Summary of KTAP Watershed Report
This is the second KTAP Watershed Report, covering projects for KTAP’s pilot operations in 2014, data collected in 2015, and project records available from the last 5 years. This report includes only a fraction of the collective action to improve water quality, watershed health, and species recovery in the basin. We have made a number of improvements to make participating faster, easier, and more beneficial to those implementing or funding restoration and conservation projects. We encourage you to contact us and participate in the program going forward.
Directions for Map: Click arrow to scroll through the maps and compare practice types in the Klamath Basin. Click the "i" icon in the upper right corner to see the legend and map description (the darker the pink the greater the number of practices implemented). Click here to enlarge map in a separate window.
SUMMARY DATA
| Date Range | 2011-2015 |
| Total Practices | 63 |
| Total Projects | 42 |
| Implementers | 16 |
| Funders | 8 |
| Projects with some monitoring | 11 |
| Projects with more than one practice | 16 |
| Total Area Affected | 2405 miles |
| Waterways Affected | 20 |
| Total Investments Reported | $6,762,650 |
| People Reporting to KTAP | 7 |
BREADTH OF KTAP REPORTING
| Implementers covered in the 2015 KTAP Watershed Report |
| The Nature Conservancy |
| Pacificorp |
| Klamath Drainage District |
| The Freshwater Trust |
| Rabe Consulting |
| Shasta Valley RCD |
| Klamath SWCD |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Klamath Watershed Partnership |
| Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust |
| Jon Alan Weck |
| MidKlamath Watershed Council |
| Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council |
| Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife |
| Siskiyou Resource Conservation District |
| Klamath Tribes |
| Funders covered in the 2015 KTAP Watershed Report |
| Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board |
| CA Water Resources Control Board 319(h) |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service |
| US Bureau of Reclamation |
| PacifiCorp |
| US Forest Service |
| National Fish and Wildlife Foundation |
| Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife |
| Reporting Zones active in the 2015 KTAP Watershed Report |
| 1a. Lower North Fork |
| 1b. Lower South Fork |
| 1d. Middle Sprague |
| 1e: Sprague - Sycan |
| 1h. Upper North Fork |
| 2: Williamson |
| 3: Wood River |
| 4. Upper Klamath Lake |
| 6: Lost |
| 7: Upper Klamath |
| 8: Mid Klamath |
| 13: Scott |
| 14. Shasta |
Riparian, Grazing, and Irrigation Management
This tab covers a number of actions taken to improve riparian condition and/or manage grazing and irrigation activities in a way that may ultimately improve water quality and stream conditions. Riparian management may include installing a fence, alternate watering facility, prescribed grazing, or active revegetation of the riparian area. Grazing and irrigation management may include: cover crops (annual grass/legume); forage and biomass planting (perennial grass/legumes); deep tillage, mulch tillage; prescribed grazing; upgrade to irrigation systems; irrigation or water management.
RIPARIAN, GRAZING, AND IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT STATISTICS
| Management Type | Practice Type | Practices Reported | Affected Area | % of Practices Reporting this Metric |
| Riparian | ||||
| Fencing | 7 | 311 acres, 7.4 miles | 100% | |
| Revegetation | 5 | 190 acres, 5.4 miles | 80% | |
| Livestock Crossings | 2 | 2 crossings improved | 100% | |
| Riparian Management (Did not specify individual practices) | 9 | 175 acres, 10.75 miles | 100% | |
| Total | 23 | 534 acres, 21.4 miles | ||
| Grazing and Irrigation Management | ||||
| Irrigation Management | 2 | 144 acres | 100% | |
| Upland Forest Management | ||||
| Forest thinning and juniper removal | 4 | 321 acres | 100% | |
Wetland, Instream, and Floodplain Restoration
This tab covers a number of actions taken to restore or enhance the functions (e.g., habitat, nutrient filtration, flood storage) of aquatic systems. “Instream restoration” is used to mean actions to maintain, create, improve, and restore more normative hydrologic, geomorphic, and sediment transport processes, including flood plain reconnection. This often includes addition of large woody debris (LWD), reactivation of backwater/side channel habitat, reactivation of historic channels or complete channel realignment. Wetland restoration includes creation, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands that provide habitat, restore natural hydrologic processes, and/or help improve water quality. Floodplain restoration often involves the breaching levees or otherwise removing barriers such that the river has access to the floodplain.
