Lower Trinity River Basin Water Temperature Data 

There now hundreds of water temperature datasets for Trinity River basin locations in KRIS Version 3.0. Data come from the Shasta Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Trinity County Resource Conservation District, Weaverville Natural Resource Conservation Service and private companies. The region-wide temperature data assimilation by the Institute for Forest and Watershed Management (IFWM) at Humboldt State University, formerly known as the Forest Science Project, aided data acquisition for Version 3.0 greatly. IFWM published an access database of  stream temperature monitoring data for the northern California coast (Lewis et al., 2000). The IFWM database includes 128 sites in the Trinity basin, with 15 in the Lower Trinity sub-basin, 42 in the Middle Trinity sub-basin, and 71 in the South Fork Trinity sub-basin. Descriptions of IFWM monitoring site locations for the Trinity Basin can be viewed as a table. Data for 2001-2002 was acquired directly from Six Rivers National Forest and a list of site locations is available in this table. 

Water temperature references used in KRIS are based on Pacific Northwest wide literature on salmonids and temperature (Armor, 1990; McCullough, 1999; Sullivan et al., 2000; Welsh, 2001). See the KRIS Temperature Background page for more information.

Trinity River Tributary Adult Steelhead Redd and Juvenile Standing Crop Data 

Since 1999, the California Department of Fish and Game Steelhead Research and Monitoring Project (SRAMP) has collected data in the Trinity River basin, including standing crops of juvenile steelhead estimated using electrofishing (Garrison 2000b; 2002b; 2003) and adult steelhead redd surveys (Garrison, 2000c; 2002a; 2002c). Recent survey results are compared with those of earlier CDFG surveys (La Faunce, 1967; Rogers, 1973). See Fish Population KRIS Background page for more information.

Hoopa Tribal Lower Trinity Tributary Downstream Migrant Trapping Results

The Hoopa Fisheries Department operated downstream migrant traps on Mill Creek, Pine Creek, Supply Creek and Tish Tang Creek from 1992 to 1996. Fyke nets were operated starting in February or later depending on late winter and spring flows. More than one net was used in Pine Creek and Mill Creek at one location to cover more of the stream channel. Fyke nets may vary in efficiency depending on flow conditions and the traps were never calibrated. Consequently, no population estimates can be generated from these data. Larger salmonid juveniles may be able to avoid the trap and, therefore, may be under-represented in fyke net samples. Hostler Creek was sampled only in 1994. Traps were pulled during high flows but were typically manned on weekdays and taken down on weekends.

Lower Trinity Ranger District Downstream Migrant Trap and Fall Chinook Salmon Carcass Counts

The Lower Trinity Ranger of Six Rivers National Forest operated downstream migrant traps to census anadromous salmonid juveniles and other fish species in Willow Creek and Horse Linto Creek since 1991. The Bureau of Reclamation has provided funding for Willow Creek trapping project under the Trinity River Restoration Act while the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) funds Horse Linto trapping. Fall chinook redd and carcass counts have taken place during the same period in Willow Creek, Horse Linto Creek, its major tributary Cedar Creek, and Madden Creek (also known as Old Campbell Creek). In 1998, Sharber-Peckham Creek and the lower SF Trinity River were surveyed for redds as well.

Downstream Migrant Trapping:  Downstream migrant trapping was done with pipe traps from 1991 through 1993 on Horse Linto and Willow Creeks. Since 1994 in Horse Linto and 1995 in Willow Creek, a rotary screw trap has been used. No trapping was done in Willow Creek in 1994. Walker (1998) provides the following information related to Willow Creek trapping: "The trap was placed in the thalweg of the creek, except when flows were too high in the early spring to allow it....Fish were counted seven days a week when the weather permitted, and personnel were available to operate the trap......Trap efficiency was calculated as the percentage of the dyed fish that were trapped again. The expanded population estimates were determined by the total capture of chinook or steelhead divided by seasonal average percentage that was the determined trap efficiency.... Steelhead with fork lengths longer than 50 mm in March and April were called 1+. Fork lengths longer than 60 mm in May were called 1+, and steelhead with fork lengths longer than 70 mm were called 1+ in the rest of the trapping season." The same conventions were followed at the Horse Linto trap. Walker (1998) noted that storms associated with wind often fouled the trap with debris. Periods of operation may vary in different years in both streams because high flows may require trap removal. Older age steelhead were not counted separately in the years from 1991 to 1993.

