KRIS Map Project Partially Integrated into Version 3.0 Database

Map data can now be viewed within KRIS using the new built-in KRIS Map Viewer. The Salmon River KRIS maps are a collection of GIS spatial data from a variety of sources, including the Salmon River Restoration Council, U.S. Forest Service, Humboldt State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Salmon Mountain Forestry. Map layouts were constructed by Salmon River Restoration Council and Salmon Mountain Forestry staff.

Metadata are available for nearly all map layers and are readily accessible. 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 following notes describe a few of the most important salmon river map layers:

KRIS Map Project Partially Integrated into Version 3.0 Database
 
All KRIS database projects have companion ArcView projects for the geographic area covered and selected themes are now included in KRIS Version 3.0, which has a new built in KRIS Map Viewer. The South Fork 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.

 

Karuk Tribe Green Sturgeon and Spring Chinook Run-Timing

In May and June of 2002, Karuk Tribe fisheries staff conducted snorkel dives of the lower Salmon River and counted adult spring chinook and green sturgeon. Between May 8 and June 11, they surveyed approximately once per week for a total of five surveys. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the timing of when adult spring chinook enter the Salmon River, but green sturgeon adults were also counted.

Salmon River Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead Population Assessments

The Klamath National Forest has organized spring chinook salmon and summer steelhead dive counts annually since 1990. Although volunteers are recruited to help in the dive, which covers the entire Salmon River in a two day period, experienced crew leaders help maintain accurate counts. High flows in some years may require that the dive take place in August, but the typical time of the dive is in the last week in July. The reason counts in late July are preferable is that there is no chance for counts to be inflated by fall chinook salmon. Fall chinook may begin entry into the Salmon River in late August depending on flows and water temperatures.

Salmon River Fall Chinook Population Assessment

Fall chinook salmon counts in the Salmon River basin are conducted as a cooperative effort annually. While the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) coordinates, the Klamath National Forest contributes staff and funding to support the count. Volunteers from the Salmon River Restoration Council and Siskiyou County Schools also participate. Spawner counts are conducted weekly from October through early December.
Prior to 1991, CDFG operated a counting weir on the Salmon River and tagged fall chinook salmon that were intercepted. Partial carcass counts were then used to estimate the population size using the Petersen mark-recapture method. In recent years, weir operation has been discontinued but all fall chinook spawning areas are covered weekly. Carcasses are marked in the field with a machete to help prevent redundant counting from week to week. Annual counts are published annually by CDFG (1999).

Salmon River Flow Data

Flow data for the Salmon River comes from the U.S. Geologic Survey. Flows are shared as average daily flows in cubic feet per second. Periods of record vary for each gauge. Data was downloaded off the Internet and reformatted for use in KRIS. USGS metadata by station that accompanied the Internet download are below:

North Fork Salmon River USGS Average Daily Flow Data

Station name : NF SALMON R NR FORKS OF SALMON CA
Station number: 11522400
latitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)...... 411602
longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)..... 1231812
state code.................................... 06
county code................................... 093
hydrologic unit code.......................... 18010210
drainage area (square miles).................. 203.00
contributing drainage area (square miles).....
gage datum (feet above NGVD)..................
WATSTORE parameter code....................... 00060
WATSTORE statistic code....................... 00003
Discharge is listed in the table in cubic feet per second.
Daily mean discharge data were retrieved from the National Water Information System files called ADAPS. processed into RDB table Wed Jan 25 08:08:07 EST 1995 filter version 6

Salmon River Near Convergence with Klamath River USGS Average Daily Flow Data
Station name : SALMON R A SOMES BAR CA
Station number: 11522500
latitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)...... 412240
longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)..... 1232835
state code.................................... 06
county code................................... 093
hydrologic unit code.......................... 18010210
drainage area (square miles).................. 751.00
contributing drainage area (square miles).....
gage datum (feet above NGVD).................. 482.97
WATSTORE parameter code....................... 00060
WATSTORE statistic code....................... 00003
Discharge is listed in the table in cubic feet per second.
Daily mean discharge data were retrieved from the
National Water Information System files called ADAPS.
Processed into RDB table Wed Jan 25 08:08:07 EST 1995
filter version 6
----Date Range In File----
1 10/01/1911-09/30/1915
1 10/1/1927-09/30/1993

South Fork Salmon River USGS Average Daily Flow Data
Station name : SF SALMON R NR FORKS OF SALMON CA
Station number: 11522300
latitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)...... 411320
longitude (degrees, minutes, and seconds)..... 1231500
state code.................................... 06
county code................................... 093
hydrologic unit code.......................... 18010210
drainage area (square miles).................. 252.00
contributing drainage area (square miles).....
gage datum (feet above NGVD)..................
WATSTORE parameter code....................... 00060
WATSTORE statistic code....................... 00003
Discharge is listed in the table in cubic feet per second.
Daily mean discharge data were retrieved from the
National Water Information System files called ADAPS.
Processed into RDB table Wed Jan 25 08:08:07 EST 1995
filter version 6
----Date Range In File----
1 09/01/1957-09/30/1965

