2021 Projects
Chinook Salmon | Coho Salmon | Humboldt County | Klamath River | Steelhead/Rainbow Trout

Mid-Klamath Creek Mouth Enhancement Project

Project Lead:   Mid Klamath Watershed Council

​Location of Project:  41.30222, -123.53805 

Description of Project:  

Since 2001, the Mid Klamath Watershed Council (MKWC), Karuk Tribal Fisheries Program (KTFP), the Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC), and the U.S. Forest Service (Orleans Ranger District, Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District) have been working together to identify and manually treat barriers to anadromous fish passage on key tributaries in the Mid Klamath Subbasin. To date, these ongoing efforts have improved adult and juvenile anadromous fish passage at the mouths of tributaries to the Mid Klamath, Salmon, and Lower Scott Rivers. 

Maintaining fish passage in this area is especially important with the impending removal of the four Klamath River dams. This project is a continuation of this collaborative effort led by MKWC and its partners to address key stressors identified in the Mid Klamath Subbasin Fisheries Resource Recovery Plan by identifying and manually treating barriers to anadromous fish passage on key tributaries in the region. Reconnecting tributaries to mainstem river corridors provides for significant remediation of all limiting factors affecting salmonids in the Klamath River Basin, including: water quality and quantity, and habitat quantity and quality. Cold water tributaries provide critical thermal refugia and rearing habitat during the juvenile and adult life stages of salmonids. Tributaries will be monitored throughout the season to assess effectiveness of the project. 

This particular project will open seven miles of stream for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead/rainbow trout by addressing barriers within the first 1,000 ft of up to 40 tributaries to the Klamath River. Modifying and identifying temporal or partial barriers will ensure crucial cold water refugia for out-migrating juvenile salmonids and returning adults. This project will enhance habitat connectivity, specifically at the mouths of cold water tributaries in the Klamath River Basin. Assessments will also be completed on all identified tributaries prior to the implementation to identify low flow barriers, potential long-term solutions to historic problems, presence/absence surveys, and assessments of qualitative features.

​​Project Partners include Karuk Tribal Fisheries Program, Salmon River Restoration Council, and U.S. Forest Service (Orleans Ranger District, Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District).