programs

Fisheries Program

MKWC participates in a variety of fisheries enhancement and education projects.

The Return of Beavers

Beaver engineered log jam on Boise Creek

On May 14th, Will went to check on beaver activity near the mouth of Boise Creek and found the Beavers had created a 5 ft tall dam across the creek that diverts water through a 1/2 mile of beaver ponds and provides salmon access around a cascade at the mouth. Currently, juvenile salmon are piling into these ponds from the Klamath. MKWC had developed a project for an excavator to build a logjam in the same place to accomplish the same goal, but the beavers did it for free! No permitting necessary!

Off-Channel Ponds in Seiad

Completed off-channel pond in Seiad

Construction has finished on three of the off-channel ponds in Seiad. MKWC has worked with several landowners along Seiad Creek to construct these off-channel ponds as crucial rearing habitat for the threatened coho salmon. Coho prefer slow, low-gradient streams and pools. Extensive flood control berms along lower Seiad Creek have disconnected this prime floodplain habitat. These ponds have 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. Studies show that ponds may even increase the water table as winter flows get held in the ponds instead of swiftly flowing downstream. The ponds have been dug and the surrounding area has been seeded with grasses and willows have been planted. We are seeing high numbers of juvenile coho in the off-channel ponds.

Downstream Migrant Screw Trap (DSMT) Collaboration

DSMT located in Red Cap Creek

The goal of this monitoring project is to provide critical data on salmonid populations in two key tributaries to the Klamath River. Specific objectives for this project include intercepting salmonid and other fish species for a given period of time (mid-March to late July); determining emigration abundance and timing for juvenile salmonids; estimating rotary screw trap efficiencies for Chinook salmon and producing production estimates; measuring fork length and weight and determining life stage from a sub-sample collected; collecting scales, tissues or individual fish, if required, for genetic analysis and/or monitoring infectious diseases; assessing fish community structure; monitoring the status of Tribal Trust, State or Federally listed speciesl assessing and evaluating restoration efforts and the overall healthy of these watersheds; and providing interactive watershed curriculum to local elementary school students. For a final report from the 2009 trapping season, click here.

Thermal Refugia - Mid Klamath Creek Mouth and Off-Channel Enhancement Project

Thermal Refugia on a Klamath Tributary

From 2007 to 2009, 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! Work continues through funding from the Department of Fish and Game and the Bureau of Reclamation to continue in this manual modification of creek mouths in the lower Mid Klamath.

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. 

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

1. Swim outside of the refugial areas (where creeks enter the river)
2. Don’t park rafts, kayaks or boats in or directly adjacent to creek mouths
3. Volunteer with MKWC on a creek mouth enhancement workday!

Thompson Creek Restoration

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. 

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

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

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”!