YEAR 2 7 , DISTRICT A VOLUME 2 7 , ISSUE 3

TRIBUTARY TRIBUNE STORIES AND ART BY CORPSMEMBERS OF THE CONSERVATION CORPS WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICORPS

IN THIS ISSUE Page # A New Day Dawning on the 1-2 Klamath Art by Erin Phillips Diversity in Fisheries 2-3 Professionals: A Hidden

A NEW DAY DAWNING ON Population Bottleneck? 4 River Time THE KLAMATH BY: THEO CLAIRE-MCKOWN, SERVING AT CALIFORNIA Stay Positive; I'm Trying 5

DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE YREKA The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of 5-6 Iron Gate Dam emerges from the fog as I round the bend, a reddish earthen Juvenile Salmonid Variation wall where the Klamath River should be. Of California’s 1,500 dams, the 6-7 earth-fill slump of PacifiCorp’s Iron Gate isn’t anything special, really. This Salmon Dance dam, though, is one of the reasons I am excited to work in the Klamath 8 Watershed: this dam, and three others upstream, are coming out. EDNA

Debate around the four lower dams on the Klamath stretches back decades, Digital Outreach 9 spanning water rights, water quality, and the health of the Klamath’s salmon fishery. After the license of the dams expired in the early 2000’s and White Nose Bat Syndrome 10 environmental retrofitting proved prohibitively expensive, PacifiCorp reached an agreement with state and tribal governments to remove Iron Gate November Observations at 10-11

Dam, J.C. Boyle Dam, and Copco #1 and #2. George Geary 11-12 CONTINUED ON PG. 2 Alumni Spotlight

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 1 KLAMATH DAM, CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Decisions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission complicated things and the original dates for the project came and went. Salmon populations continued to decline.

The dam removals have been making headlines again recently: late last year, Governor announced that he and Oregon Governor Kate Brown had committed their states as co-licensees to the four dams and were committing to dam removal. The new date: dams out by 2022.

This is a cause of celebration for the salmon and their advocates, and especially for the , , and peoples who have deep kinship relationships with salmon. “This dam removal is more than just a concrete project coming down. It’s a new day and it’s a new era for California tribes,” said Yurok Tribe Chairman Joseph James.1 Because of the defining role salmon play in their ecosystems, they are considered to be keystone species. Salmon are also a cultural keystone species, meaning that they play a “unique role in shaping and characterizing the identity of people who rely on them.”2

THIS DAM REMOVAL IS MORE THAN JUST A CONCRETE PROJECT COMING DOWN. IT IS

AAY NEW D AND IT'S A NEW Iron Gate Dam ERA FOR CALIFORNIA TRIBES. Photo credit: Theo Claire-McKnown

Indigenous communities in have argued that by contributing to the destruction of salmon populations, the four dams have acted as DIVERSITY IN FISHERIES “weapons of mass destruction” and that salmon PROFESSIONALS: A extinction constitutes “cultural .”3,4,5 Kari Norgaard, who works and researches with the Karuk HIDDEN POPULATION Tribe and teaches at the University of Oregon, asserts that environmental degradation such as the decline of BOTTLENECK? salmon “become[s] the leading edge of genocide.”6 BY: KATE STONECYPHER, SERVING AT

In June 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom offered a CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIF ARCATA formal apology for the California Genocide and called for truth and reconciliation. Salmon restoration Recent social and political upheaval over issues of race and equality projects, such as the Klamath dam removals, are an in the have led many to question implicit and explicit important way of putting these promises for biases in our country, our workplaces, and ourselves. Many reconciliation into practice. workplaces, including government agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, have initiated Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) efforts in response. 1 Kasler, D. and R. Sabalow “California, Oregon to take over dams controlled by Warren Buffett. The plan: tear them down.” The Sacramento Bee, 2020. https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article247242289.html These efforts are aimed at identifying and addressing the social and 2 Garibaldi, A. and N. Turner “Cultural Keystone Species” Implications for Ecological Conservation and Restoration.” Ecology and Society 9 (3): 1, 2004. structural factors contributing to a lack of representation for women, 3 McConnel, H. “Remove the Dams on the Klamath River” in Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground. eds. Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, July Oskar-Cole, and Laura Allen. NY: people of color, and LGBTQ+ people. Soft Skull Press, 2007. p.258-261

