Pat Higgins, Fishery Biologist, Arcata Congress passed the Klamath River Basin Fisheries Restoration Act in 1986, to restore salmon and steelhead runs in the Klamath River and its tributaries. The Act called for formation of a Task Force to administer the $40 million allocated for restoration, half of which would come from the Federal government with an equal match from the state of California. The Klamath River Task Force adopted their Long Range Plan, prepared by Kier Associates, in March 1991 to guide the 20 year program. The Trinity River and its tributaries are not covered under by the program because the Trinity Basin has a separate Federal restoration program established in 1982.
The Plan includes historical information to better explain the reasons for decline of fisheries resources. Understanding what streams and watersheds looked like before alteration also helps to shape goals for restoration. The basin has largely recovered from hydraulic mining activities that caused the first major loss of fish habitat. New waves of sediment have been unleashed since the 1950s due to watershed disturbance from logging and the 1955 and 1964 floods. Tributaries in the western portion of the Klamath Basin were hardest hit and stream channels were buried in debris up to 30 feet deep. This sediment destroyed riparian zones and is still stored in stream channels, causing unstable spawning conditions, lack of rearing habitat, and high stream temperatures. In the worst cases, streams are so aggraded that they lack surface flows during dry months. Pools in the lower Klamath River and the estuary have been filled in as the sediment has moved downstream which decreases the carrying capacity for fish.
The interior portions of the Klamath Basin are less subject to mass wasting than coastal areas, but spawning and rearing habitat in tributaries like the Scott River have been degraded by decomposed granitic sands from disturbed watersheds. Agriculture has the most significant impact on fisheries resources on tributaries such as the Shasta where grazing has removed riparian vegetation. Unscreened diversions cause major losses of downstream migrating salmon and steelhead and tributaries are sometimes completely dried up during summer. While fish rearing programs and use of instream structures to improve fish habitat are still among the tools which may be used to increase fish runs, the Plan suggests that over-reliance on these measures may be counter productive. Many of the Klamath tributaries are too steep and inaccessible to make investments in structures prudent or cost-effective. Channels that remain aggraded are inherently unstable, so even sturdy structures may be washed out during high flows. Recent watershed disturbances in many drainages increase the likelihood that structures could be buried by new sediments during a flood.
The Plan cautions against over-production of hatchery fish because of the limited carrying capacity of the river and the estuary. Competition may cause decreased survival of both hatchery fish and wild fish. The importance of maintaining as many sub-populations of anadromous species as possible is stressed because chances of re-establishing self sustaining runs are quite low if locally adapted populations are lost.
The only sound approach to restoring the river and its fishes is to recognize limiting factors in different regions of the basin and make sure that they are addressed by the Restoration Program. The Plan states that innovative strategies are needed to conserve water and to restore riparian areas in the Scott and Shasta Basins while maintaining full agricultural productivity. Erosion control and prevention were given the highest priority in forested areas and the National Forests within the basin seem to be embracing this strategy. A major challenge which lies before the Task Force in winning cooperation from private timber land owners help stabilize watersheds and modify land use practices to decrease erosion in the future. Although $40 million seems like a great deal of money, the Plan recognizes that the cost of truly restoring the river and its watershed may far exceed that amount. Finding other funding sources and stimulating volunteer support in communities along the river will be essential to program success. The Plan suggests that problems for fish in the river are largely related to violations of the Clean Water Act, so agencies with responsibilities for abating water quality problems might be natural partners for the Restoration Program. Pat can be reached at (707) 822-9428
