< PreviousThe Salmon River Restoration Council’s Habitat Restoration Program has grown so much in the last few years. The current momentum is built on years of observing, monitoring, and planning by SRRC, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and many other partners. Our long-term fisheries monitoring efforts have revealed a great need to enhance habitat on the river and tributaries for both adults and juveniles. In 2012 we initiated the Salmon River Instream Restoration Working Group, a diverse group of managers, tribes, stakeholders, and specialists, to help us identify and prioritize monitoring and restoration efforts on the Salmon River. This process has helped us to focus on the efforts that are most critical and address core issues affecting fishery recovery within the watershed. This amazing group of people has identified and helped plan several of the river and tributary restoration projects that are now in varous stages of development. The Working Group set about identifying restoration opportunities by river reach and identifying subjects that needed further study. One of the first decisions of this collaborative group was to initiate a thorough investigation of the impacts to the river’s floodplains and come up with a plan to restore them. This catalyzed the Salmon River Floodplain and Mine Tailing Restoration Project, a technical assessment led by Stillwater Sciences, which has identified and prioritized restoration sites along the mainstem, north, and south forks of the river. These two efforts are taking SRRC and the USFS down a path of process-based restoration founded on an organized approach to selecting future restoration projects. This will result in efficient and effective long-term restoration of this much-beloved river. From project inception to restoration effectiveness monitoring, the varying phases of individual restoration projects benefit from being holistically led by SRRC. This watershed is our home, so we can regularly visit sites and observe them under diverse conditions. All levels of SRRC staff are involved in these projects, from field crews performing monitoring to program coordinators leading environmental compliance and permitting. 9While the restoration projects the SRRC is doing don’t involve planting acorns, we thought this was a good analogy for how things can grow. We start with a kernel of an idea...We look for funding, and decide if we need to do assessments and feasibility studiesNext we complete environmental compliance, looking at our project’s effects on hydrology, fish, vegetation, wildlife, soils, and cultural resources, then make any necessary changesThe project is fleshed out and designedLife Cycle of a Habitat Restoration ProjectBaseline monitoring becomes ongoingAfter the Working Group agrees to move forward with restoration at a specific site, SRRC begins any assessments or feasibility studies that are necessary to develop a restoration game plan. Such studies include multiple site visits, with technical evaluations of various resources depending on the specific needs of the site. We are most often evaluating fish and fish habitat, hydrology/hydraulics, and riparian vegetation. For instance, at the Hotelling Gulch Aquatic Restoration Project site, Pacific Watershed Associates and Michael Love & Associates performed several technical studies to help the project team decide how the site should be restored. The project team is generally composed of a group of engineers and technical experts with interest in the project, partner organizations, and managing/ funding agencies like the USFS or California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Feasibility studies and assessments guide us in the development of a detailed project plan in the design phase of a project. The first year of the project design phase is focused on site-level research and monitoring. SRRC, in collaboration with a design firm and the USFS, goes through an intensive background study of the site, compiling all existing data, completing topographic and hydraulic surveys, and conducting extensive water, fish, and vegetation monitoring (including weeds). We have begun working with Klamath Bird Observatory (see article on page 13) to provide baseline avian information in the areas we are restoring and often work with a wildlife biologist to collect information about important wildlife species, such as the blue-gray taildropper (google it, so cool!). We continue this intensive monitoring effort up to the point of implementing the project. The second year of the design phase is focused on research and analysis of site data, and results in engineered evaluations of current and restored site conditions. The design process produces detailed plans for restoration which have been reviewed and revised by the project team. Currently, we are working on the design phase for the Nordheimer Creek Habitat Enhancement Project with Fiori GeoSciences. SRRC is also performing pre-implementation monitoring.Page 9, Kelly Gulch project area by Mel Van Scoyoc; above, vegetation survey for bird monitoring by Alex Flores.10A contractor is then hired and materials collectedImplementation occursNew projects can spin off this idea now!Restoration effectiveness monitoring can startIllustration by Sarah HugdahlOnce a project is designed, SRRC begins working on environmental compliance, which is the stage where we ensure that our project comforms with environmental laws and regulations and is propertly permitted. The Red Bank Habitat Enhancement Project is currently in this phase. The SRRC will be leading National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis in coordination with the USFS and the State Water Board for this project. The Acts guide the agencies in disclosing the potential effects of a project based on analysis of various resources such