Middle Klamath River Tributary Summer Steelhead & Spring Chinook Snorkel Census 2016

In the summer of 2017, spring chinook and summer steelhead snorkel census surveys were conducted on ten Lower Klamath River tributaries between river mile 45 and river mile 120. Surveys started on July 10th, 2017 with Red Cap Creek, shortly followed by Bluff Creek and Camp creek later that week. On July 26th, 2017, four Karuk Fisheries crews participated in a large collaborative effort by agencies and community members to survey the entire North Fork and South Fork of the Salmon River in one day. The mainstem of the Salmon River, and Elk Creek were also surveyed that week. During the week of August 1st, 2017 surveys took place on Wooley Creek, a large tributary to the Salmon River. This survey required a multi-day effort with overnight camping due to its remote location and lack of road access. Indian Creek and Grider Creek were surveyed the following week. Thompson Creek and Independence Creek were surveyed during the week of August 21st, 2017.

This project benefits adult summer Steelhead and spring Chinook by surveying for live fish when observed to ensure their abundance in our river system. Another benefit to this project is gathering Juvenile Coho distribution data as they are noted on the data sheets when they are observed. Contributing to a long term data set will enable us to see trends of salmonid population abundance over time.