4 Sisk, C. “Address to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.” 2001. https://vimeo.com/2255757. 5 Kingston, L. (2015) “The Destruction of Identity: and Indigenous DIVERSITY IN FISHERIES, Peoples.” Journal of Human Rights 14, 2015. 6 Norgaard, K. “Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People: Colonialism, Nature, and Social Action.” Rutgers University Press, 2019. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 2 DIVERSITY IN FISHERIES, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 It’s no secret that science, technology, What about diversity within the field Addressing these inequities is crucial engineering, and math (STEM) fields of fisheries management? While the to the advancement of our field and have historically been dominated by number of women belonging to the the creation of a more just society. white males, and while the number of American Fisheries Society has Numerous studies have affirmed that women and people of color attaining increased from 9% to 25% in recent improving diversity and STEM degrees has increased, these years, non-white membership has representation in science enhances changes are poorly reflected within only risen from 5.5% to 8% (Penaluna innovation and quality of research the workforce (NSF 2019). While et al 2017). A recent study found that (Swartz et al 2019). Although the women hold 47% of jobs in the United while 52% of biological science diversity of fisheries professionals is States, only 23% of federal scientists, degrees are awarded to women each not yet representative of the engineers, and technical experts are year, just 26% of federal fisheries diversity of our country, it has been women (NOAA 2020). These statistics scientists are women. 31% of my honor and pleasure to work are even more alarming for people of biological science degrees are alongside WSP’s diverse color and women of color in awarded to people of color each year, Corpsmembers. I look forward to particular. A 2021 report prepared by but only 26% of fisheries scientists witnessing the progression of their the United States House Committee on are people of color: 9% of federal careers and the continued Science, Space, and Technology fisheries scientists are black, 4% are improvement of diversity within our revealed that less than 4% of NOAA’s Hispanic, 12% are Asian, and 1% field.

scientists are black, and only 1.3% are identify as a different race Arismendi, I. and Penaluna, B. 2016. Examining Diversity Inequities in Fisheries Science: A Call to Action. Bioscience 66(7):584-591. black women. (Arismendi and Penaluna 2016). This National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2007. Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women disparity indicates that a bottleneck in Academic Science and Engineering. Washington, D.C.: The National ADDRESSING THESE for diversity exists somewhere within Academic Press. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2020. In Their Own the population of fisheries Words: Women Doing NOAA’s Work. NOAA Women’s Employee Resource INEQUITIES IS CRUCIAL TO Group. professionals. Notably, this gender National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering THE ADVANCEMENT OF Statistics. 2019. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science data is binary and relied on self- and Engineering: 2019. Special Report NSF 19-304. Alexandria, VA. Penaluna, B., Arismendi, I., Moffitt, C., and Penney, Z. 2017. Nine Proposed OUR FIELD AND THE reporting. There is currently little Action Areas to Enhance Diversity and Inclusion in the American Fisheries Society. Fisheries 42(8):399-402. CREATION OF A MORE data on the number of LGBTQ+ Swartz, T., Palermo, A., Masur, S., and Aberg., J. 2019. The Science and Value of people working in fisheries. Diversity: Closing the Gaps in Our Understanding of Inclusion and Diversity. JUST SOCITY The Journal of Infectious Diseases 220(2):33-41.

"May your rivers run redd

May your jacks be nimble

May the reverence you hold

For salmonids and their habitats

Never dwindle"

- Erin Phillips

Art by Erin Phillips WATERSHED STEWARDS P R O G R A M P A G E 3 ABOUT THE WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM Since 1994, the Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) has been engaged in comprehen- sive, community-based, watershed restoration and education throughout .

WSP was created in 1994 by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) biologists, educators, and the

California Conservation Corps Artwork By: Ana Rubio to fill critical gaps in scientific data collection, in-stream RIVER TIME restoration, and watershed BY: ANA RUBIO -SERVING AT SIX RIVERS education. In collaboration NATIONAL FOREST ORLEANS with landowners, tribal Crispy blue sky with a spray of white clouds. communities, teachers, community members, Mountainous slopes with mixed deciduous and evergreen trees falling nonprofit organizations, and steadily into the Salmon River.

government agencies, WSP The river roars as it slithers around a bend down a riffle and back into a clear works to revitalize blue pool. watersheds that contain Underneath the surface lie fish of all kinds, chinook, coho, and even endangered and threatened steelhead, that consume the small macroinvertebrates inhabiting the salmonid species (Chinook interstitial space of the river bottom. Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Steelhead Trout) by using I sit still on an exposed piece of bedrock covered in neon green carpet-like mosses. I wish I had a carpet made of them. state-of-the-art data collection and watershed On the river, I can see hundreds of rocks ranging from cobbles to boulders. restoration techniques. WSP A mysterious bird flies overhead. I wish I could see who you are. also engages Corpsmembers in education, outreach, and American Dippers sing and hop from rock to rock, reminding me to always volunteer recruitment efforts have fun. to increase the capacity of The sun warms my skin and helps me forget the cold wind entering my partner organizations. WSP sweater. I don’t mind the dynamic embraces from the wind. currently has Corpsmembers working from the Oregon It feels so good to sit here alone on the river on river time.

border to the Santa Monica My rock chair hurts a little but that’s a small price to pay for such Mountains. extravagance. The river reminds me to slow down and I do.