as hydrology, fisheries, vegetation, wildlife, soils/geology, and cultural resources. The analysis pays special attention to sensitive resources such as coho salmon, Northern Spotted Owl, and culturally significant sites. Through this investigative process specialists identify changes to the proposed project that can reduce impacts to those sensitive resources. Though we invite folks to learn about our projects during all phases, this is the primary stage where the public can provide input on the project. Once the analysis has been completed, we need to get permits for the project. The Clean Water Act guides state and federal agencies in disclosing and mitigating project impacts that may pollute water bodies. This can include getting permits and being in compliance with the Army Corps of Engineers, State Water Board, CDFW, Siskiyou County Public Works, and even CALFIRE. Phew! All that work took years, now we get to implement the project. This can also take quite a bit of time. It may take months to go through the process of selecting a contractor to implement the project. We have been getting some really great applicants for our projects and it’s been very hard to choose between them, so we have to make sure the vetting process is very thorough. But we also need to collect many of the materials we need well before we start setting up operations onsite; for example, we may need to get those big logs used to create restoration features like you see up Knownothing and Methodist creeks. We constructed that project in 2017 with Pacific Watershed Associates and Travis Carmesin Construction (see article page 7). We put a bunch of small log jams along the lower reaches of those creeks to create spawning and rearing habitat. We also need to get the native plants growing that we’ll plant on our sites. For the Kelly Bar Habitat Restoration Project, we are working with regional nurseries to grow a bunch of big, robust shrubs and trees for the project. In the fall our field crew will be collecting native willows that will be re-planted immediately at the project site. As you drive by Kelly Bar you may notice we put in a cattle/horse exclusion fence all around the project site this last fall to protect those beautiful and important plants we’ll be putting out there next fall. All this to restore our beloved Chinook, coho, and steelhead, as well as improve floodplain and riparian conditions, and benefit a myriad of other flora and fauna! We are very interested to see how these projects evolve and affect the ecology of the sites over time. And we want to know if the restoration worked! Monitoring includes surveys of topography and hydrology by the design firm. These surveys are used to create the as-built plans showing the final conditions of the constructed project. For several years we take a lot of photos and survey topography, water, fisheries, and vegetation (including treating any weeds), and Klamath Bird Observatory completes avian monitoring for us. After several years of intensive monitoring, we will continue to do long-term monitoring at a reduced level depending on what’s going on at the site. We will always be monitoring projects in perpetuity at some level, with annual inspections at minimum. For each phase of a project SRRC acquires funding through various grant programs. Funders find that there are a lot of great restoration projects to support and they cannot fund them all, so they use a selection process that helps them sort through the many proposals they get. So we make sure to develop proposals that really shine. The SRRC and our partners have been quite successful in building the Habitat Restoration Program with projects we are very proud of. We could not have done this without the support of our cooperating agencies, partners, and funders. Thank you to everyone who has helped turn this spark of an idea by a great group of people, so many years ago, into such a successful and expanding program today. It’s a long and sometimes complicated process to move a project from idea all the way to implementation in our continual effort to restore our beautiful fishes in the Salmon River. On the way we have to work from establishing a project need, through conceptual designs, detailed assessment of past, current and potential future site conditions, engineering and hydraulic analysis, environmental compliance and permitting, materials collection and propagation, all the way to implementation. And really the cycle doesn’t stop there, since after the project is in place we monitor it into the foreseeable future because we are eager to learn and we want to know both if we are getting the results that we hoped for and what we can do to continually improve future restoration projects with the ultimate goal of restoring thriving populations of salmon, steelhead, lamprey and other organisms to the Salmon River watershed. - Melissa Van ScoyocAn Update from the Watershed Education ProgramAs a 6th grade student at Forks of Salmon Elementary, I am currently the only middle schooler. It is a different and unique way to learn, although it is sometimes lonely without peers. Learning about the watershed with SRRC has provided peer interactions with other kids and learning about the river shows me the importance of keeping it thriving and healthy. At Forks School we have lots of hands-on projects relating to watershed science. The project that stands outmost to me is the Salmon Spawning Survey. I think salmon surveys are a great way to get kids involved. They promote students getting out in the field and learning alongside adults. We can learn about the river from multiple perspectives instead of just learning from a textbook in a classroom which is not as educational as being out in the field. I liked learning how to do salmon surveys alongside adults who have done the surveys for years and