Upper Seiad Creek/Panther Gulch Floodplain Restoration Project

: The Karuk Tribal Fisheries Program (KTFP) in partnership with the Klamath Nation Forest (KNF) and the Middle Klamath Watershed Council (MKWC) are working together on planning habitat restoration projects in the Middle Klamath River including Upper Seaid at Panther Gulch Creek. Seiad Creek is a large tributary to the Middle Klamath River important spawning habitat for threatened Coho Salmon and cold water refuge for juvenile salmon. The project reach is located in upper Seaid Creek where the stream is degraded by channel incision and loss of channel structure along 1.5 miles of the stream channel. Project designs are fully funded and currently underway. Engineering consultants, Stillwater Sciences has completed a project design to 60% level of final design and is currently being used for environmental compliance work and project costing.


Our climate change adaption plan titled Karuk Climate Adaptation Plan highlights the importance of cold water habitats and working on projects that increase climate resiliency for salmon populations. The plan listed climate adaptation actions in Table 3.6 titled Riverine Climate Impacts and Adaptations Overview that address our vulnerable local salmon populations. The Middle Klamath River is vulnerable to climate change because air temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees F during the dry season when Klamath River juvenile salmon seek out cold water tributaries. Seiad Creek provides cold water refuge from lethal water temperatures and will become increasingly more valuable habitat as climate changes.

The project area channel is incised and lacks habitat complexity due to a long history of human impacts including large wood removal following the 1964 flood. We designed for the placement of wood structures to stop channel incision and add habitat complexity. Wood structures will store spawning gravels, create hard that form complex pools and side channels. Two large off channel ponds are proposed that will connect to active groundwater sources that will remain cold even during hot summers.

The project benefits include; the increase of cold water pool volumes, increased spawning gravel stability, provide slow water habitat for winter rearing juvenile salmon, promote side channel formation, floodplain connectivity and off set climate change impacts. This project is creating resiliency from impacts of climate change predicted to increasing flood intensity with warm rain on snow events becoming more frequent and wildfires burning more frequently. Threatened Coho salmon are the most susceptible because they spawn during the winter months in the Middle Klamath and the project will provide addition winter floodplain habitat.