Crews have been mapping gravel bars and fine sediment deposits on the Trinity River these past few weeks. The mapping was last done in 2013, and the updated measurements will indicate progress the Program has made in restoring these features on the Trinity River. Prior research on the Trinity River and elsewhere has shown the quantity of habitat for juvenile salmon rearing increases where sediment bars are present in the river – the more bars, the higher the ability for producing salmon. Results of the survey will be published in the coming months.
[Photo Credit: Jeanne McSloy, TRRP/Reclamation]
Gravel Bar Mapping Surveys
During the month-long survey, crews witnessed salmon actively spawning in areas recently rehabilitated by the Program. As shown in the photo to the left, a salmon redd is located where the riverbed is more brightly colored, which happens as a result of when periphyton is removed from river rocks as a salmon builds its nest. This particular redd is located at the lower end of Chapman Ranch, a channel rehabilitation site that was completed in 2021. As the survey crew approached the redd, a male salmon was found guarding the nest. The female salmon was not present and had either completed her spawning at this location and moved on to build another redd elsewhere (salmon sometimes construct several redds in one spawning season) or perished after constructing this one. Either way, the male was left to guard this nest from other fish that may attempt to construct their nest near enough to this one to damage it.
[Photo Credit: Todd Buxton, TRRP/Reclamation]
As the mapping work proceeded, the male salmon moved from the redd to a deep area that had scoured around the constructed wood jam shown in the picture (below). The male used the deep water and its overhead wood as protective cover and did not return to guarding the nest until the team moved far enough away for the fish to return to guard duty.
Wood placement in rehabilitation projects and natural recruitment of logs from adjacent forests is an important element for restoring the Trinity River. Wood provides cover for fish, creates backwater areas for migrating fish, and helps river flows sort sediments for use by species that require mainly gravel (salmon for spawning) or finer sediments (sands for lamprey rearing), or a mixture of both (macroinvertebrates). It gives our team an immense amount of pride witnessing these efforts work in the river and for its inhabitants.
Highlights from the Trinity Management Council September Meeting
The last quarterly meeting of Fiscal Year 2023 was held in Weitchpec, CA on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Typical of the start to the first days agenda, is an approval of the June meeting minutes, however this was moved to later in the day due to a request from Justin Ly [National Marine Fisheries Service] who noticed an inconsistency between how a motion had been characterized and requested time to edit prior to approval. Following this decision, the TMC requested questions and discussion of non-agenda items and then moved into TRRP program updates. The TRRP Executive Director’s report can be downloaded by clicking here.
Comments on non-agenda items brought questions from the public regarding recent social media posts of non-native/introduced fish released into the Trinity River at a rehabilitation site in Junction City. Mike Dixon, [Trinity River Restoration Program] commented that office staff saw a social media post with a bullhead catfish and noted that bullhead are introduced as a sportfish into Trinity Lake and do occur in the Trinity River. The system does not have a robust population and their chance of surviving in the conditions of the river are slim. Interestingly Kyle De Juilio [Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department] also commented that bullhead can be found in the Klamath River as conditions are suitable for them, but they are not known to persist farther up in the Trinity River system. State officials attending the meeting also commented that the State does not have a specific policy regarding introduced game fish.
There were two presentations given to the TMC before and after the lunch hour. Max Ramos [Yurok Fisheries Department] presentation titled Modeling the reestablishment of Coho salmon in Klamath River tributaries following dam removal was postponed due to illness. In his place Kiana Abel [TRRP] presented on FY23 outreach accomplishments and early FY24 outreach plans. Following the outreach presentation, the TMC heard from Dr. Greg Courtice [Applied Ecohydraulics] presented Implications for wildfire-induced fine sediment loading within the Trinity Watershed. Slides from both presentations can be downloaded here: TRRP: Event Details
Post presentations, TMC members held a blind vote to replace the TMC’s vice chair vacancy. Some shuffling with responsibilities at the US Fish and Wildlife Service opened the Board’s Chair position. According to the TMC Bylaws a Chair vacancy mid-service is to be filled by the current Vice Chair and a vote is to be held to fill the open position. The TMC voted to place National Marine Fisheries Service Representative, Justin Ly into the position, he will serve as Vice Chair and Don Bader [Reclamation] will serve as Chair until the December 2024 meeting.
The final agenda item of the first day meeting was a decision item. TMC members voted to select, Dr. Daniele Tonina of the University of Idaho to join the Scientific Advisory Board in an advertised position to focus on hydrology. To learn more about the SAB, please click here.