are participating in helping the river. The Watershed Education program is important because it allows students of all ages to learn the importance of the river system and how we can provide for the river and how the river can provide for us. On a Forks School field trip, we planted willow cuttings next to Taylor Creek to help the soil stay in place, help stop erosion, and provide a place for fish to stay so they won’t get swept downstream by the strong current. I think this was a good hands-on project and will encourage the students to think about the river in their own time. Salmon surveys are also a good experience for the students, although only middle schoolers are allowed to go for safety reasons. Salmon surveys are a local way to learn about the population of the salmon, how healthy they are, and to really experience the life cycle of the salmon. In conclusion I think the way we learn on the river is unique and enjoyable. We have many projects that allow the students to interact with the river and the fish. The students are proud to be part of the recovery of the river and are happy to help the river in any way we can. I enjoy working in the field with others and I am excited to continue learning with more hands-on projects. - Shekina McCullough, Forks of Salmon Elementary School Studying these living waters with much of your body submerged in the river itself provides an opportunity for some truly immersive learning. It’s really important to make an early impression for our youth that really demonstrates a respectful relationship with the river. We’re excited to use an interdisciplinary approach, where what we study in the river is applicable at home or in the classroom. For example, willow is an important cultural and ecological species and riparian planting field trips connect the dots for the students between basketry and fish biology lessons. Salmon are keystone species and the surveys are a great demonstration of interagency cooperation as everyone comes together for the fish. These kids understand the gravity of the situation here and it’s important we all teach them to be optimistic and proactive. - Stefan Dosch11Pacific giants are both predator and prey in their natural habitat. They generally prefer to hunt and scavenge at night often lying in wait for prey to come to them. Keeping still is a good defense mechanism to avoid being eaten by other predators such as snakes, minks, and otters. When threatened by another predator they will “bark” or emit a warning sound and for self-defense they can make themselves look intimidating, thrash around, secrete a noxious substance from their tail, or even bite. Adult salamanders take five to six years to reach sexual maturity. They move from their terrestrial hiding spots to the cool stream or streambank for mating. A pair will choose a well-hidden nest site to deposit and fertilize up to 200 eggs, which the female will guard for up to seven months before they hatch. This is a vulnerable time for the eggs and the mother; predators, including other hungry Pacific giants, will try to eat the eggs if the nest is discovered. She often does not eat for the entire seven months and therefore females can only reproduce every two years. When younglings hatch they are around one inch long and live off a yolk sac for up to four months until they are large enough to begin hunting for their own food. Once they can hunt, the larvae will eat anything that comes near them: insects, small fish, even snakes. Growth rates vary with conditions but most larvae will metamorphose into adult terrestrial salamanders after about 18 months. Not all Pacific giants transform into terrestrial adults and it is not fully understood why some salamanders select to be neotinous (living in water only and retaining their gills) adults instead. Pacific giant salamander in Methodist Creek by Amy Fingerle Juvenile Pacific giant salamander, © Bruce G. MarcotThe adaptation could give salamanders a potential advantage depending on the condition of their habitat. For example, if an area has recently been logged or severely burned, then summer temperatures would increase due to lack of shade and ground cover would likely be sparse. In such circumstances it might be beneficial for a Pacific giant to stay in the water and choose not to depend on wet leaf litter and logs for cover that no longer exists. Advantages of terrestrial adaptation also exist. If a stream changes drastically or dries up, the Pacific giant could leave its natal stream and relocate, a unique advantage that fish do not have. Pacific giants need a variety of habitat that includes access to food, cool temperatures, and cover, as well as various-sized rocks and large woody debris for their diverse life cycle. Large wood in streams creates habitat that influences stream organisms’ abundance and availability. Sand and silt washed downstream can negatively affect Pacific giants unless there is sufficient large wood to trap and sort it. Sediment distribution is only one of many factors influencing Pacific giant populations. Climate change models show that our area is likely to experience increasing water temperatures through the entire river system, starting at the headwaters where many of these salamanders live and reproduce. While many studies have directly linked drought conditions to a reduction in salamander populations, some studies suggest that due to their mobility, Pacific giants may have a delayed impact from localized droughts compared to other aquatic organisms. Although the long term effects of drought on Pacific giants have not been studied enough to fully understand the consequences, SRRC has seen increased mortality of Pacific giants during recent drought years. More studies need to be conducted as the climate changes, including here in the Salmon River. It is generally assumed that