Klamath National Forest Coho Salmon Off-Channel Ponds - Fish Gulch Project

Klamath National Forest Coho Salmon Off-Channel Ponds - Fish Gulch Project

The purpose of the project is to further the on-going program of reconnecting and/or restoring, enhancing, and creating a continuum of high-quality off-channel rearing habitat, including will consist of constructing three ponds that will vary in size from 0.03 to 0.40 acres totaling approx 0.70 acres of rearing habitat. Pond construction will be implemented between Sep and Oct 2018. An excavator will be used to construct off channel pond habitat adjacent to the Fish Gulch/Horse Creek confluence. The ponds will be excavated to a depth as great as 8 ft. A shallow bench, approx one ft in depth will also be excavated around the perimeter of the ponds to create additional shallow water habitat and encourage the growth of hydrophytic vegetation. Finally, KNF will install instream habitat structures within the ponds and the mainstream channel of Horse Creek in an attempt to increase habitat complexity and provide the scour necessary to keep connectivity between the constructed ponds and the stream channel. Project activities will increase the area of thermal refugia for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Evolutionary Significant Unit of Coho salmon and other salmonids, create wetland habitat for other aquatic animals and wetland plants, as well as general open water habitat, increase the area of riparian habitat by removal of non-native invasive Himalayan blackberry, and by replacing with invasive vegetation with native willow, cottonwood, and alder, which will result in the reduction of pool temperatures.

Siskiyou