Day 2 of the TMC quarterly meeting started with regular business in discussing non-agenda items. Thanks were given to the Yurok Tribe for hosting the meeting. There was no request from the public to comment on non-agenda items.
Seth Naman [NOAA Fisheries] reported on the latest synthesis report on temperature in the Trinity River, Synthesizing 87 years of inquiry into Trinity River Temperatures. Please download the report here: Asarian etal (2023) Temperature Synthesis 87 years.pdf
Ken Lindke [California Department of Fish and Wildlife] led the TMC’s final presentation, Water Year 2023 initial findings and WY24 flow recommendation from the TRRP Interdisciplinary Team Work Group. The TMC considered the WY24 flow recommendation from the Flow Work Group and Interdisciplinary Team and Justin Ly [National Marine Fisheries Service] made the following motion: “to approve the IDT’s recommendation to implement winter flow variability for WY24, to timely complete the NEPA process prior to implementation, and to inform the public at least two weeks prior to moving forward with winter flow. In addition, a monitoring plan will be provided to the SAB for their review prior to winter flow variability implementation to assess the effectiveness.” The motion failed 6-2 (TMC bylaws require 7/8 affirmative votes if 8 members are present).
After a discussion of what it meant for the TMC to not send a flow recommendation for the upcoming year to the Department of Interior, Justin Ly [National Marine Fisheries Service] made a second motion to, “recommend that TMC approve beginning October 1, implement 450 cfs baseflow through October 15, then reduce baseflow to 300 cfs from October 16 to April 15.” This motion also failed. The TMC failed to pass the flow recommendation and subsequently failed to pass a motion recommending that DOI implement status-quo winter base flows, so the TMC has not yet made a recommendation to DOI. The winter flow recommendation ruleset does not change flows until December 15, so there is still time for TMC to revisit this issue and make a recommendation to DOI one way or another. If no further guidance is provided by TMC, DOI will have to evaluate its obligations under the law and determine how to proceed.
The TMC will hold their first quarterly meeting for FY24 on December 6 & 7, 2023 at the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service office in Redding, CA.
River flows continue to be released from Lewiston Dam at the summer base flow of 450 cubic feet per second. Upper and lower river temperatures have continued to trend lower than 2022 and remain “optimal” (50F-65F) for spring salmonids holding in the river. Numbers of fish trapped in the JC weir have gone on a downward trend indicating that spring run steelhead and salmon are working their way up river and the fall run are holding.
River enthusiasts will see a rise in flows due to tribal trust agreements between the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Bureau of Reclamation. Beginning Aug. 18 flows will gradually increase from the summer base flow of 450 cfs and are expected to reach a peak flow of 2,000 cfs on Aug. 20 before gradually returning to summer base flows later in the week. The Bureau’s official press release can be found here.
The Restoration Program continues work with partners at Oregon Gulch, north of Junction City. The project has moved into phase II which calls for channel reconstruction and in-river work. Trained technicians are on site monitoring turbidity to permitted levels. Anglers and river enthusiasts should expect moderately turbid waters downstream of the site. If traveling on the river, please follow signage as navigation pathways may have changed.
Workers at Oregon Gulch stand near the upper river entrance on August 9 2023. Photo Credit: Kiana Abel, Reclamation
Monitoring of fish health continues throughout the summer at the Junction City weir by several partner agencies. As of August 2, temperatures were recorded between 59F and 62F (in range for optimal temps). Fish trapped at the weir are still showing evidence of past gill infections, however they are “less than trace or healed” and seasonally the infection rate is holding in the 20% range. This is still higher than years past and the fish health alert will be held to a “yellow” cautionary level.
Concerning news of spring chinook infected with an undiagnosed gill infection have been reported at higher rates than years prior and has the attention of agencies, anglers and those on the river. Although the average rates and the location of these reports have been concerning, some daily rates of reported infections have been alarming and have definitely garnered the attention of regulatory agencies. The evidence of disease is somewhat surprising because upper river temperatures are not exceptionally high. A key differentiating factor hypothesized by fish biologists, may be that the heavy sediment and ash loads from thunderstorms in June may have damaged the gills of the spring chinook that were making their way upriver at that time, stressing them and thus making them vulnerable to disease.