as with other amphibians, Pacific giant salamander populations will decrease due to environmental factors ranging from localized habitat loss to global climate change. The increasing severity of wildfires and rise in summer temperatures have impacted, and will continue to impact, the health of our entire ecosystem, including such diminutive but important creatures as the Pacific giant salamander. These sensitive creatures are regarded as an indicator species by tribes and scientists alike. If we see increased mortality we should all pay attention, as it is likely an early sign of larger but significant issues on the landscape level. But for now, it is wonderful that we have these amazing creatures in the Salmon River to enjoy and I hope to continue to be able to admire them in the future. - Bonnie BennettLittle Giants in the Salmon RiverPacific giant salamanders (Dicamptodontidae) are amazing to see at your local swimming hole or hiding under a rotten log. They are incredible creatures that require specific habitats we are lucky enough to have on the Salmon River. Undisturbed headwaters are Pacific giants’ preferred habitat but they are also found in streams and wetlands throughout the watershed. During the wet season they can be seen moving along the forest floor, under moist logs and forest litter, or in the stream. Even as terrestrial adults most Pacific giants never venture far from their natal stream due to their dependence on cool, wet habitats. These fascinating creatures are culturally significant locally. According to Bill Tripp, Deputy Director of Eco-cultural Revitalization for the Karuk Tribe, “the Pacific giant salamander, or Puuf Puuf as they are called in Karuk language, are known as the water purifier and regarded as highly sacred.”12Above, Kelly Bar area; below, lush habitat near Jones Gulch by Mel Van Scoyoc. Middle photo, Cassin’s Vireo nest by Lyra Cressey13North Fork Salmon River. Our field work with the SRRC takes place at two different spatial scales: at two specific sites planned for future restoration, Kelly Bar and Red Bank (where we can measure bird response to restoration actions), and along seven miles of the North Fork encompassing and extending beyond these sites (the beginning of a long-term dataset on bird populations in this area, from which we can measure change over time). Our first year of monitoring found a high density of Black-headed Grosbeak and Yellow-breasted Chat territories, and observed that nesting success at the pre-restoration plots was fairly high. The Yellow-breasted Chat is featured on KBO’s logo and is our official mascot. Some Native American traditions hold that the Yellow-breasted Chat is also known as Salmon Grandmother, after a woman who was turned into a bird as punishment for stealing the world’s salmon. She is said to still follow the salmon upriver each year in spring, eating only berries and crying for her lost fish. Male Yellow-breasted Chats make a raucous variety of whistles, staccato notes, screeches, and clicks – they are infamous for singing well into the night. They go to great lengths to impress females: making slow, stylized flights between perches, their wings flapping vertically, tail spread wide, and legs dangling, vocalizing loudly the whole time. Black-headed Grosbeaks are also an interesting species – one of the Riparian (streamside) vegetation provides habitat for many species of breeding, migrating, and overwintering birds. In the western United States, riparian zones make up <1% of the land area, yet they support the most diverse bird communities in semi-arid regions like ours. Many of our historical riparian habitats have been lost or degraded due to human impacts. Their relative rarity, yet high biodiversity, makes riparian areas one of the most important habitats for the conservation of birds and other wildlife in the West. Healthy riparian vegetation is also critical for maintaining instream habitat and water quality – by lowering stream temperatures through shading, recharging groundwater, reducing erosion, filtering runoff, and providing insects, nutrients, and a source of large woody debris. The Salmon River Restoration Council’s (SRRC) restoration projects offer the opportunity to meet multiple ecological goals: to improve riparian areas for wildlife habitat as well as for watershed health and salmon populations. Birds & Fish Both Benefit From Restoration of the Salmon RiverKlamath Bird Observatory (KBO) is partnering with SRRC to study the abundance and reproductive success of birds before and after habitat restoration actions take place. Birds are widely recognized as excellent indicators of habitat conditions because they respond quickly to changes in vegetation at various spatial scales, and they are relatively easy and cost-effective to monitor. In-stream habitat restoration projects are expected to enhance bird habitat as well, through replanting native willows and rewatering the floodplain, making it easier for plants to establish on their own. Successful restoration would lead to more abundant and successfully reproducing bird populations—if not, we can adjust the revegetation plans to create better habitat for birds and other wildlife. Understanding what bird species are using these restoration sites, when and how they are using them, and at what time frame within a project’s life cycle can help managers improve project design. KBO has previously worked with the Trinity River Restoration Program to measure birds’ response to restoration, such as whether birds chose territories in the recently restored riparian habitat, and if so, whether or not they nested as successfully as in natural habitats. In 2018, KBO completed a first season of pre-restoration spring and fall bird monitoring and associated vegetation surveys along the American Dipper by Jim Livaudais14few songbirds