Braymill Sprague River Stream Restoration Project - Instream Structures and Spawning Gravel

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

1. Develop engineering designs for a restoration project to enhance the spawning, rearing, and holding/resting habitat on one mile of the Sprague River for Chinook salmon, Steelhead, Redband trout and other native fish.

2. Implement project to enhance spawning, rearing, and holding/restingn habitat on one mile of the Sprague River for Chinook salmon, Steelhead, Redband trout, and other native fish.

3. Install structures that promote turbulent mixing to oxygenate the water and create refugia.



PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Braymill Sprague River Stream Restoration Project is intended to enhance existing available habitat, as well as increase habitat complexity and availability on approximately 1 mile of the Sprague River. The project will take place on tribally owned land and is located between river-mile 7 and 9, approximately 4 miles northeast of the town of Chiloquin (Figure 1). The project is located less than one river-mile above the Chiloquin Narrows, which is highly productive and the only suitable salmonid fish habitat downstream of the Beatty Gap area (approximately river-mile 77-80). While the Chiloquin Narrows are a critical area for the health of the Sprague River salmonid fishery, it is a small portion of the Sprague River. The Sprague River from the Chiloquin Narrows to Beatty Gap is essentially a “dead zone” for the salmonid fishery, with dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH often falling outside the acceptable parameters set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

This project intends increase instream habitat complexity and habitat availability throughout the project area, while providing spawning and adult holding/resting habitat for salmonids. Anadromous salmonids and adfluvial non-anadromous salmonids adult upstream migration is expected to be enhanced by providing large woody debris (LWD) cover along with expected pool deepening via change in structure associated velocity vectors. Spawning and egg incubation are expected to be enhanced through addition of gravel at locations associated with LWD structure placement. Fry colonization and juvenile salmonid rearing habitat will also be improved through woody structure additions.



Current fish habitat conditions are poor because of the lack of habitat complexity and shallow water depths associated with a lack of woody vegetation or structure and high width-to-depth ratio associated with much of the mainstem Sprague River.

PROJECT BENEFIT:



This project is considered a crucial step towards achieving the tribal restoration goal of reintroduction and restoration of the Klamath Tribes historic anadromous fisheries that have been extirpated. Specifically, the project will enhance spawning, rearing, and holding/resting habitat in the Sprague River to benefit Chinook salmon, Steelhead and other native fishes. The project will address factors limiting the productivity of Chinook salmon and Steelhead necessary for the exercise of native subsistence fishing. Furthermore, this project will expand the currently already productive habitat that is provided just downstream in the Chiloquin Narrows.