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 4 STAY POSITIVE; I'M TRYING BY: BLAKE TONEY -SERVING AT CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE ARCATA

How do you come to terms with the So how do we work to reconcile the If salmon let us walk across their backs for so inescapable truth that a species is mistakes of our past? I believe it long, I suppose striking upslope, through a disappearing? With the reality that the starts with empathy. With listening matted understory of ferns and huckleberry is actions of your predecessors may have to the stories of Native elders and the least we can do for them now. gone so far as to make obsolete the hearing what the salmon mean to Work Cited: desperate attempts of your them. With recognizing that these Cederholm, J. et. al. Pacific Salmon and Wildlife - Ecological Contexts, Relationships, and Implications for Management. Special Edition Technical Report. Washington Department contemporaries to salvage what little animals support a mosaic of other of Fish and Wildlife. 2000. semblance of a wild run of fish is left? species in both terrestrial and aquatic environments (Cedarholm Throughout the Northwest, fisheries et al., 2000). With striving to workers and members of the provide future generations with a community alike love to harken back bridge of moving, silvery backs to to that cherished tale of ‘fish walk across. -- With contemplating swimming upriver in schools so thick whether we can afford to give up, you could walk across their backs’… just because the future, at times, An image so far flung from what looks bleak. today’s inhabitants of Northern California have seen, it seems a nearly My Mentor, Colin Anderson, treats incomprehensible truth. Perhaps every fish as though it is a gift from more reflective of today’s a higher power. Which is not to say, salmon runs, I recently heard a fellow by any stretch of the imagination, fisheries worker classify the years as that a fish having managed to “a bad run, an awful run, or a truly return to its natal stream is horrible run.” Outside of California, I anything less than a miracle. At have seen that dream of rivers full of first I was impressed by the fish play out before my own eyes. elevated level of care he provided Growing up in South central Alaska, to each of these animals; always son of a bush pilot, I spent the striving to reduce the amount of summers of my youth taking those stress our presence could imbue fish for granted. upon them. I was privy to his empathy for a spawning coho as we

SO HOW DO WE WORK scaled the steep wall of an TO RECONCILE THE engorged creek to avoid disturbing its solitude. Slowly, I have come to MISTAKES OF OUR Corpsmember Blake Toney at a young age posing with a Chinook understand just how critical each Salmon caught by his father near Anchorage, AK. PAST? I BELIEVE IT individual fish is if you are bold Picture captured by his mother, Deborah Toney

STARTS WITH EMPATHY. enough to hope for their recovery.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY OF JUVENILE SALMONID GENETIC VARIATION BY: MICHAEL GAINES-SERVING AT CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE YREKA Just as pea plants and fruit flies displayed their inherited genetic traits for Gregor Johann Mendel and Thomas Hunt Morgan respectively, juvenile salmonids flaunt a bevy of differing phenotypes for the curious Corpsmember to observe. Vibrant orange and red fins on some are contrasted by crystal clear fins of others. Dark scale complexions juxtapose the “blondes” of any given day’s catch. When operating a rotary screw trap on Siskiyou County’s Shasta River, a Corpsmember becomes acutely aware of these striking differences.

Fitness determines survivability. Good traits are rewarded, bad ones punished, and ugly traits met with a swift end. Camouflage, growth rate, speed, and physical development are all put to the test in the early days and weeks of alevin and fry. Rapid growth and cunning speed to avoid predators while building strength for the journey ahead bodes well for the successful salmonid. A poor ability to adapt one’s camouflage within the changing river environment surely spells demise. Deformation of the eyes, nose or fins evoke only pity.

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WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 5 THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY OF JUVINILLE SALMON GENETIC VARIATION, CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

( Left): chinook fry captured on Shasta River (Top Right): An unusually bright-colored chinook fry ( Bottom Right): chinook fry with a red-eye Photo Credits: Michael Gaines

The Corpsmember must quickly differentiate these Variability breeds the possibility of continuation for variations between siblings and their close relatives any trait from generation to generation. within the salmonid family tree to reach an Millennium after millennium and these fish are still accurate population count. “Is that anal fin sickle- subject to the randomness of meiosis dictating shaped or not?”, “How dark is this leading-line their chances of survival. Traits essential millions supposed to be again?” – Questions asked to dispel of years ago have molded their DNA to create the doubt when faced with a menagerie of variation species they are today. Yet, a difference in natal among thousands of juvenile chinook dotted with stream still breeds a markedly different fish the sparsely represented coho and steelhead. through variation from the good, the bad, and the ugly.

