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2024 Mid-Klamath Chinook Spawning Ground Surveys The Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) has been actively engaged in annual spawning ground surveys in the Scott River Valley since 2003. Through collaborative efforts between the Scott River Fish Counting Facility and cooperative surveys, a comprehensive dataset on fall-run Chinook salmon is gathered each year. This dataset encompasses vital information on run abundance, timing, age/sex/length composition, hatchery contribution, and spawning distribution. The monitoring of this population provides invaluable trend data, facilitating escapement estimates used by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council for effective management and allocation of Klamath Basin fall-run Chinook salmon. Additionally, the assessment of redd distribution aids local organizations in prioritizing habitat restoration projects on the Scott River mainstem and evaluating their effectiveness. These efforts include the utilization of spawning gravel sorted by large wood augmentation, offering insights into connectivity in upper reaches of the watershed that are typically inaccessible for spawning due to low-flow passage barriers. In line with the project, Siskiyou RCD will conduct surveys of mainstem Scott River reaches 9-16, targeting Chinook spawners from mid-October through December 2024, subject to favorable conditions. A comprehensive final report will be generated, and all collected carcass data and samples will be submitted to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, ensuring the valuable contribution of data to ongoing research and conservation efforts. Previous Next

Lower Scott River Side-Channel Connectivity and Habitat Enhancement Project Phase II - 2 The Scott River is located in the Klamath Mountains of Siskiyou County in northern California and is a major tributary to the Klamath River. The Scott River watershed supports anadromous fish runs of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and steelhead trout (O. mykiss). However, sections of the lower Scott River, including the project reach, are characterized by simplified channels that are limited in spawning gravels, pool frequency, and off-channel habitats. The project reach is also hindered by seasonal low flow conditions that impact fish passage and is often the first section of the Scott River to become disconnected in the summer and the last to reconnect in the fall/winter. National Marine Fisheries Service 2014 Southern Oregon and Northern California Coho Recovery Plan identified constructing/restoring off-channel habitats and increasing instream flows as two of the highest priority recovery actions in the Scott Valley. The goal of this project is to increase salmonid carrying capacity in the Scott River. Project objectives include restoring and/or enhancing off-channel rearing habitat, spawning habitat, and passage for migratory salmonids. Previous Next

Lower Moffett Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project Phase I This proposal represents the first phase of a multi-year project. Phase I includes assessment, monitoring and concept design. Phase II would follow with permitting, final design and implementation once the technical work is complete. Problem Statement: The mouth of Moffett Creek remains unstable. Sediment fills pools during low water periods and banks cut out during higher flows. In summer, the mouth becomes warm and stagnant which limits oxygen and creates conditions that discourage fish from entering. The channel has little complexity, and the floodplain does not engage as it should. These conditions reduce habitat quality and slow natural recovery processes. $158,260.13 Previous Next

2022-2025 Local Cooperative Solutions (LCS) - Scott River, Shasta River The Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) serves as a coordinating entity for landowners and the State Water Resources Control Board under the 2025 Scott‐Shasta Drought Emergency Regulations. SRCD brings together irrigators, local stakeholders, and agency staff to develop, evaluate, and implement Local Cooperative Solutions that maintain water deliveries while protecting stream health. Through stakeholder outreach, technical support, and program administration, SRCD ensures that voluntary, science-based alternatives to curtailment are efficiently reviewed and carried out - safeguarding both agricultural livelihoods and watershed resilience. Previous Next

Masterson Road/Noyes Valley Creek Road Crossing Culvert Project This project will replace an unimproved low-water road crossing at Masterson Road with a bottomless, stream simulation culvert to restore fish passage and protect aquatic habitat in Noyes Valley Creek, a tributary to the East Fork Scott River. Noyes Valley Creek provides seasonal spawning, rearing, and migration habitat for ESA-listed coho salmon and other native salmonids and has been habitat typed by the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) as recently as 2023. Currently, the creek flows directly over a dirt road surface during winter and early spring runoff, forcing vehicles to drive through the active channel and creating shallow, unstable passage conditions for fish. The proposed project will span the active channel, maintain natural bed and hydraulic conditions, and accommodate sediment and debris transport, improving aquatic organism passage while reducing roadway maintenance and safety concerns. $130,648.96 Previous Next

Scott River Mainstem Habitat Improvement Project Phase 2 Preliminary plans: Building on Phase I’s detailed geomorphic and habitat assessment, Phase II will transform planning into on-the-ground restoration across the four-mile corridor of lower French Creek and Scott River Reaches 15–14. To restore instream complexity, we will install 22–24 engineered log jams by October 2027, creating roughly 660–720 feet of new pool habitat and enhancing gravel sorting for salmonid spawning. Concurrently, we will reconnect approximately 3,000 feet of historic side channels and construct 17 beaver dam analogues to reestablish off-channel refuge and reduce bank erosion at key hotspots. Riparian health will be bolstered with the planting of 12,000 native willow, alder, and cottonwood stems and the installation of four miles of protective fencing, ensuring an average canopy cover above 50 percent within three years and a browse-pressure reduction of 90 percent. A new sediment-source mapping and treatment objective will inventory and stabilize the five highest-priority erosion sites, leveraging bio-engineered bank armor and a GIS “sediment-yield” map. Our rigorous five-year monitoring and adaptive management program will deploy four continuous stage gauges and twelve temperature loggers, conduct annual bathymetric and biannual fish-use surveys, and track riparian survival in forty permanent plots, supplemented by three rounds of drone/LiDAR mapping. Together, these efforts—supported by targeted permitting, engineering design finalization, and stakeholder coordination—are budgeted at $2.5 million, ensuring that Phase II delivers measurable habitat gains, resilience to future droughts, and lasting benefits for both salmonids and local agriculture. $2,500,000.00 Previous Next