It is helpful to know that there are several advisory groups that meet regularly to discuss Trinity & Klamath River conditions. The KFHAT (Klamath Fish Health Assessment Team) evaluates current conditions and meets weekly and/or as needed throughout the summer and fall period. The Klamath Flow Augmentations Releases (FARs) group meets bi-weekly (or as needed) and are meant to protect migrating salmon in the summer and fall months, when conditions can become poor in the lower Klamath River. The flows, water temperature, fish observations, and disease rates are all monitored using data collected by several partnering agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Hoopa Valley Tribe and Yurok Tribe to determine if a FAR recommendation is needed.
Fish can catch disease if they are stressed and there are several factors that play into this (water quality: including turbidity and temperature, lamprey predation, being handled or caught, etc.). Experts are in agreement that water temperatures at Lewiston are good, around 53 F, which is about 3-4 F cooler than last year. Overall, water temperatures and flows in the upper Trinity River appear suitable for adults and would not be expected to cause gill lesions alone.
To monitor temperatures, there are currently four locations that upload to the USGS website located at Lewiston Dam, Douglas City*, North Fork Trinity River, and in Hoopa. You can view all of these temperature readings by clicking the corresponding links below. The links will also show last year’s (2022) temperature readings for contrast. We see river temps rise this time of year and should start to see them fall slowly down as day lengths shorten – typically starting in August.
Those involved will continue to discuss any appropriate recommendations for responses to this issue, should a response be warranted. They will continue to monitor the situation and meet to discuss new information in the coming days.
*The Douglas City temperature gauge is now functioning. A replacement from USGS was administered and real time temperature readings came back on-line the morning of July 18. While the gauge that uploads to the internet in real time was damaged, data was still being collected at this site.
On June 16, The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service announced 11 projects totaling $6 million to be awarded as part of three Klamath Basin Salmon Restoration grant programs and 4 of the 11 aforementioned projects will be administered in the Trinity River watershed. The 4 projects selected will improve aquatic habitat by reducing fine sediment delivery, improving fish passage, and pursuing increases to tributary flows in the dry season in tributaries of the Trinity River. We congratulate the grantees and are excited to see the outcome of each project. Please read below to learn about each grantee, proposal and award amounts. To find the full Klamath 2023 Grant Slate from the NFWF website, please click here.
Deadwood Creek Sediment Reduction Project (CA) Grantee: Northwest California Resource Conservation & Development Council Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $98,900 Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,800 Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . $104,700 Prevent sediment delivery to Deadwood Creek, a major tributary to the Trinity River, to improve anadromous salmonid habitat. The project will remove legacy mine tailings from Mill Gulch, decommission Thorne Gulch Road, install and enhance 12 rolling or critical dips, remove abandoned vehicles and debris from stream channels and floodplains, install a gate to prevent further damage and build stream enhancement features in Thorne Gulch.
Photo: Deadwood Creek after the Carr Fire in 2018. (TRRP)
Douglas City Community Services District Feasibility Study for Fish Habitat Improvement in Trinity River Tributaries (CA) Grantee: Watershed Research and Training Center Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $78,800 Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,600 Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $84,400 Assess the economic feasibility of creating and maintaining a community services district (CSD) to provide a stable water supply to residents in rural Douglas City (Trinity County, California) to leave water instream for improved habitat connectivity for steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon in Browns and Reading creeks, tributaries to the Trinity River. The project would assist in determining if a CSD is an economically viable option to achieve environmental and community benefits under an increasingly dry climate.
Map provided by Watershed Research and Training Center.
East Weaver Creek Dam Removal and Intake Relocation Phase II (CA) Grantee: Northwest California Resource Conservation & Development Council Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,600 Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0 Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,600 Remove a complete barrier to aquatic species including the threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon and restore fish passage to approximately 2.5 miles of cold-water habitat. The project will enable upstream fish migration for all life stages of all fish species in East Weaver Creek, tributary to the Trinity River.
Photo of the East Weaver Creek Dam provided by Northwest California Resource Conservation & Development Council.
Indian Creek Fish Passage Barrier Removal Feasibility Project (CA) Grantee: Yurok Tribe Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $184,800 Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,000 Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $195,800 Evaluate conditions that create a barrier to anadromous fish passage throughout a reach of Indian Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River, with a constriction point in the Indian Creek valley. The project will create a shovel-ready project to remove a significant barrier to fish passage and reopen 7.5 miles of stream and 85 acres of habitat suitable for threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California coast coho salmon, among other aquatic species.
Photo of the Indian Creek restoration area provided by the Yurok Tribe.