refugial
area at the mouth by shifting flow from going straight into the main
Klamath current, and into an eddy with complex cover. Juvenile fish
counts before and after showed fish numbers had increased from less
than 100 to nearly 600 within a week!
In September, 2009, MKWC completed its first mechanical
restoration of a
tributary mouth at Thompson Creek. In collaboration with the
landowners, USFS, DFG, and the Karuk Tribe, an excavator was used to
re-connect an old channel at the mouth of the creek that had been
disconnected after the channel was straightened following the 1997
Flood. This new channel provides better access up the creek for
adult salmonids and excellent rearing habitat for outmigrationg
juvenile salmonids.
Off-channel ponds associated with tributaries
emptying onto the Klamath River floodplain and filling side channels
created by the Klamath River during floods are also being enhanced
through grants from the California Department of Fish and Game and
the Bella Vista Foundation. This includes maintaining access for
salmonids to these ponds and enhancing existing cover to prevent
predation and increase feeding habitat. Partners include the US
Forest Service, Friends of the River, and local elementary schools.
During the summer of 2009, low flows and resulting high temperatures
in the Klamath River and tributaries have concentrated salmonids
into refugia where fishing and other predation, as well as increased
spread of disease, cause higher mortality rates. Several key
tributaries for threatened coho salmon, including the Scott River
and Seiad Creek, have dried up in sections. Water users in the
Middle Klamath and upriver basins should conserve water as every bit
of cold water is critical.
If you would like to see a slide show of creek mouth panoramas
taken by Mike Hentz for the Bella Vista Mid Klamath Creek Mouth
Assessment Project
CLICK HERE.
There are several things that you can
do to help fish and protect refugial areas during the hot summer and
fall months
- Swim outside of the refugial areas (where creeks enter the
river)
- Don’t park rafts, kayaks or boats in or directly adjacent to
creek mouths
- Volunteer with MKWC on a creek mouth enhancement workday!
Fish Surveys
Each fall, MKWC volunteers participate in the collaborative Fall
Carcass Surveys on Klamath River tributaries. They work with the
Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC), the California Department
of Fish and Game (DFG), the US Forest Service (USFS), the Karuk and
Yurok Tribes, and local school children to collect data on spawning
Salmon. MKWC volunteers also collaborate with the Karuk Fisheries
department to survey for spring Chinook, summer steelhead, winter
steelhead, as well as green sturgeon, and participate in
multi-agency fish kill monitoring efforts throughout the summer
months.
Fish Survey in Dillon Creek
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This data is used to determine population trends for Klamath
River fish stocks, and to set harvest allocations for certain
species. With decreasing federal and state funding, community
participation in collecting fish population data for the Mid Klamath
is ever increasing. If you would like to volunteer for Fall Carcass
Surveys, or other fisheries surveys, please contact the MKWC office.
Underwater Video: Klamath-Salmon Media Collaborative
Green Sturgeon in the Klamath River
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In coordination with the Karuk Tribe and Salmon River Restoration
Council, MKWC has captured never before seen footage of fishes in
the Klamath River system, and created videos that educate the public
on fish identification, habitat use and needs, behavior, surveying
technique, etc. Videography also includes upslope management and
restoration themes including road decommissioning, invasive species
management, and prescribed fire.
The Klamath-Salmon Media Collaborative currently has several
videos that are available to the public for a small production fee.
To order any of the following DVDs, please send an email to .
See some of our video clips.
Solving the Klamath Crisis: Keeping Farms and Fish Alive
- This film takes an in-depth look at the role dams play in the
decline of Klamath River Salmon and rural communities. “Solving the
Klamath Crisis” chronicles the struggle of Tribes, farmers, and
fishermen who are tired of the endless court battles and rivalry,
and are now working together on lasting solutions to resource issues
in the Klamath Basin.
Salmon on the Backs of Buffalo – Documents the struggle of the
Karuk Tribe to protect their fisheries resource. Features excerpts
from rallies and hearing on Klamath water issues, including the Fish
Kill of 2002 and the recent trip to Scotland by representatives of
all Klamath Basin tribes to convince Scottish Power to voluntarily
decommission their dams on the Klamath River that currently block
fish passage to the Upper Klamath Basin.
Fish ID Video – Features high quality underwater video showing
definitive identification traits for salmonid species in the Klamath
River system. Also describes proper survey technique.
Shake Your Oncorhyncus – High quality underwater video clips of
salmonids, sturgeon, and lamprey in the Klamath River system, set to
music that will make you “shake your oncorhyncus”!
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