Salmon River Drainage

Volume 059 Article 08 STATE OF IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 518 Front Street Boise, Idaho April 2, 1959 Recipients of this report: The attached report, prepared by Stacy Gebhards, contains a summary of information collected by him and other Department workers and constitutes the initial phase of the preparation of a planning report on the entire Salmon River drainage. Before the report is completed for the entire drainage, many persons will contribute additional information which will be inserted as it becomes available. The attached should be used as a guide in preparing reports on future survey work. LWM:cjc encl. COLUMBIA RIVER FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Preliminary Planning Report SALMON RIVER by Stacy V. Gebhards STATE OF IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME Salmon, Idaho January 6, 1959 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction .................................................... 1 Little Salmon River.......... 1 ................................. 2 South Fork of the Salmon River .................................. 5 Secesh River and Lake Creek ................................ 7 East Fork of the South Fork ................................ 7 Johnson Creek .............................................. 8 Cabin Creek ................................................ 9 Warm Lake Creek ............................................ 9 Middle Fork of the Salmon River ................................ 13 Big Creek ................................................. 14 Wilson Creek .............................................. 15 Camas Creek ............................................... 15 Yellowjacket Creek ........................................ 18 Duck Creek ................................................ 18 West Fork of Camas Creek .................................. 18 Silver Creek .............................................. 19 South Fork of Camas Creek ................................. 19 Loon Creek ................................................ 19 Warm Spring Creek ......................................... 20 Mayfield Creek ............................................ 20 Trail Creek ............................................... 20 Marble Creek .............................................. 21 Indian Creek .............................................. 21 Pistol Creek .............................................. 21 Little Pistol Creek ....................................... 21 Rapid River ............................................... 21 Sulphur Creek ............................................. 22 Dagger Falls .............................................. 22 Marsh Creek ............................................... 23 Beaver Creek .............................................. 23 Cape Horn Creek ........................................... 24 Knapp Creek ............................................... 24 Bear Valley Creek ......................................... 25 Elk Creek ................................................. 26 Panther Creek .................................................. 29 Clear Creek ............................................... 31 Napias Creek .............................................. 31 North Fork of the Salmon River ................................. 33 Hughes Creek............................................... 35 Sheep Creek ............................................... 35 Dahlonega Creek ........................................... 35 Anderson Creek ............................................ 35 Twin Creek ................................................ 36 Page Carmen Creek .............................................. 38 Lemhi River ............................................... 39 Hayden Creek ......................................... 42 Bear Valley Creek .................................... 43 Spring Creek ......................................... Pahs imero i River ........................................ 45 Big Spring Creek ..................................... 46 Sulphur Creek ........................................ 46 Challis Creek ............................................. 48 East Fork of the Salmon River ............................. 49 Herd Creek ........................................... 49 Warm Springs Creek ........................................ 51 Yankee Fork ............................................... 52 Valley Creek .............................................. 54 Redfish Lake Creek ........................................ 56 Little Redfish Lake .................................. 56 Redfish Lake .......................................... 56 Alturas Lake Creek ........................................ 58 Salmon River .............................................. 60 North Fork to Morgan Creek ........................... 60 Morgan Creek to Stanley .............................. 61 Stanley to headwaters ................................ 61 Discussion ................................................ 64 Bibliography .............................................. 66 INTRODUCTION The Salmon River, originating in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains, flows in a northerly direction for approximately 170 miles to North Fork. Here the river turns directly west for 150 miles, cutting through the second deepest canyon on the North American continent, from which came the name of "River of No Return". At Riggins the river again swings north and west for 82 miles and enters the Snake River. The drainage area of the Salmon River encompasses some 13,600 square miles, making it the largest river system within the boundaries of one state. Average discharge over a 43 year period near Whitebird, Idaho, was 10,710 cubic feet per second. A maximum discharge of 103,000 cubic feet per second was recorded on June 3, 1948, and a minimum of 1,580 cubic feet per second on December 11, 1931 (Anon., 1955). Pirtle (1957) lists the average number of spring chinook utilizing the drainage as 68,087, with an estimated sport catch of 35,702 fish and a spawning escapement of 32,385 fish. In 1955 a total of 4,361 blueback salmon were counted at the Redfish Lake Creek weir. The average annual sport catch of steelhead trout for the Salmon River is estimated at 14,185 fish. The purpose of this report is to outline the data gathered on the streams in the drainage along with recommendations for future planned pro- jects under the Columbia River Program. 1 LITTLE SALMON RIVER Basin description Stream topography. The Little Salmon River enters the main Salmon River at Riggins, 82 miles above the mouth. It is 43 miles in length and drains an area of 576 square miles. The lower 24 miles of stream follows a steep gradient. Discharge. Maximum discharge recorded between 1951-1955 was 5,560 c.f.s. on June 13, 1953 and minimum of 116 c.f.s. on February 20, 1955. The mean discharge is around 814 c.f.s. On June 1, 1948, a flood discharge of 9,200 c.f.s. caused considerable damage to property and to the stream itself in the lower half of the river. Economic development The economy of the region is supported chiefly by cattle raising in the New Meadows area and logging. About 13,600 acres are under irrigation in the drainage. Trout fishing anc hunting on the upper river supports a small tourist industry. History of the fishery According to local residents, the Little Salmon at one time supported a fair run of salmon. In 1942, Parkhurst considered the stream to be of little or no value as a salmon producer. Present status of the stream Parkhurst (1942) estimated the available spawning area of the stream in the lower 34 miles to be 76,000 square yards, constituting 9 per cent of the total bottom. Much of the spawning area has undoubtedly been altered since that time by erosive floods, deposition of gravel, and channel changes by the state highway department. The area above Little Salmon Falls affords the best present potential value for anadromous fish. During November 28-30, 1956, a general reconnaissance was made of the area. Critical evaluation of the stream at that time was impossible since over 50 per cent of it was cov- 2 ered by ice. Little Salmon Falls to Zim's plunge. The area at the time of the survey was largely covered with ice except in riffle areas. Riffles were characterized by large gravel 3 to 6 inches in diameter and would provide poor spawning areas. The gradient was fairly constant which resulted in a low percentage of riffle areas. The stream bottom, except in the riffles, consisted of fine gravel and mud. Average stream width was 30 feet and the average depth was 1.5 feet. Water velocities were generally 1 foot per second or less, and the volume of flow was estimated to be 75 c.f.s. Water temperature was 33°F. The surrounding terrain is pastureland, and stream bank vegetation is primarily grass. Length of the area is about 7_stream miles. The spawning potential of-this stream section was considered to be poor. This was based on the low percentage of riffles, poor spawning gravel, slow water velocities, and inadequate cover and resting pools. Zim's Plunge to U.S. 95 highway bridge. This section exhibited a slightly steeper gradient, resulting in faster water velocities (1.5 to 3.0 feet per second). The stream bottom contained fine gravel and sand in pool areas and small gravel (½ to 3 inches in diameter) in the riffles. Average stream width was 20 feet with an average depth of 1 foot. Discharge below Goose Creek was estimated to be 55 c.f.s. The two forks of Goose Creek enter this section of the river but could not be surveyed because of ice conditions. The surrounding terrain is pastureland

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