WETLAND, INSTREAM, AND FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION AND RECONNECTION STATISTICS
| Management Type | Practices Reported | Extent | % of Practices Reporting this Metric |
| Wetland Creation/Restoration | 5 | ||
| 5 wetlands | 75% | ||
| 1849 acres | 75% | ||
| Instream Restoration/Channel Construction | 9 | ||
| 6.5 stream miles | 67% | ||
| 12,667 sq ft habitat restored | 11% | ||
| 1100 cu yards | 22% | ||
| 900 pieces LWD | 44% | ||
| 317 LWD structures | 44% | ||
| 108 pools created | 33% | ||
| 1200 boulders installed | 11% | ||
| Floodplain Restoration/Reconnection | 2 | ||
| 1.5 stream miles | 50% | ||
| 5 acres | 50% | ||
| 100 ft | 50% |
Fish Passage, Barrier Removal, and Flow Management
This tab covers actions that create the hydraulic conditions suitable for fish passage to improve migration (fish passage), reduce entrainment of fish to enable fish migration (barrier removal), and transfer water rights to put more flow instream for a range of reasons, but often associated with enabling the migration of native fish and improving water quality conditions to support fish health (flow).
FISH PASSAGE AND FISH SCREEN STATISTICS
| Management Type | % of Practices Reporting this Metric | ||
| Fish Passage | |||
| Newly Accessible Habitat | 19 stream miles* | ||
| Barriers Removed | 4 | 100% | |
| Fish Screens | Screans Installed | 4 | 100% |
| Flow Screened | 99.74 cfs | 100% |
*3 newly accessible stream miles for Lost River, Shortnose, Klamath Largescale Sucker, Redband Trout in the upper Sprague; 10 newly accessible stream miles for Coho, steelhead, and other resident species in the Scott; 6 newly accessible stream miles for redband trout.
Click headers below to sort from A to Z.
| KTAP # ⇓ | Project Name | Entity(ies) responsible for implementing the project? | Entity (or entities) funding the project | Project Location by Reporting Zone | Short Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011.8.1 | Seiad Creek Off-Channel Pond Habitat Construction | MidKlamath Watershed Council | PacifiCorp | 8: Mid Klamath | Completed in 2011, this project created off-channel habitat for coho salmon along Seiad Creek, a tributary to the Klamath River. This project was co-funded by the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Off-channel coho rearing habitats at the Alexander, Stender, and Buma/Ludwig properties were successfully created in the fall of 2010, adding 12,667 square feet of high quality winter rearing habitat for juvenile coho salmon. These habitats were found to also provide suitable summer rearing habitat for juvenile coho salmon as well. Peterson mark and recapture population estimates conducted by the Karuk Fisheries Department for the Alexander Pond in February 2011 determined that 1,599 juvenile coho were using this habitat. Due to the cover complexity in the Stender Pond, biologists were unable to seine sufficient numbers of fish to conduct a population estimate, even though high fish densities were observed from dives and the bank. The Buma/Ludwig pond has consistently held between 300-700 juvenile coho, with some 1+ and 2+ fish observed. Adult coho originally passive integrated transponder (“PIT”) tagged in Alexander Pond are being recovered in Seiad Creek as adults post-spawning. |
| 2012.13.1 | Denny Ditch Fish Screen Design and Build | Siskiyou Resource Conservation District | PacifiCorp (CEF) | 13: Scott | The objective of this project was to design and install a fish screen on the Denny Ditch, located on the main stem of the Scott River. This area of the Scott River has a historic legacy of small, gravel push-up dams which seasonally block fish passage and disturb fish habitat. The project installed a fish screen on the edge (east bank) of the Scott River. In 2012, a head gate was installed below the existing channel elevation and this head gate was incorporated into a boulder deflector that provides scour to maintain water surface depth at the point of diversion. In addition, a 30-inch diameter head gate set in a concrete vault that transitions to smooth wall pipe was installed. The 30-inch smooth wall pipe continues to the existing sump pond where it will discharge when pumping occurs. This project eliminated the need for a gravel push-up dam at River Mile 50 of the Scott River. This improved juvenile and adult salmon access to the remaining 10 miles of mainstem Scott River and several key tributaries (East Fork, South Fork, Sugar Creek, and French Creek). |
| 2013.14.1 | Root Ranch Riparian Revegetation | Shasta Valley RCD | California State Water Resources Control Board 319(h) | 14. Shasta | Shasta Valley RCD completed a riparian restoration project, generating thermal water quality benefits. This project re-established native willow species and shrub species in the sparsely vegetated riparian corridor in order to increase the shading along these reaches. Planting areas are located inside new riparian protection fencing to promote high survival rates. |
| 2013.1a.1 | Fivemile Creek Streamflow Restoration | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 1a. Lower North Fork | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2013.1b.1 | South Fork Sprague-Deming Ranch Fish Passage | USFWS-PFW | OWEB (KSIP) | 1b. Lower South Fork | Main stream channel modified / created; Large wood placed; Boulders placed; Side channels reconnected to stream or access improved; Riparian shrubs or herbaceous vegetation planted/reseeded; Riparian trees planted: hardwood; Other diversions modified; New fish screens installed on diversions (where no screen had existed previously); Grazing management: livestock rotation (pasture forage improvement through rotational livestock grazing); Off-channel watering sites developed; Upland fencing; Riparian fencing |
