Stream Monitoring for Seiad Creek Channel Restoration Project 2013

In preparation for permitting and the final design work, the project team worked on monitoring surface and ground water levels in the Seiad Creek channel throughout the project reach. Temperature and level loggers were deployed and analyzed. Piezometer wells and staff gauges were installed and began to be monitored in early October 2014.

The project objectives are briefly described below. While the benefits below are specific, it is understood that all of these objectives support each other and are mutually beneficial to the larger environment, Coho rearing habitat and neighboring landowners.

Objective 1: Increase, Enhance and Diversify Aquatic Habitat. The primary objective for this project is to increase, enhance and diversify the aquatic habitat for the benefit of Coho salmon (oncorhynchus Kisutch). Habitat should improve fish spawning, rearing, holding and juvenile fefugia. In general these types of improvements include; multiple habitat types in close proximity, primary pool habitat, substrate diversification, habitat structure and cover as well as off-channel / low-velocity habitat.

Objective 2: Localized Bank Stabilization. Channel banks will be stabilized in key locations to address concerns associated with loss of property and safety concerns associated with protecting existing county roads and infrastructure. Where appropriate, bank stabilization will utilize large woody debris and limited hardened structures to provide increased habitat benefit.

Objective 3: Increase, Enhance and Diversify Riparian Corridor. Healthy riparian habitat provides bed and bank stability, Large Woody Debris (LWD) recruitment, shade and also provides a platform for macro invertebrates to thrive. Therefore a healthy riparian corridor benefits fish directly. In addition, healthy, diverse riparian and upland habitats, composed of native plant species, benefit the avian and terrestrial wildlife communities that currently and/or historically inhabit or migrate through this river corridor.

Objective 4: Geomorphic Stability. Geomorphic stability involves creating a condition in which the stream corridors proposed form and function is self-sustaining and self-maintaining; rates of erosion are balanced with the rates of deposition; and vegetation loss is equal to regeneration/volunteer growth. Natural materials, including LWD structures, vegetation and limited amounts of rock are typically used in lieu of riprap and concrete. In addition to providing bed and bank stability and a platform for long-term vegetation and habitat maturation, geomorphically stable systems require less long-term maintenance. The project site is located within the historic delta where Seiad Creek enters the mainstem Klamath River floodplain. Providing adequately sized stream channel will help increase the longevity of the project allowing the river to migrate and adjust.

Objective 5: Increase Floodplain Connectivity. Removal of man-made levees and increased connectivity between the river and floodplains during relatively frequent high-water events will re-establish some of the natural historic interaction and provide many ecological benefits, including: increased flood storage, reduced erosion, and bed and bank stability. Increased floodplain connectivity also supports healthy riparian habitat, which in turn benefits fish, wildlife and the ecosystem in a holistic context.