Population Monitoring: Fish population information for the Scott is best for chinook salmon (Table 1). Spawning escapement information is needed for coho and steelhead, as well as juvenile survival. Spawning surveys for steelhead have occurred irregularly, most recently in 1988/89 in the lower Scott and Shackleford Creek (West et al, 1990). The only juvenile steelhead monitoring occurs in French Creek, as part of the French Creek Watershed Monitoring Plan (Maria et al, 1994). No "control" streams in relatively undisturbed sub-basins are monitored, nor are downstream migrants trapped for outmigrant survival data. Qualitative dive surveys are occassionally performed in the lower Scott during the summer by the USFS and CDFG. Current locations of coho and steelhead spawning also need to be updated.

Fish Rescue: Juvenile fish are stranded in pools in the mainstem and in major tributaries when the streams are dewatered during late spring and summer months. A good example is Kidder Creek. Kidder Creek has excellent spawning gravel and tends to produce a high number of juveniles, especially steelhead. Much of this production is lost, however, when the stream becomes dewatered during the summer. While CDFG has often spent significant funds rescuing these steelhead and transporting them down river, it is not clear that the efforts are effective. In their new stream locations, rescued steelhead must compete for space and food with other anadromous and native fish. It is believed that available habitat may become over-utilized under such conditions putting both the rescued and endemic fish at risk (West et al, 1990). For several years (1990-1993), rescued Scott River steelhead were hauled downriver to Orleans to be reared in a community rearing pond for later release in the Klamath River.

Fish Propagation and Stocking: Historically, two state egg collecting stations were once located in the Scott system: Shackleford Creek (1925-1940) and Tompkins Creek (1935) (CDFG Fish Bulletin 150). The eggs were probably taken to the Mt. Shasta or Fall Creek Hatcheries for rearing. While steelhead were planted in east side streams "in accordance with demands of local residents", a fishery biologist in 1934 recommended discontinuing such planting (Taft, 1934). He noted that exotic (non-native) salmonid species (eastern Brook and Loch Leven trout) plantings were unsuccessful in the Scott system and that "native steelhead and salmon are best adapted to most of the streams".

Hatchery-raised non-native trout and rainbow trout are stocked only in some of the high mountain lakes above the headwaters of the Scott, but some trout may escape into streams below the lakes (CDFG, 1969). Some exotic non-salmonid fish are presently found in the Scott: brook stickleback, brown bullheads, and green sunfish. CDFG's present policy is to not introduce non-native fish in streams like the Scott. Protection of the genetic integrity of the Scott River's native salmon and steelhead stocks is considered to be very important.

Many fishery biologists believe that artificial propagation and rearing of native stocks are not the solutions to rebuilding fish populations because of: 1) disease outbreaks when fish confined together (as happened in experimental rearing pond on Kidder Creek in 1990); 2) greater potential for accidents and catastrophic losses; 3) high operational costs and staffing requirements; and 4) potential for genetically altering native stocks to the detriment of those stocks as a whole (D. Maria, CDFG, pers. comm.).

Harvesting and Poaching: Sport fishing for steelhead (but not chinook or coho) is allowed in the mainstem Scott below State Highway 3 near Fort Jones. Until 1972, fishing regulations allowed anglers to take large numbers of juvenile steelhead as parr and as smolts, which may have had a "depressing effect" on the numbers of returning adults. To increase their numbers, the California Fish and Game Commission delayed the opening of trout fishing season and reduced the daily bag limit of trout (Lanse, 1971). The present trout fishing regulations have not been re-evaluated whether they are adequate to protect juvenile steelhead. No special sport fishing regulations currently address coho salmon in the Klamath River, though petitioned for federal endangered species listing. According to local wardens, poaching mainly occurs where the river is close to the county road, but otherwise poaching does not appear to be a serious problem (Lt. Chuck Konvalin and Ron Presley, CDFG, pers. comm.).