| 2013.1d.1 | Hess Riparian Fencing | The Klamath Tribes | OWEB | 1d. Middle Sprague | Riparian fencing |
| 2013.1e.1 | Chocktoot Ranch Spring Enhancement & Aspen Stand Improvement | Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council | OWEB | 1e: Sprague - Sycan | Upland treated for juniper by clearing, burning, thinning, or removal; Off-channel watering sites developed |
| 2013.2.1 | Lower Williamson Streambank Protection | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 2. Williamson | Riparian fencing; Riparian shrubs or herbaceous vegetation planted/reseeded |
| 2013.2.2 | Upper Klamath Lake Watershed Riparian Fencing | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 2. Williamson | Riparian fencing |
| 2013.2.3 | Rocky Ford Ranch | US Fish and Wildlife Service | OWEB | 2. Williamson | Large wood placed; Spawning gravel placed; Other stream bank stabilization technique; Riparian shrubs or herbaceous vegetation planted/reseeded; Livestock stream access/crossing created or improved |
| 2013.3.1 | Lower Sevenmile Screen | ODFW | OWEB | 3. Wood River | New fish screens installed on diversions (where no screen had existed previously) |
| 2013.3.2 | Sevenmile Creek Historic Channel Enhancement | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 3. Wood River | Anchored habitat structures placed; Main stream channel modified / created; Diversion dams removed or modified |
| 2013.3a.1 | UKL Watershed Riparian Fencing | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP); USFWS | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | Riparian fencing |
| 2013.4.1 | Harbor Isles Condominium Owners Association Lake Fringe Wetland Restoration | USFWS-PFW | OWEB (KSIP) | 4. Upper Klamath Lake | Previously filled or drained wetland returned to grass/herb meadow wetland. A mix of large wood and rock was strategically placed along the shoreline to create a more suitable wave climate for the establishment of lake fringe vegetation. Wetland and riparian vegetation was planted to accelerate the revegetation process. |
| 2013.6.1 | Kordahl Spring Enhancement | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 6. Lost | Riparian fencing; Upland treated for juniper by clearing, burning, thinning, or removal |
| 2013.6.2 | Stukel Juniper Removal II | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 6. Lost | Upland treated for juniper by clearing, burning, thinning, or removal |
| 2013.6.3 | Chapman Fencing Project | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 6. Lost | Riparian fencing |
| 2013.6.4 | Hawkins Pivot Upgrade | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 6. Lost | Other irrigation system improvement |
| 2014.1b.1 | Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement - Deming Creek Ranches, South Fork Sprague | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 1b. Lower South Fork | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.1d.1 | Sprague RM 43.5 | The Freshwater Trust | PacifiCorp | 1d. Middle Sprague | Through funding from PacifiCorp, Freshwater Trust and Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust completed ½ mile of fencing in the Sprague river basin for animal exclusion in late August. Anticipated project conditions after five years of full livestock exclusion from the bank include reductions in bank compaction, undercutting and erosion. Native sagebrush and other existing plants are likely to increase in vigor. |
| 2014.1h.1 | UK SIP North Ditch Screen and Passage | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP), USFWS, USFS, ODFW | 1h. Upper North Fork | New fish screen installed on diversions (where no screen had existed previously) |
| 2014.3.1 | Owens and Hawkins Klamath off-project water lease | Rabe Consulting | OWEB | 3. Wood River | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.3.2 | Hawkins Cattle Company Klamath off-project water lease | Rabe Consulting | OWEB | 3. Wood River | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.3.3 | Ausaymas Cattle Company and Hawkins Cattle Company Klamath off-project water lease | Rabe Consulting | OWEB | 3. Wood River | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.3.4 | Harlowe Ranch LLC Klamath off-project water lease | Rabe Consulting | OWEB | 3. Wood River | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.3a.1 | UKSIP Traynham Ranch Riparian Fencing | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP), USFWS | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | Riparian fencing on one side of the Wood River |
| 2014.3a.2 | UKSIP Sevenmile Treatment Wetlands | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP); USFWS | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | In October 2014, KBRT implemented 2 “diffuse source treatment wetlands.” The projects are located along irrigation ditches, designed to hold back water in vegetated wetlands, causing sediment to settle and allowing plants to uptake nutrients from the water. These pilot projects will be heavily monitored to assess effectiveness and guide future implementation. |
| 2014.3a.3 | UK SIP Lower Sevenmile Creek Fish Passage | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP) | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | Engineered barrier bypass or fishway installed (other than fish ladders): Fish bypass channel was installed to allow passage around a irrigation diversion structure; Diversion dams removed or modified |