in which the males develop a partial brood patch (a featherless patch on a bird’s belly that is very efficient at transferring heat to the nest), and help incubate eggs or brood young. Males even sometimes sing while they are sitting on the nest! Our crew found a multitude of Black-headed Grosbeak nests this summer, especially at Kelly Bar, everywhere from head-height in shrubby willows to over 40 feet high in Douglas-fir trees. Many of the riparian areas along the North Fork Salmon River are in steep canyon bottoms, characterized by narrow riparian corridors, with oak and conifer trees often coming right down to the river’s edge. For this reason, some birds typical of oak or mixed oak-conifer forest (Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting) were also common. We recorded a couple of Willow Flycatchers (a state-endangered species in California) in the willows at Red Bank in late May. Willow Flycatchers are a later spring migrant in our region, and as expected these individuals did not stay to breed. They were likely on their way to nest further north in Oregon or beyond, but healthy habitats in which migrating birds can stop and refuel are also important for conservation. American Dippers – the only songbirds that swim! - were abundant along the seven mile reach we studied, and are a sign of good water quality. These gray birds are often seen flying low over the river or perching on rocks to ‘dip’ (they are named after their habit of doing quick little squats when perched). Dippers also dip in the river – their waterproof feathers keep them dry while they forage underwater on aquatic insects, and they are completely at home in cold, turbulent water. A second pre-restoration survey year will be completed in 2019. Future research will include monitoring the same plots five years after restoration is complete to see how plant growth has affected bird populations. At that time, we will relate bird abundance, diversity, and breeding success to specific vegetation features and habitat components. We hope to either demonstrate the success of the restoration program or identify habitat features that could be improved. Note that this approach is not about creating habitat just for birds, but rather what birds as indicator species can tell us about the health of the ecosystem as a whole. Monitoring the results of management actions to assess their success is an important component of any restoration project. Long-term monitoring is equally important – without data to track changes in animal populations or habitats over time, we will not be able to identify or address any worrisome trends. Scientific data are essential to fact-based decision-making and effective environmental policy. Partnerships like this one that bring together scientists and restoration practitioners from multiple disciplines are key to meaningful conservation. -Sarah Rockwell, Klamath Bird ObservatoryNext time you see an empty pair of mussels shells laying on the river bar consider this - that animal could have been decades, even a century old! The Salmon River hosts the western pearlshell mussel (Margaritifera falcata), the longest lived of the species na-tive to the West. An otter might have eaten that mussel you found, or a sturgeon, waterbird, raccoon, or raven. Another reason you might find their empty shells are because of our droughty conditions lately. When stream flows drop it can leave mussels exposed, vulnerable to drying out or predation. Higher temps and depleted oxygen in the water can reduce their ability to burrow into the cooler, wetter strata. According to the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, “freshwater mussels are experiencing a dramatic decline; 72% percent of North American freshwater mussels are considered extinct or imperiled, representing one of the most at-risk groups of animals in the United States.”SRRC incorporates the improvement of mussel habitat into project designs and is collecting occurrence data of this locally rare species. If you want to learn more or if you find a mussel bed, contact Mel Van Scoyoc (habitat@srrc.org) at the SRRC.Adult mussels move very little if they move at all. While they can drag themselves with their “foot” it can take hours to move a very short distance. The adults dig into the gravel and cobble substrate with this foot, anchoring themselves in mussel beds or singly among the rocks. Year-round they can be found poking upright and filter feeding with their extended gills. They inhale water for food and oxygen, and exhale water cleaned of algae, detritus, even e.coli bacteria! They also deposit “pseudofeces” which is food for lamprey larvae, fish and macro-invertebrates. The Western Pearlshell Mussel Life CycleThe glochidia hitchhike on the fish from several days to a month. The glochidia, now developed into barely visible juvenile mussels, drop off and bury themselves in the riverbed to safely grow then repeat the cycle. The microscopic larvae called glochidia, are released into the water. Hopefully a trout or a salmon will bite at them. The glochidia then can clamp onto the fins or gills. The male sperm is released into the water to be inhaled by the female. She keeps the eggs in a gill chamber until developed. Illustration by Sarah HugdahlNONPROFIT ORGPOSTAGE PAIDFORKS OF SALMON, CAPERMIT 1Address Service RequestedHelp Restore the Salmon River! Please lend us your support so that we can continue working for the river and the fish that we love. A group of scientists, engineers, and restorationists visiting the Red Bank Habitat Restoration Project site by Karuna Greenberg Donate at srrc.org/support and help keep the Salmon River wild and beautiful!Salmon River Restoration Council25631 Sawyers Bar RoadSawyers Bar, CA 96027This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled paper using soy based inks. Next >