Tribal fishing occurs downstream in the Klamath River by the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk tribes for subsistance, ceremonial, and sometimes commercial purposes. To protect Scott River and other natural stocks, the Yuroks are managing the timing of their gill netting to target the hatchery runs and stopping their own commercial harvesting (Troy Fletcher, Yurok Tribal Fisheries Dept., pers. comm.). To protect Klamath chinook, commercial ocean fishing (salmon trolling) has been closed except for a few days in the summer. Evaluating the effects of harvesting on natural stocks like those of the Scott River is difficult in a mixed-stock (natural and hatchery) fishery unless all hatchery fish are marked. Genetic analysis can also help determine the timing of Scott River runs. The fall chinook escapement minimum of 35,000 spawners in the Klamath River has not been met in the past four years and harvest rates are being tightly controlled by the Secretary and Dept. of Commerce upon recommendations of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council [PFMC, 1994]. High seas drift nets in the Northern Pacific ocean are now banned.

C. FISH POPULATION

OBJECTIVE: Increase and/or maintain native anadromous fish populations at self-sustaining levels. Protect the genetic integrity of native Scott River fish.

TASKS

 1. Monitor adult escapement and juvenile outmigration of coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead to understand population trends and spawning and rearing locations. Continue to maintain adult escapement records for fall chinook salmon in the Scott River as a long-term monitoring effort.

2. Investigate effects of harvesting (commercial, sport and Tribal) on Scott River stocks.
a. Promote marking of all hatchery fish to enable evaluation of mixed-stock fishery.
b. Evaluate current CDFG sport fishing regulations.

3. Identify distinguishing characteristics (behavior or genetic) of Scott River anadromous stocks.

 4. Actively oppose any introduction of non-native fish into the Scott River system.

 5. Require full evaluation of any proposal for artificial propagation of anadromous fish to assure no negative impacts on native fish populations.

 6. Develop a steelhead rescue project that is feasible and has a high likelihood of success.
a. Complete habitat typing to determine capacity of candidate rearing areas.
b. Determine current stocking of candidate rearing areas.
c. Relocate rescued steelhead to fill rearing capacity in natal streams, where feasible.
d. Evaluate the feasibility of an alternative rescue operation on Kidder Creek.
e. Evaluate results: mark/recapture studies; spawning ground surveys; direct observation dives.

INFORMATION EXCHANGE FINDINGS
 

While many individuals in the watershed have specific knowledge of local fisheries and habitat conditions, there remain significant areas where people are either not informed or misinformed. There is a need for all residents to acquire a common base of knowledge and understanding of issues and conditions which pertain to the health and welfare of Scott River fisheries. Most needed is accurate information on ocean conditions; the role of predation; commercial, Indian, and sport fisheries management; and mainstem and estuary conditions. The CRMP meetings provide an evening forum for such information sharing. Special workshops, field trips, and symposia are also held in Scott Valley to exchange ideas and knowledge. Grants for workshops have enabled speakers' travel expenses and other necessary expenses to be paid.Decisions on fish and watershed restoration need to be made on the basis of accurate information and the best scientific information available. The new Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS) is seeking to promote data and information sharing through a geographically-based computer system (Kier, 1994). Scott Valley will have access to KRIS at the RCD Office in Etna by summer 1995. New Scott River data can also be added.

D. INFORMATION EXCHANGE OBJECTIVE: Increase local knowledge of factors affecting anadromous fish in the Klamath Watershed through expanded information exchange (e.g., workshops, field trips, symposia, newsletters).

TASKS

 1. Encourage improved understanding through information exchange on Klamath River Basin topics, such as: Ocean, estuary and main Klamath River conditions, role of predation, harvesting, poaching, artificial propagation, and other topics of priority interest.

 2. Invite speakers, or have information available, on other important and related subjects that may not be unique to the Klamath River Basin, such as: structural complexity of streams, fluvial processes, habitat connectivity, ecosystem management, geomorphic analysis, and others.

3. Expand understanding of local resource users (agriculture, timber, mining, and tribal), including their economic, social, and biological needs and effects.

WATER QUALITY FINDINGS
 

Water quality data in the Scott River have been collected by the Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Water quality monitoring, however, has been sporadic and inconsistent. There is a significant need for coordination of monitoring efforts between agencies with good public participation. A monitoring plan for the entire watershed (including significant tributaries) is needed which will provide a good base-line from which future impacts and the impacts of rehabilitation /restoration projects and programs can be evaluated. Agencies and organizations also need to make a commitment to maintaining such a monitoring plan over a sufficient time to allow trends to emerge and project evaluation to take place.