| 2014.3a.4 | Upper Sevenmile Creek Critical Habitat Instream Transfer | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | Instream water right transferred / leased |
| 2014.3a.5 | Wood River Riparian Fencing | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | KBRT completed a 2-mile fencing and off-channel watering project in the Wood River basin in August 2014. The riparian area in this reach has been heavily grazed and currently consists only of grass stubble and a few large willows. Riparian fencing and managed grazing will allow for the riparian vegetation to recover. |
| 2014.4.1 | Oak Woodland Restoration | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 4. Upper Klamath Lake | Upland treated for juniper by clearing, burning, thinning, or removal |
| 2014.4.2 | Fourmile Wetlands Restoration | The Nature Conservancy | OWEB | 4. Upper Klamath Lake | Previously filled or drained wetland returned to grass/herb meadow wetland |
| 2014.6.1 | Mathis-Stukel Juniper Removal Phase II | Klamath SWCD | OWEB | 6. Lost | Upland treated for juniper by clearing, burning, thinning, or removal |
| 2014.6.2 | Lost River Point Source Restoration | Klamath Watershed Partnership | OWEB | 6. Lost | Irrigation system improved: tailwater collection system improved |
| 2015.1d.1 | UK SIP Sprague River Floodpain Rehabilitation | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP) | 1d. Middle Sprague | Main stream channel modified / created, removal/breach of streamside levee |
| 2015.1e.1 | Snake Creek Fencing and Off-Stream Watering | Klamath Watershed Partnership | OWEB | 1e: Sprague - Sycan | This project addressed reconnection of the Snake Creek to the Sycan River, including riparian protection fencing along the Sycan River and Snake Creek and an alternative water chance for livestock along the Sycan River. The site reconnection was completed in June, 2015 with the channel allowing access of fish into approximately 3 miles of stream habitat up Snake Creek. The banks are in the process of being stabilized with vegetation and unsuitable for livestock grazing. The project consists over 1.7 miles of four strand riparian fence which will allow for management of livestock, on 3 sides of the Snake Creek channel and a portion of the Sycan River. A well will be provided to provide for livestock water away from the Sycan River. The existing off-stream water system on Snake Creek will be modified to reduce the systems delivery of fine sediments to Snake Creek. |
| 2015.2.1 | Williamson River Floodplain Reconnection | The Nature Conservancy | NFWF, PacifiCorp, Bureau of Reclamation | 2. Williamson | This project addresses connectivity issues between the lower Williamson River and important side-channel and floodplain habitats historically occurring at the Williamson River Delta. The project also restores larval sucker rearing habitat along the margins of the river which are extremely important for out-migrating suckers on their way to Upper Klamath Lake. |
| 2015.3a.1 | Annie Creek Riparian Fencing | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB; USFWS | 3a: Wood River above RM7 | The Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust completed a 3-mile fencing and planting project in the Wood River basin in November 2014. The riparian area in this reach has been heavily grazed and currently consists only of grass stubble. Riparian fencing and managed grazing will allow for the riparian vegetation to recover, and planting native plants will help vegetation to establish more quickly. |
| 2015.4.1 | UK SIP Threemile Creek Habitat Enhancement | Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust | OWEB (KSIP); USFWS | 4. Upper Klamath Lake | Instream habitat (not anchored): Large wood placement |
| 2015.7.1 | Iron Gate Reservoir Intake Barrier | PacifiCorp | PacifiCorp | 7: Upper Klamath | Installation of a solid curtain in Iron Gate Reservoir upstream of the intake for the Iron Gate Powerhouse to segregate the surface waters of the reservoir and seasonally limit their entrainment into the powerhouse and subsequent release into the Klamath River. |
| UNK.6.1 | Ady Canal Recirculation | Klamath Drainage District | US Bureau of Reclamation | 6. Lost | The project is designed to move water from the north end of KDD to the south end via installation of culverts at 5 locations. The project will recycle an average of 7,953 ac-ft of additional drainage water through the Westside Pumping Facility by making small-scale improvements at five District-owned drain crossings within the system. In addition to environmental benefits addressed elsewhere in this proposal, and particularly during water shortages, recycling 7,953 ac-ft of water may result in an increase in water supply for downstream Klamath River water users. When most of the Districts within the Klamath Project save water, it results in more water for Districts lying downstream within the Project. However, when KDD achieves greater water efficiency, it results in more water in the Klamath River. This project may help to mitigate competition for water resources and reduce water use conflicts in the Klamath Basin and downstream in California. In any water year type, recycling additional water through the existing Westside Pumping Facility will increase the on-farm water use efficiency on lands service by that canal. |
| UNK.1b.1 | South Fork Sprague in-stream habitat improvement and upland thinning | Jon Alan Weck | OWEB | 1b. Lower South Fork | Thin upland forest and place wood instream, match is through wetland enhancement and planting |