A great deal of expense and effort have been expended to restore salmon and steelhead to numerous rivers and watersheds throughout the Pacific Northwest. Those fisheries restoration programs which have met with some success or that show promise are reviewed below. As we discover what strategies have worked in other river basins, especially those with problems similar to the South Fork Trinity River, it helps to shape the selection of actions which have the greatest chance of success. The Trinity River Restoration Program, of which this plan is a component, is not reviewed because of numerous references to it elsewhere in this document.
The Middle Fork Eel and the South Fork Trinity River flow from adjacent watersheds in the Yolla Bolla Wilderness. After the 1964 flood, summer steelhead in the Middle Fork Eel River declined to only 198 adults in 1966 (Jones and Ekman, 1980). Pools had been filled in, massive stream side landslides occurred, and major losses of riparian vegetation left the stream exposed to the hot summer sun. Poaching was facilitated by decreased pool depth and was also cited as a major contributing factor to potential loss of summer steelhead (Jones and Ekman, 1980). The Mendocino National Forest, which controls 90% of the watershed, declared Middle Fork Eel River summer steelhead as a Sensitive Species.
The plan for the Middle Fork Eel River was a joint effort of the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The plan acknowledged the extreme instability of the landscape in the watershed and focused on roads as a principal triggering mechanism for mass wasting during flood events, stating, "Poorly designed timber harvests and associated road building activities have a greater potential for degrading water quality than any other management activity" (Jones and Ekman, 1980).
The Summer Steelhead Management Plan implemented the following actions to reverse the fish decline in the Middle Fork Eel River watershed:
* Streamside Management Zones (SMZ) in inner gorge areas were expanded to cover 1_ times the width from the stream to the top edge of the inner gorge,
* A canopy of 80% was to be retained after logging in SMZ's,
* The river was closed to fishing to reduce poaching,
* Increase monitoring of recreational users to reduce poaching,
* Manage range allocations so that ratings of "Good" for streamside vegetation and soil conditions are maintained according to USFS guidelines,
* Improve riparian vegetation wherever possible in the watershed,
* Decrease mass wasting potential of slides by de-watering and/or revegetating them,
* Decrease timber harvesting on erodible areas to decrease erosion risk, and
* Continue to monitor summer steelhead adult populations.
The implementation of this plan came largely from the USFS through its Western Anadromous Fisheries Initiative (Sikes Act, 1974). Two seasonal employees were hired to count summer steelhead, monitor recreational use of the Middle Fork Eel River, and to deter poaching. Fishing closures were enacted by CDFG and the fine for possession of summer steelhead was set at $1500 for each fish. Additional restoration projects, including revegetation of skid trails, old road crossings and slides, and riparian replanting were also paid for out of USFS K-V (Knudsen-Vandenberg) funds which are derived from timber sales.
This program met with success as summer steelhead rebounded to over 1800 adults in 1988. In the last few years, population levels have dropped back to 500-700, possibly in response to a recurrence of poaching (Moyle and Morford, 1988).
Congress authorized a twenty year joint Federal-State cooperative effort to restore anadromous fisheries of the Klamath River in 1986 (P.L. 99-552). The rationale for authorization was clearly stated in the law: "Floods, the construction and operation of dams, diversions and hydroelectric projects, past mining, timber harvest practices, and road building have all contributed to sedimentation, reduced flows and degraded water quality which has significantly decreased the anadromous fisheries habitat in the Klamath-Trinity River system." The act set up a Task Force with representation from counties, agencies, Indian tribes, and sport and commercial fishing interests to oversee program expenditures. Program staff is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). A guiding document, The Long Range Plan for the Klamath River Basin Conservation Area Fishery Restoration Program (USFWS, 1991), was adopted in 1991.
The Klamath long range plan recognizes that the root cause of problems must be addressed by actions taken to restore fisheries. For instance, in streams affected by erosion related to logging, it suggests first stabilizing the watershed before installing any in stream fish habitat improvements. In interior basins, such as the Shasta and Scott Rivers, the plan identified low water flows and poor water quality as the principal limiting factors. For the latter problems, the plan recommends that increased efficiency of water use and riparian restoration are the best steps to take to reverse ecological problems in the river.
A draft amendment to the plan identifies fundamental ecological problems in Upper Klamath Lake that threaten the success of the program unless they are remedied (USFWS, in press). Marsh restoration around Klamath Lake, and implementation of water conservation and riparian restoration in basins feeding the lake could restore lake health. The overall thrust of the Klamath Restoration Program is to inform and involve the public and to frame fisheries restoration issues as problems with water quality which need resolution for the benefit of all.
The long range plan recognizes that Iron Gate Hatchery and Trinity River Hatchery need to minimize impacts on native fish and suggests that studies be conducted to determine the optimal number and timing of hatchery releases to achieve that end. The plan states that: "Small scale rearing programs should be temporary measures, primarily for the purpose of accelerating the rebuilding of locally-adapted native salmon and steelhead populations, and operated to maintain the genetic integrity of such populations." Fish harvest was also noted as a problem for depressed stock groups and the plan recommends that the Task Force engage the Klamath Fisheries Management Council in discussions to insure that stocks necessary for restoration are not lost.
Although the Klamath plan has only recently been adopted, program implementation has already begun and shows some promise. Actions suggested in the plan for the Salmon River sub-basin are being implemented by Klamath National Forest (see Salmon River Strategy below). Shasta River farmers and ranchers have formed a Cooperative Resource Management Planning Team (CRMP) so that they can devise locally based solutions for restoring the river. The EPA and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) have chosen the Klamath River as a model area for implementation of a map-based (GIS), fish and water quality data base using the EPA Reach File.