Redd and Carcass Surveys: The Lower Trinity Ranger District has conducted spawner counts from 1991 to 2002 on Willow Creek, Horse Linto Creek and Madden Creek, a tributary of the lower South Fork Trinity River (Dutra and Thomas, 1999; Peura, 2000).. Lower South Fork Trinity River and Sharber-Peckham Creek near Hawkins Bar also had redd and carcass counts  since 1998. Funds for the surveys has often come from CDFG. Spawner surveys in most recent years have been assisted by Americorp Watershed Stewards program. Counts are conducted weekly from the first rains in October through mid January with 1998-99 surveys extending into February. Six Rivers National Forest uses an estimate of 2.25 salmon per redd to calculate adult fall chinook salmon populations. Many streams on the Lower Trinity Ranger District have had many instream structures constructed to improve fish habitat and these surveys note when redds are adjacent to structures. Results of Horse Linto Creek surveys may reflect hatchery supplementation. See an hypothesis on relationships between flow relationships, downstream migrant trapping and subsequent adult spawner year classes from Dutra and Thomas (1999).

Six Rivers National Forest Lower Trinity Restoration Projects

Six Rivers National Forest (SRNF) has worked to restore fisheries, fish habitat and watershed conditions on the Lower Trinity Ranger District since the early 1980s. Early efforts on Horse Linto Creek included gabion baskets which were later replaced by bolder and log structures. Sediment continued to cause problems with spawning gravel quality, so SRNF began stabilization of stream side slides. A small scale hatchery was operated for several years in Horse Linto Creek to try to accelerate fall chinook population recovery. Hatchery operation was discontinued in 1993 because it was thought the stream was approaching carrying capacity and that the fish population could sustain itself given improved habitat conditions. Funding for projects came from the California Department of Fish and Game and the Trinity Restoration Program (BOR). The Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Association helped operate the small scale hatchery in cooperation with the USFS and CDFG. The California Conservation Corps assisted in installing instream structures and slope stabilization. The upland areas of the Horse Linto watershed are in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, which also has helped improve chances for restoration success.

Walker (1998) characterized restoration efforts in Willow Creek as follows: "A considerable amount of restoration work has taken place within the Willow Creek basin. Nine boulder weirs, two boulder deflectors and four boulder clusters have been placed in Willow Creek to create spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous salmonids. Twenty large woody debris structures have been added to the stream to provide cover and rearing habitat for fish. Blasting has been done to improve access for steelhead at nine barrier sites. Approximately forty five acres of erosive surfaces and slide areas were re-vegetated in the Willow Creek drainage between 1989 and 1998......The Willow Creek watershed is currently under a Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP) program between the California Department of Fish and Game, Willow Creek Community Services District and Six Rivers National Forest. The objective of the CRMP program is to restore the salmon and steelhead populations of Willow Creek."

KRIS Map Project Integrated into Version 3.0 Database
 
All KRIS database projects have companion ArcView projects for the geographic area covered and most themes are now included in KRIS Version 3.0, which has a new built in KRIS Map Viewer. Nearly all map layers have a readily-accessible companion metadata file that describes the map layer and provides contact information for the source of that layer. If KRIS is installed on your computer's hard drive and you are viewing maps using the KRIS Map Viewer (the map tab), you can view metadata for a layer by clicking on a layer in the map legend to make it the active layer and then clicking the "M" (metadata) button on the toolbar. If you are browsing KRIS on the www.krisweb.com Internet site, or viewing the web pages included on the KRIS CD-ROMs, you can view map metadata by clicking on a metadata link at the link at the bottom of a map page. 