 

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

Aquatic insects are very abundant and inhabit every type of water body. Most species spend the majority of their lives as nymphs or larvae in the water, then a brief period as adults. Consequently, aquatic insect communities make excellent indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystems and are widely used as an index of water quality (Plafkin et al., 1989; Barbour, 1999). Samples were collected using a kick net and preserved in alcohol. A representative sub-sample of at least 300 organisms was then identified to species or the lowest possible taxonomic level by an aquatic entomologist (Friedrichsen, 1998). 

The aquatic insect indices used in KRIS are the EPT Index, the Richness Index and Percent Dominant Taxa. The EPT Index is the number of taxa present in the sample from three orders which all have very low tolerance to pollution: Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (caddisflies). The latter metric proved the most useful in analysis, showing the most consistent relationships to changing habitat conditions. Richness is the total number of taxa found in a sample (Plafkin et al., 1989). The Percent Dominant Taxa Index is calculated by dividing the number animals in the most abundant taxa by the total number of organisms in the entire sample. The table below shows the relative values of these metrics which indicate water quality in three categories low, moderate and high impacts (Friedrichsen, 1998). These thresholds were derived from empirical observations of hundreds of northwestern California samples by (Friedrichsen 1998). 

Table: Stream condition indices using Richness, EPT and Percent Dominance as advanced by Lee (1998).
 
Index
Low Impact
Moderate Impact
High Impact
Richness
> or = 40
25-39
<25
EPT
> or = 25
15-24
<15
Percent Dominance
<20%
20-39%
>40%

The ten most abundant species of aquatic insects at each sampling site was also analyzed for the SRRC study. If all top ten approach the same level of abundance, the community is said to have evenness, which is indicative of a stable and healthy aquatic community. Samples dominated by just a few insects will show poor evenness with one or two species far more abundant than the others. This indicates a disturbed and unstable aquatic community. 

Salmon River Water Temperature Data

Salmon River water temperature data has been collected by the Klamath National Forest and by volunteers from Forks of the Salmon and Sawyers Bar Elementary Schools and the Salmon River Restoration Council. Most water temperature data has been collected using automated temperature sensors called Hobotemps. These monitoring devices were placed in flowing water in a shaded area and left for several months. Hobotemps were set for 120 days duration in the field which takes readings approximately every 1.5 hours. Until 1996, U.S. Forest Service data was assimilated by Tim Mahan on behalf of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and provided to KRIS staff. Beginning in 1996, the Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC) became the assimilator for Hobotemp information for the Salmon Basin. In 1999 and 2000 the SRRC has been responsible for over 40 Hobotemps. The SRRC also manages the Salmon River portion of KRIS, incorporating information from the Schools and the Forest Service into Salmon River Area Topics.

Salmon River Watershed and Restoration Photos

The Salmon River Restoration Council has provided photographs and explanations of restoration activities and site conditions covering the both the Salmon River watershed and Middle Klamath sub-basin. Some photos were processed by Seattle Film Works, provided back on floppy disk, and were converted for use in KRIS using Adobe Photoshop. 

Road Restoration by Karuk Tribe

The Karuk Tribe has provided photographs and GIS maps of some restoration activities on Steinacher Creek, a tributary to Wooley Creek. Additional work has been completed in the Steinacher watershed since 1999. The Karuk Tribe has an active restoration program in the Salmon and Middle Klamath sub-basins. The Tribe and the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) based upon the Government-to-Government relationship established between the Tribe and the Forest Service. This MOU establishes a framework upon which the Tribe and the Forest Service may jointly identify, plan and accomplish mutually beneficial projects and activities that provide for watershed restoration, job opportunities, and community economic development. 

Lower South Fork Roads Sediment Source Assessment

The Lower South Fork Roads Sediment Source Assessment was funded by the California Dept of Fish & Game in 1999. The Salmon River Restoration Council completed the field work under an Cooperative Agreement with the US Forest Service, Klamath National Forest. The Restoration Council and the USFS presented a paper at the 2000 ESRI Users Conference in San Diego - "Management Assessment: Roads Crossing Inventories Using GPS and GIS"

Photos of the Klamath Basin by Michael Hentz

Naturalist Michael Hentz has photographed the Klamath River and its watershed as a vocation and as a passion. His photos of the Klamath River watershed for the World Wildlife Fund serve to document riverine and upland conditions in this area recognized globally for its biodiversity. Hentz also boated down the Klamath River from its headwater tributary, the Sprague River, through Upper Klamath Lake, through several reservoirs and down the river to the ocean. Michael donated the use of his photos for KRIS Version 3.0 but requests credit for any use outside KRIS.