Currently, sediment monitoring occurs regularly only in French Creek through evaluation of stream gravel composition and fine sediment in pools (Klamt, 1994; Power, 1994), although 1989 "baseline" sediment data was also performed on the main stem and Etna and Sugar Creeks (Sommarstrom, 1990). Stream temperature data has been collected using electronic thermographs at various locations in the Scott River by the Klamath National Forest and also compiled and analyzed in comparison with other Forest streams (Reichert, 1993). Beginning in January 1995, the Siskiyou RCD is coordinating temperature monitoring in the Scott River as part of a Klamath River Fisheries Task Force grant. This and other Scott monitoring data can be entered into the Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS) (Kier, 1994).

E. WATER QUALITY MONITORING

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate water quality conditions in the Scott River drainage for anadromous fish.

TASKS

 1. Establish a well coordinated interagency water quality monitoring program that considers: flow, temperature, sediment, dissolved oxygen, macroinvertebrates, conductivity, pH, ammonia. The program will:
a. Make the collected data available to interested parties.
b. Present the data in an understandable (meaningful/useful) format for use by land and water managers.
c. Follow sampling procedures which will ensure validity (i.e., quality assurance and quality control) in the collected data.

 2. Use water quality data to evaluate habitat conditions and identify any water quality limiting factors for salmon and steelhead health.

 3. Develop habitat restoration projects to improve water quality conditions, if necessary.

II. Short term Goal: Work for adequate flows in the Scott River system to protect the migration, spawning and rearing needs of salmon and steelhead stocks while also protecting other beneficial uses.

A. OBJECTIVE: Improve fall flows for fall chinook salmon.

III. Fish Resource Goal: Seek to restore genetically viable, self-sustaining populations of salmon and steelhead fish in the Scott River watershed.

A. FISH HABITAT OBJECTIVE: Improve and maintain instream fish habitat conditions. Evaluate habitat needs and prescribe habitat projects that are practical, cost-effective, and proven beneficial. Landowner approval will always be secured before implementing these tasks on private land. Landowners will be involved in all planning, access and evaluation.
TASKS

1. Initial efforts to identify factors limiting spawning, migration and rearing (e.g. timing and distribution) will focus on the mainstem from Jones Beach upriver, the South Fork, the East Fork and French Creek.
a.Perform Habitat Typing
b.Do spawning ground surveys

2. Identify and prioritize siteswith the greatest potential for improvement where conditions are currently limiting fish production (based on Task 1 above).

3. Design and complete projects to improve spawning, migration and rearing through improvement of conditions that limit anadromous salmonid production (based on #1 above).
a. Consider instream projects as appropriate.
b. Write up project proposal for grant funding.
c. Implement funded projects.
d. Evaluate effectiveness of projects, and adjust as necessary.

4. Prevent the loss of anadromous fish by stream diversions through a fish screening program:
a.Update the inventory of stream diversions with potential impact on salmon and steelhead for level and status of use.
b. Evaluate if significant numbers of juvenile/adult fish being lost when existing screens are removed in the fall/winter.
c. Screen diversions based on the following priorities:
1) streams with species petitioned for listing; 2) highest abundance of juvenile fish; 3) start at bottom and move to top of stream; 4) largest diversions, depending on location.
d. Ensure that screens are adequately maintained (daily and long-term). Secure ongoing funding to provide maintenance staff for assignment to the Scott River.
e. Seek new funding sources to expedite construction and placement of screens. Encourage locally built screens, including high school students.
f. Work with landowners, water users, CDFG, NRCS (SCS), and others to make the program successful. Encourage ditch users to participate in screen maintenance.

5. Evaluate effectiveness of existing fish passage structures in the Scott drainage basin and pursue any necessary improvements.

6. Encourage use of the Kelsey Creek Spawning Channel, following agreement on objectives and evaluation methodology (including genetics). Recommended uses include:
a. Research. Opportunities should be explored with colleges and universities to study local salmonid life history, genetics, and habitat.
b. Education. Observing fish so easily in this location provides an exceptional educational tool for both school-age children and adults.
c. Natural Rearing. If the channel is artificially or naturally used by spawners, rearing should be done naturally and not artificially.
 