The Lower Trinity KRIS Map project relies heavily on content from the Trinity Resource Conservation District (TCRCD), the U.S. Forest Service, Graham Matthews and Associates and other contributors. Data are acquired from various sources and re-projected, easily understood legends crafted and metadata compiled by Dr. Paul Trichilo of the KRIS project. Data are arranged for ease of use in subsequent watershed studies. Vegetation data from Landsat also comes from HSU and the Spatial Analysis Lab and was derived under the supervision of Dr. Larry Fox. To learn more about vegetation and timber types, see the Vegetation Type Background page.

Photos from the South Fork Trinity River Land Conservancy

David Rose, a long time resident of the South Fork Trinity River, contributed photos and information for captions to KRIS Version 3.0 on behalf of the South Fork Trinity River Land Conservancy (SFTRLC) and the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC). Their photos of the Trinity River watershed show landscape and river conditions on and adjacent to areas which are currently proposed for Wilderness expansion or Salmon Protection Areas. These photos are included in KRIS because preservation of intact watershed areas is a well recognized contributing strategy for successful restoration (Bradbury et al., 1995). See the South Fork Trinity River Land Conservancy website (http://wriver.mystarband.net/) for more information or the California Wilderness Coalition website (http://www.californiawild.org/http://www.californiawild.org/) to learn about California state-wide efforts. A study was conducted by Baldwin (2003) on potential economic effects of adding more Wilderness areas in Trinity County.

Trinity River Basin Sediment Source Investigation 

The Sediment Source Analysis for the Mainstem Trinity River, Trinity County, CA (Graham Matthews and Assoc., 2001) assessed landsliding, surface erosion, legacy erosion sources, fluvial erosion and, channel storage. The assessment relied on photo-based mapping and considerable field verification surveys. Detailed sample plots were used to estimate the occurrence of small-scale erosional features, as well as legacy roads. Detailed road inventories were used to establish erosion rates by geologic type, road position, and road surfacing. Estimates of fluvial erosion were based field inventories and applied on a stream order basis. Sources of sediment in the Trinity River basin include landsliding (deep-seated landslides, shallow-seated landslides or debris slides, and debris flows or torrents), surface erosion (hillslope erosion and road erosion), and fluvial erosion (gullying and streambank erosion). 

The assimilated data were used to develop a sediment budget for the basin. The budget included input and output terms. Change in storage is not available for a sufficient portion of the watershed to have meaningful results. Inputs are from landsliding, road surface erosion, harvest area surface erosion, bank erosion, fluvial hillslope erosion (gullies), legacy roads and mining, and creep. Output values are based on measurements of sediment transport at the gauging stations near the confluence of each tributary with the mainstem. 

A major constraint on implementation of this study involved access limitations, primarily involving lack of access to private lands, especially industrial timberlands. Information on these private lands was only developed by indirect methods involving aerial photo analysis and GIS analysis. Sediment source and budget data shown in KRIS charts of sediment supply and transport have some qualifications regarding use, which are stated in the final report, but can be viewed as a note.

Fine Sediment in Pools (V*) in the Trinity River Basin

The volume of fine sediment in pools relative to the total volume of water and fine sediment is known as V*. This monitoring technique was devised by the U.S. Forest Service Redwood Sciences Laboratory (RSL) in Arcata, California (Hilton and Lisle, 1992). Fine sediment is known to decrease incubation success of salmon and steelhead eggs and larvae which are buried in stream bed gravel nests (see Sediment Background page). When there is an excess amount of fine sediment in transport in a stream, it will be deposited in pools. The V* technique uses a system of grids and a probe to quantify the fine sediment stored in each pool and is a very cost effective technique for quantifying sediment storage and supply. If erosion control work is being carried out in a watershed, V* can be used to see if there is a reduction in sediment over time. USFS Redwood Sciences Lab personnel collected the data from several Trinity River tributaries, including some in the South Fork Trinity basin, and all V* results from the Klamath-Trinity are in KRIS Version 3.0 (see table of sample locations). See the Redwood Sciences Lab website (http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/rsl) for more publications on sediment. Reference lines on V* charts in KRIS Version 3.0 are from the South Fork River and Hayfork Creek Sediment TMDL (U.S. EPA, 1998). That document had a target of 0.21 V* for west-side South Fork tributaries off South Fork Mountain, but a target of 0.10 V* for tributaries more in the interior.