The Salmon River (Siskiyou County) harbors one of the last wild spring chinook populations in the Klamath River basin. This population had risen to over 1,000 fish as recently as 1988, but has fallen to less than 200 fish in some years since then. Threats to salmon habitat from erosion were greatly elevated by the 1987 Wildfires which burned extensive portions of the basin (USFWS, 1991). Poaching was also thought to be contributing to the decline of salmonid species. The Klamath National Forest, which manages most of the land in the watershed, recognized the Salmon River spring chinook as a Sensitive Species in 1990 and subsequently completed a plan to prevent the loss of this species (West, 1991).
The Salmon River spring chinook recovery strategy suggests a key role for the public in restoration activities: "Local citizens and involved agencies will cooperate to perform watershed restoration, monitoring, and to ensure that illegal harvest is recognized as socially unacceptable. Much of the restoration strategy will be implemented by local citizens, providing an opportunity for diversifying the local economic base." Anticipated funding sources for implementation include the USFS, CDFG, and USFWS. The report recognizes, however, that other sources of non-traditional funding must also be identified and pursued because of the magnitude of the expected costs. Necessary expenditures between 1992-2001 are estimated at $9.4 million.
Steps suggested for restoring the Salmon River watershed and spring chinook runs include:
* Monitor smolt production in the basin for five years,
* Study the life history of spring chinook salmon,
* Work to eliminate poaching, and to adjust ocean harvest rates to achieve recovery if necessary,
* Conduct a genetic stock identification study of spring and fall chinook to determine stock structure,
* Continue to monitor adult populations annually,
* Complete watershed inventories for all sub-basins by 1996,
* Replant riparian zones along 1,105 miles of Salmon River tributaries,
* Stabilize 20 miles of road annually for ten years,
* Provide instream habitat elements defined as being critically limiting by life history studies, and
* Establish a watershed monitoring program.
While it is too soon to judge the success of this program, the USFS spent over $500,000 in implementation of measures outlined in fiscal year 1992. A community education program to help decrease poaching was funded by the Klamath River Restoration Program.
Many factors, both within and outside the watershed, were recognized by the U.S. Forest Service as contributing to the decline of salmon runs in the South Fork Salmon River (USFS, 1989). Outside the basin, fishing pressure and hydroelectric dams were perceived as factors limiting salmon. Within the South Fork Salmon River basin, granitic soils were acknowledged to be extremely erodible. Major land use impacts such as hydraulic mining, extensive roading and timber harvesting had contributed massive quantities of sediment to the river during floods in 1964 and 1965.
In 1965, the USFS imposed a moratorium on logging and road construction in the upper South Fork Salmon River watershed. In subsequent years, 500 miles of roads were closed and revegetated. Within a decade, natural flushing action had significantly reduced the amount of sediment in the river (Platts and Megahan, 1975). Logging was resumed in 1977 as watershed conditions improved. The South Fork Salmon River Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Chief of the Forest Service, discovered that in-river stored sediment levels had increased after forest harvest resumed (USFS, 1989). As a result, the Monitoring Committee adopted a recommendation that only small scale timber sale activities be allowed in the basin.
While earlier efforts to decrease sediment in the South Fork Salmon River met with some success, current plans call for even further reductions and additional steps to aid recovery of salmon:
* Inventory all potential sediment sources in the basin,
* Begin work as soon as possible to eliminate sediment sources with an emphasis on problems related to roads,
* Directly remove sediment through use of sediment retention basins and by dredging material from the river and its tributaries,
* Directly enhance fish habitat by increasing the volume of off- channel rearing habitat,
* Continue to closely monitor the success of efforts to improve fisheries habitat and to decrease sediment in the South Fork Salmon River.
The funding mechanisms for this program include the USFS, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Nez-Perce Indian Tribe, and the Northwest Power Planning Council. The early efforts of erosion control reduced fine sediment levels in spawning gravels significantly (Platts and Megahan, 1975). Even greater improvements are expected from the current program which will spend over $26 million on watershed rehabilitation, fish habitat improvement, and monitoring and evaluation.
The Model Steelhead Stream Demonstration Program (MSSDP) is a cooperative effort of the USFS, CDFG, and California Trout, Inc. (Cal Trout), a non-profit organization that promotes fisheries conservation. The MSSDP (Irizarry et al., 1985) is a fisheries restoration plan that covers the entire South Fork Trinity River watershed, although it does not specifically reference the restoration of salmon species. Problems identified by the MSSDP included 1964 flood damage, cumulative effects related to logging, flow depletion and water pollution in Hayfork Creek, and bank erosion due to cattle grazing in specific sub-basins.
The MSSDP placed emphasis on the need to conduct habitat inventories of streams within the basin. The Trinity River Restoration Program has now helped fund habitat typing of almost all major sub-basins. Other actions recommended included in-stream fish habitat improvement projects, barrier removal, and small scale rearing projects, which the plan terms "bio-enhancement." The combined effort of the CCC, CDFG, and the USFS has led to implementation of numerous fish habitat improvement projects and the removal of most of the barriers to fish passage in the basin. These latter efforts also were funded in part by the Trinity River Restoration Program. A small scale rearing project for steelhead rescued from above agricultural diversions has also been operated in Tule Creek with funding from the CDFG.
While recognizing the need to decrease erosion by stabilizing watersheds, the MSSDP lacked detail and focus with regard to its suggestions on this topic. Cooperation with private land owners was to be accomplished by Cal Trout, but this objective has not been attained. While a great deal of what was envisioned by the MSSDP has been accomplished, preliminary evaluation of still-depressed stocks suggests that the strategy has not succeeded. Fish populations are at extremely low levels, and many of the identified problems limiting recovery still exist today. Chapter 15 continued