OWEB Grant Number 208-2084 Project Completion Report - PUR Monitoring

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: Partnership for the Umpqua River, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Publish Date: July 22, 2009

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

Contact Information

Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Name: Holly Huchko

Job Position: ESA Coordinator

Telephone: 541-440-3353

E-Mail Address: Holly.A.Huchko@odfw.oregon.gov

Description

Abstract: While it is assumed that habitat enhancement and fish passage improvements increase fish production, there is little empirical data to support that claim in the Umpqua Basin. The Umpqua District has used smolt traps in the past to both establish a baseline record and to attempt to determine any response to habitat enhancement (Brush, Hinkle, and Big Tom Folley Creeks). Brush Creek and Big Tom Folley were originally chosen as monitoring sites since they are similar in characteristics, and Brush was originally the treatment stream for restoration projects while Big Tom Folley was used as the control until later projects occurred. Currently, there are PUR habitat enhancement projects scheduled to take place within the Little Wolf Creek and Wolf Creek basins. In order to gain more insight as to whether restoration efforts improve fish populations and address limiting factors, baseline and post treatment surveys will be needed. Restoration that is planned in Wolf and Little Wolf Creeks in 2008 and 2009 provides a unique opportunity to examine stream and fish responses to log-only and boulder-only instream placements. Pre-treatment data exists on these streams for smolt outmigration, summer habitat, spawning adults, summer seeding, channel cross-sections and temperature. ODFW has been collecting smolt out-migration data at five sites in the Upper Umpqua and Elk Creek watersheds almost continuously for 15 years to monitor yearly trends and to calculate over-winter survival rates of coho and steelhead. This OWEB grant will add to this baseline data and provide funding to continue past monitoring and add new monitoring components. Continuous smolt trap data from Brush, Big Tom Folley, and Hinkle Creeks is important to future efforts to monitor watershed health. Extensive habitat enhancement and fish inventories have been completed within the Hinkle Creek, Brush Creek and Big Tom Folley Creek basins. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Umpqua Watershed District joined with the Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers (PUR) in an effort to continue ongoing juvenile monitoring within the Umpqua Basin. Since little is known about stream-specific limiting factors and fish production response to various habitat restoration treatments such as log or boulder placement, these long term data sets will help to understand the fish response aspect related to or resulting from habitat restoration projects.

Purpose: Final Project Required Report to OWEB

Time Period of Content: 2007-2008

Geographic Extent: Big Tom Folley Creek, Brush Creek, Wolf Creek, Hinkle Creek

Status: Final

Use Constraints: Data belongs to the state of Oregon

Format: Word

Data Quality Information

Lineage-Source: Data is entered off hard copies to Excel or Access, QA/QC'd, reviewed by ODFW

Data Information

Population	Indicators	Metrics
	Juvenile outmigrant abundance	Total smolt outmigration

Entity and Attribute Information

Attributes Description: Explained in Report near data

Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters? Unknown