South Fork Scott River Floodplain Restoration Project - Phase 3 In 2019, the SRCD and CalTrout were awarded funding agreements to complete implementation of Phase 2, which covers a 0.14-mile section of the reach and is currently scheduled for the 2020 construction season. Phase 2 includes the installation of two inset floodplains, four side channel “chop-and-drop” logjams, one main channel “chop-and-drop” logjam, one main channel apex jam, six anchored bank structures, and riparian planting. Similar monitoring methods will be applied to document treatment functionality, stream habitat response, fisheries utilization and revegetation performance. Subsequently, Phase 3 (as proposed here) focuses on a 0.15-mile section of the reach and is currently planned for 2021 implementation. Cascade Stream Solutions has produced intermediate (65%) status engineered drawings for the site (attached) and will be completing additional analysis through the spring of 2020 after which Final (100%) Construction Plans will be issued. The SRCD and CalTrout will continue to engage regulatory agencies through this process to refine the treatment plan and establish an approach for meeting environmental compliance standards. The proposed Phase 3 work will build on previously implemented phases and continue to address anthropomorphic impacts to the South Fork Scott River by improving floodplain accessibility, instream habitat quality, and riparian coverage. Previous Next

South Fork Scott River Floodplain Restoration Project - Phase 2 These observations have led the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) to focus restoration efforts on an approximate 1-mile reach of the South Fork Scott River above Boulder Creek. Since 2015, the SRCD has partnered with California Trout (Cal Trout), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC), and Cascade Stream Solutions to develop restoration work on the South Fork Scott River for the benefit of coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout. This proposal builds upon the South Fork Scott River Floodplain Restoration Project: Phase 1 (Phase 1), which implemented treatments through 0.25 miles of the 1-mile reach in the fall of 2017. Phase 1 included the construction of two inset floodplains, three “chop-n-drop” logjams, and five large-wood habitat features, as well as the removal of approximately 1,900 cubic yards of mining tailings. Site selection and treatment techniques were identified in 2015 during conceptual development for the full 1-mile stream reach. The entire area has been surveyed, photographed and a hydraulic analysis completed. Phase 2 focuses on the portion of stream immediately upstream from Phase 1, and design plans for Phase 2 are more than 65% complete. Additional survey work was recently completed and will be incorporated into the Final Construction Plans. Furthermore, coho utilization was identified within the Phase 1 constructed habitat units during 2018 juvenile monitoring surveys (attached), and these surveys helped inform the project team on applicable habitat treatments for Phase 2 Previous Next

Lower Moffett Creek Scour Project Riparian vegetation will be planted at a minimum of one tree every 10 foot on center over the planting area in order to achieve a similar density to the adjacent vegetation. This planting strategy allows for some mortality while still achieving maximum survivorship of trees identified in Table 4 at the end of five years. The planting area will all be on native soil to ensure a higher survival rate. No tree planting will occur within 20’ of roads, bridges or any other areas effected by Caltrans routine maintenance. Planting will also avoid any areas that have overhead utility lines. The proposed planting area will not be affected by maintenance operations. Previous Next

Scott River Coho Spawning Ground Survey Project 2023-2025 The Contractor will conduct The Annual Scott River Coho Salmon Spawning Ground Surveys (Project), within the Scott River and its tributaries for three years during the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025 runs. During October and November annually, the Contractor will coordinate with landowners to gain property access to complete the surveys. The Contractor will provide the resources to conduct landowner outreach, spawning surveys to collect spawning distribution data (range and relative density), run data (sex ratio, age composition, hatchery contribution) and biological data (length, prespawn mortality, samples) of Coho Salmon. This project is part of the larger MidKlamath Cooperative Spawning Ground Surveys and is essential to assessing the effects of restoration actions and water management on several imperiled fish species in the Scott River and the larger Klamath River Basin. Previous Next

KARISM Project 2024 Education and outreach grant for the SRCD's botany program. Funded by the Salmon River Restoration Council, in coordination with the Klamath Alliance for Regional Invasive Species Management (KARISM). Previous Next

Scott River Native Plant Monitoring and Education Initiative: Conserving At-Risk Species and Sensitive Habitats The proposed project directly aligns with the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District’s (SRCD) mission to identify conservation and watershed enhancement needs and provide support to landowners and resource managers through technical, financial, and educational leadership. By addressing the preservation of native plants and biologically sensitive botanical areas in the Scott River watershed, this project encapsulates SRCD’s commitment to fostering environmental stewardship and sustainable land use practices. TBD Previous Next