North North Fork Klaskanine Fish Passage Project

Fish passage was restored at an ODFW hatchery dam on the North North Fork Klaskanine to improve access to habitat. The project built a roughened channel to backwater the hatchery’s water intake dam and provided full fish passage through the constructed riffle and over the dam. The base of the dam was buried, but not removed. The diversion continues to meet hatchery needs and the fish screen meets regulatory requirements. The roughened channel’s engineered streambed extends downstream from the dam crest at a 3.5% slope. The constructed riffle helps to provide fish passage for all life history forms of all native species including Pacific and western brook lampreys. The project’s contractor Big River Excavation owns a quarry within the area which was used to build the roughened channel with native substrate.

This project will restore passage at an existing 6 tall hatchery dam on the North North Fork Klaskanine Dam. Intake Dam 2 has been removed and following implementation of this project to restore passage at Intake 3, ODFW will be able to expediently release fish immediately above the Ogee dam rather than trucking them above the confluence as is done now. This is one immediate project benefit along with immediate benefits to resident fish species, out-migrating anadromous coastal cutthroat trout and Pacific lamprey. The proposed roughened channel will provide passage for lamprey and trout because no height differentials will be constructed with the proposed design solution. The roughened channel restores passage while maintaining the hatcherys need for clear water.

Once passage is restored at the downstream Ogee dam, wild fish will have volitional access to 12 miles of habitat. In the immediate term, addressing passage at this project, Phase 2, Intake 3 will provide habitat access for lamprey and resident cutthroat trout, both of which can contribute to anadromous populations. Immediately upon addressing passage at Intake 3, hatchery staff will be able to pass wild fish directly upstream of the Ogee dam to allow access to the full 12 miles of habitat rather than trucking them above the confluence with the North and North North Fork which is the current practice.

This projects implementation also creates a positive scenario to incentivize acting on the in-progress passage design strategies for the Ogee dam.