B.  RIPARIAN HABITAT OBJECTIVE: Improve and maintain riparian habitat to provide cover, stream temperature, and food conditions. Landowner approval will always be secured before implementing these tasks on private land. Landowner will be involved in all planning, access and evaluation.

TASKS

1. Complete the fencing of stream corridors to control livestock access as first priority, with emphasis on:
a. Stream areas with high spawning use;
b. Stream corridors near completion;
c. Significant tributaries: Shackleford, French Creeks

2. Inventory and evaluate riparian conditions as they affect fish habitat:
a. Expand the scope of the existing mainstem Scott riparian inventory to also assess relationship to fish habitat. Include location and status of existing fencing and livestock watering sources.
b. Conduct riparian inventory on significant tributaries to assess the quality and quantity of riparian conditions and determine priorities for habitat restoration. Include location and status of existing fencing and livestock watering sources.

3. Promote effective riparian revegetation to improve fish habitat:
a. Evaluate riparian planting projects and make recommendations to improve planting program.
b. Conduct riparian restoration projects in fenced sites and with species reflecting the natural vegetative composition.

4. Experiment with alternative fish-friendly methods to stabilize streambanks.
a. Perform geomorphic evaluation of the mainstem Scott River channel to identify potential demonstration projects.
b. Evaluate planned "geomorphic", modified riprap, and other experimental projects before requesting additional projects.
c. Learn more about the geomorphic approach through workshops and field trips.

C. FISH POPULATION OBJECTIVE: Increase and/or maintain native anadromous fish populations at self-sustaining levels. Protect the genetic integrity of native Scott River fish.

TASKS

1. Monitor adult escapement and juvenile outmigration of coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead to understand population trends and spawning and rearing locations. Continue to maintain adult escapement records for fall chinook salmon in the Scott River as a long-term monitoring effort.

2. Investigate effects of harvesting (commercial, sport and Tribal) on Scott River stocks.
a. Promote marking of all hatchery fish to enable evaluation of mixed-stock fishery.
b. Evaluate current CDFG sport fishing regulations.

3. Identify distinguishing characteristics (behavior or genetic) of Scott River anadromous stocks.

4. Actively oppose any introduction of non-native fish into the Scott River system.

5. Require full evaluation of any artificial propagation of anadromous fish to assure no negative genetic impacts on native fish populations.

6. Develop a steelhead rescue project that is feasible and has a high likelihood of success.
a. Complete habitat typing to determine capacity of candidate rearing areas.
b. Determine current stocking of candidate rearing areas.
c. Relocate rescued steelhead to fill rearing capacity in natal streams, where feasible.
d. Evaluate the feasibility of an alternative rescue operation on Kidder Creek.
e. Evaluate results: mark/recapture studies; spawning ground surveys; direct observation dives.

D. INFORMATION EXCHANGE OBJECTIVE: Increase local knowledge of factors affecting anadromous fish in the Klamath Watershed through expanded information exchange (e.g., workshops, field trips, symposia, newsletters).

TASKS

1. Encourage improved understanding through information exchange on Klamath River Basin topics: Ocean, estuary and main Klamath River conditions, role of predation, harvesting, poaching, artificial propagation, and other topics of priority interest.

2. Invite speakers, or have information available, on other important and related subjects: structural complexity of streams, fluvial processes, habitat connectivity, ecosystem management, geomorphic analysis, and others.

3. Expand understanding of local resource users (agriculture, timber, mining, and tribal), including their economic, social, and biological needs and effects.
 

E.WATER QUALITY MONITORING OBJECTIVE: Evaluate water quality conditions in the Scott River drainage for anadromous fish.

TASKS

1. Establish a well coordinated interagency water quality monitoring program that considers: flow, temperature, sediment, dissolved oxygen, macroinvertebrates, conductivity, pH, ammonia. The program will:
a. Make the collected data available to interested parties.
b. Present the data in an understandable (meaningful/useful) format for use by land and water managers.
c. Follow sampling procedures which will ensure validity (i.e., quality assurance and quality control) in the collected data.

2. Use water quality data to evaluate habitat conditions and identify any water quality limiting factors for salmon and steelhead health.

3. Develop habitat restoration projects to improve water quality conditions, if necessary . Continue