The Current Magazine Winter 2018 | Page 35

The Scott River, a key mid-Klamath River tributary, is the largest producer of wild Coho Salmon in California; more than half of our state’s Coho population returned to the Scott River in recent years. CalTrout and partners recently completed an instream habitat restoration project on a degraded section of the South Fork Scott River; the project area was a historic tailings location where large-scale mining took place over 100 years ago. Historical, high-quality Coho Salmon habitat was greatly reduced or eliminated.

The specific stream reach we targeted for restoration had been identified as critically important spawning and rearing habitat for Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Salmon, a federally-listed threatened fish, in the 2014 SONCC Recovery Plan by NOAA Fisheries. The juvenile life stage is currently the limiting freshwater life stage for continued viability and success of the Scott River Coho Salmon population.

Restoration activities kicked off with excavating an inset floodplain to reconnect the river to off-stream habitat that juvenile salmon use for rearing. Intact floodplains also provide recharge to groundwater basins, supporting cooler base flows in the summer, and reduce ru-off. This results in an overall increase in stream flow during the dry season when it is needed. Coho Salmon are particularly adapted to the physical habitat elements that are generated from healthy channel and floodplain interactions.

Restoration also involved creating a more complex, diversified instream habitat with deep pools for adults to rest and for juveniles to rear. Trees were felled to install woody debris instream; the logs create sanctuary spaces for fish. Additionally, our team planted native vegetation, including trees such as willows, alders, and cottonwoods, to restore the natural riparian ecosystem.

Photo by Drew Braugh