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California - Scott River Coho Salmon Spawning Distribution and Population Monitoring

The Siskiyou Resource Conservation District proposes to continue and strengthen the long-term Scott River Coho Salmon spawning-ground monitoring program for three survey seasons. The project will conduct standardized adult spawning surveys across up to approximately 40 miles of established Scott River mainstem and tributary reaches, contingent on landowner access, hydrologic connectivity, field safety, and observed spawning distribution. SRCD will coordinate access, conduct annual survey training and quality assurance, complete repeated two-person spawning surveys, document live salmon, redds, carcasses and observed passage constraints, collect authorized biological samples from recovered carcasses, and maintain standardized geospatial records. The work continues a monitoring effort initiated in the Scott River watershed in 2001 and uses the established spawning-ground survey approach applied in the watershed for more than two decades. The resulting information will document the spatial and temporal distribution of adult Coho Salmon, identify changes among survey seasons, support assessment of habitat connectivity and conservation opportunities, and improve the biological information available to BLM and partner agencies for threatened-species conservation and ESA-related planning. Annual deliverables will include survey summaries, GIS/geodatabase products with metadata, biological sample transfer documentation, and annual monitoring reports. A final three-season synthesis will evaluate distribution patterns, recurring spawning areas, survey coverage, observed passage constraints, data limitations, and management implications. Intended beneficiaries include BLM, state and federal fisheries agencies, watershed partners, landowners, and the public through improved conservation planning and a more consistent long-term record of a federally threatened salmon population.

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$234,352.05

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