2018 Canyon Creek Habitat Fish Passage Design Project

The Karuk Tribe worked with the Middle Klamath Watershed Council (MKWC) to incorporate the Canyon Creek fish passage site into a larger topographic data collection effort for the Seiad Creek watershed (Canyon Creek is a tributary of Seiad Creek). Work included coordination with existing mapping efforts in lower Seiad Creek. Mapping using LIDAR collected by aircraft was being planned for a project up stream of Canyon Creek near Panther Creek and therefore the Karuk Tribe worked with the MKWCs GIS mapping specialist to include lower Canyon Creek within the flight path as to capture the topographic data for the road crossing where the fish barrier is located. Work included coordination with adjacent landowners in lower Canyon Creek and establishment of bench marks at the fish barrier site. Data is now available to proceed with further project design work. This project only included a very small amount of funding and would not have been feasible without collaboration and coordination with other ongoing data collections efforts near by in Seiad Creek. The Karuk Tribe is seeking funding to continue with a design alternative analysis including a full spanning bridge to replace the current culvert causing the fish barrier in lower Canyon Creek.

The project benefit is topographic data is now available to be be used for engineering and design purposes for construction of a bridge to replace the existing culvert that is causing a fish barrier in lower Canyon Creek.