Header photo: Fall redd and carcass surveys on the Trinity River. [Kiana Abel, Trinity River Restoration Program].
River Riffle Newsletter – September
Contents
- Current Conditions
- Reading, Listening & Watching
- Trinity Management Council: Upcoming Meeting!
- Program Update: 2024 Science Symposium
- Trinity River Animal Spotlight: Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
- Upcoming Meetings and Events
Current Conditions
ROD “summer baseflows” continue to be released from Lewiston Dam at about 450 cubic feet per second until October 15 – when flows reduce to 300 cubic feet per second. Current river flow gauges can be found on our homepage, click here and scroll to the middle of the page.
Air temperatures and sun exposure are slowly falling as we approach the fall equinox and river temperatures are following suit. The start to the fall season marks the beginning of the fall run chinook who are making their way upriver. We have heard reports of spring run chinook redd creation and spawning in the upper river near the Sven Olbretson restoration site. Additionally, crews from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yurok Tribe have begun their fall spawning and carcass surveys.
Fish health in the upper Trinity remains favorable while temperatures in the lower Trinity are warmer than desired and remain in “yellow” cautionary status.
Photo: The KFHAT map presents the readiness level for the Klamath Basin below Iron Gate Dam in a visual format. Click here to read the bi-weekly report.
Reading, Listening, Watching
A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests | The Picture Show – Photos from National Public Radio
By Ben de la Cruz. September 3, 2024.
David Herasimtschuk
“As humans, our everyday lives are sustained by the behaviors and interactions of forest organisms,” photographer David Herasimtschuk writes of old growth forests. “Yet, because these processes and relationships occur in places and at scales rarely observed, our connection with forest biodiversity and the role it plays in nurturing our well-being often goes completely unnoticed.” Continue Reading …
Teams and Technology Trace Klamath River Recovery by Tracking New Salmon Returns | NOAA Fisheries
The removal of four dams on the Klamath River will reopen more habitat to Pacific salmon than all previous dam removals in the West combined. Now it will have a monitoring program to match—designed by top salmon scientists to track when and how many fish of different species return and where they go.
“The world’s eyes are on the Klamath Basin right now,” said Damon Goodman, Mount Shasta-Klamath Regional Director of CalTrout, who helped develop the monitoring program with other fish scientists, tribes, and state and federal agencies. “It’s our responsibility to have credible, transparent, and solid data that tells us—how is this working for the fish?” Continue reading …
Watching native fishes vanish |California Water Blog
By Andrew L. Rypel and Peter B. Moyle
It’s an odd, disturbing feeling – watching populations of native fish species collapse and then disappear. Sometimes it happens quickly, other times it’s a series of slowstep change events. The end result is the same though – smaller populations, extinctions, less biodiversity. We put up a little fight, and occasionally have moderate success. But by and large, the overall trend is down, the pace of change quickening, and it is relentless. We’ve watched it over our careers, and maybe some of you have too. Either as biologists or water professionals, or perhaps as long-time readers of this blog. This summer has been no different. It has been an avalanche of stories, all with variations on this theme. Here, we provide a synopsis of some recent events, along with wider thoughts on what watching this happen means. The following stories are by no means comprehensive, so if there are additional items we missed, feel free to discuss and link to them in the comments below. Continue reading …
Trinity Management Council
The September Quarterly meeting of the Trinity Management Council will be held in Eureka, Ca. at the Humboldt Bay Aquatics Center on Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19. The meeting will start off with the Trinity River Restoration Program Executive Directors Report which covers major activities since the June TMC meeting. In addition to receiving presentations from Program staff on Wednesday, the council will consider the water year 2025 flow recommendation from the Flow Work Group and Interdisciplinary Team.
To download the agenda as well as other meeting materials, please click the button below.
2024 Science Symposium
The first day of the 2024 Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium was a great start to the week with presentation focus on fish populations. This video is of the introduction to the day’s event lead by emcee Ken Lindke, Senior Environmental Scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
If you would like to watch presentations or read presenter biographies from the all symposium presenters, please click the button below.
Trinity River Watershed: Animal Spotlight
Common Green Darner
Anax junius
If you’ve been lucky enough to spend time on the Trinity River lately, you will notice a plethora of brassy-green colored dragonflies hovering above the river fervently darting to and fro. The species you are most likely viewing is the common green darner Anax junius. Common is in it’s name, and that is certainly the case, for this ancient yet abundant species that has been on the earth for over 300 million years, that’s even before the dinosaurs!
Photo of a common green darner originally posted on iNaturalist, by chdphoto.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
For a full list of events, click to view the TRRP Calendar.
September 18 & 19, All Day – Quarterly TMC Meeting
In Person: Humboldt Bay Aquatics Center, Eureka, Ca.
Virtual: Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 284 547 567 847
Passcode: dAMEfr
September 25, 6pm – Science on Tap
Trinity County Brewing Company
Trinity meadows, lost and found.
Join us on Wednesday, September 25 at 6 PM at Trinity County Brewing Company for Science on Tap, featuring a presentation from the Watershed Research and Training Center. This month, we’ll explore the critical role that meadows in the Trinity watershed play in providing essential resources for local fish, wildlife, plant communities, and people. Josh Smith and Bridger Cohan from the Watershed Research and Training Center will share their work on meadow inventory and assessment as part of the Klamath Meadows Partnership, along with opportunities for enhancing and restoring these vital habitats.
October 5, 10am – Salmon meets Harvest Festival
Highland Arts Center Meadow
Join us on Saturday, October 5th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Meadow of the Highland Arts Center on Main Street, Weaverville, for the Salmon Meets Harvest Festival, a day of celebration that brings together the 26th Annual Trinity River Salmon Festival and the 21st Annual Harvest Festival! These two beloved events are again uniting, offering a unique blend of festivities, flavors, and cultural celebrations.
October 12, 9am – Trinity River Public Float
Hosted by Trinity River Rafting in Junction City
Join us for a free public float on the beautiful Trinity River, where you’ll have the opportunity to learn about river functions, the conditions necessary for a healthy river, and how adaptive management practices are helping to preserve this vital ecosystem. Trinity River Rafting’s experienced guides will tour 8 groups down the river and provide a mid-day lunch. To reserve your spot, please call Marla Walters at 530-623-6004. Note that participants are limited to 38, with priority given to first-time public float attendees!
Contact Us
Call Us: 530-623-1800 Email Us: info@trrp.net