SALMON DANCE WHERE THE RIVER MEETS THE PACIFIC OCEAN, TRIBAL MEMBERS STEP BAREFOOT ON THE SAND, AND DANCE. BY: MADDY RIFKA BRUNT -SERVING AT BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT ARCATA FIELD OFFICE

Bear tracks pattern the sinuous strip of sand that holds as the last barrier between ocean dwelling salmon and their riverine spawning grounds. The sand eagerly awaits a generous storm that will allow the Mattole estuary to bleed through into the Pacific Ocean and pull the pelagic salmon into its brackish embrace. For the first time in 100 years, these Mattole bound salmon hear a welcoming call from the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria in the form of a Salmon Dance Ceremony.

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WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 6 SALMON DANCE, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Ruth Wortman's voice rings clear and strong over the pounding of the waves as she sings; and in abalone adorned regalia, the tribal members dance as one to welcome the salmon home. What a true honor to witness the salmon dance.

The next day the rains came, and waves finally ate their way through the sand, mixing salt and fresh water and letting the hope of a bountiful salmon run swell into the Mattole estuary once more.

The Salmon Dance Ceremony took place in early November 2020, and another ceremony in mid-April 2021. This year the Mattole watershed has seen chinook, coho and steelhead return to its waters.

Pictured: Ruth Wortman Photo Credit: Maddy Rifka Brunt

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 7 USING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA (EDNA) TO ASSESS SALMONID MOVEMENT IN THE MATTOLE WATERSHED BY: EMMA HELD -SERVING AT BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT ARCATA FIELD OFFICE At the Bureau of Land Management Arcata Field Office, Corpsmembers are encouraged to develop and implement projects that interest them. One of my Site Partners, Erin Phillips, developed a project that aims to understand the movement of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) from their nesting sites in natal creeks and into nearby non-natal rearing streams. Natal streams are recognized as creeks where reproduction occurs; non-natal streams are creeks that support juvenile rearing. We are capturing this information using environmental DNA (eDNA), a recently developed tool that extracts loose flowing DNA from water samples and allows laboratories to test for concentration of a particular species.

Erin worked closely with our Mentor, Zane Ruddy, and Nathan Queener from Mattole Salmon Group to come up with two objectives for the study: 1) Which tributaries in the Mattole support non-natal chinook rearing? and 2) How does eDNA concentration change in areas of known redds over time? Photo Credit: Theo Claire-McKnown Salmonid migration patterns during different stages of their life cycle have not been studied in this capacity in the Mattole. In our study, sample locations were chosen based on areas where spawning has been observed in both upper and lower portions of the Mattole River. Samples collected near known redds are collected ~150ft downstream from the redd. We are also sampling streams that would be strong candidates for non-natal rearing or have seen rearing juveniles in the past. Understanding where juvenile chinook are born and what streams they spend time in to rear can help landowners, non-profits and BLM staff adapt and change their restoration, water conservation and surveying efforts.

Collecting eDNA is a simple process but requires utmost cleanliness to avoid contamination. Our sample kit consists of a battery powered pump and a sterile filter. We place the filter and hose facing upstream and pump 5 liters of water through the filter (see Figure 1), which is then dried and sent back to the lab to be analyzed for eDNA species concentration. Results are not yet in, but we are hoping that this study will shed some light on how long juveniles hang around the redd, and allow us to document their movement into nearby streams. This will help us learn which natal streams juveniles gravitate towards in the Mattole, which is information that can ultimately influence restoration and habitat creation efforts in the Maddy Brunt and Erin Phillips collecting eDNA sample valley. Photo Credit: Emma Held

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 8 DIGITAL OUTREACH: ENGAGING THE PUBLIC DURING A PANDEMIC B Y : L I Z L O R Z -S E R V I N G A T T H E W A T E R S H E D R E S E A R C H A N D T R A I N I N G C E N T E R A T H A Y F O R K

Nestled between the mountains in Trinity Additionally, reaching out to other county, our small, close knit town of ...WE WERE ELATED TO KNOW partners and local school systems Hayfork treasures community events and THAT WE PROVIDED A REPRIEVE as well as distributing flyers gatherings. This includes participation in FROM THE MONOTONY THAT MOST helped us better reach our target

the outreach events hosted by local OF US HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING audience; our local students and agencies, like the Watershed Research and families. In the end, the DUE TO COVID ISOLATION Training Center (WRTC). This connection interactions that we had with the can seem lost as it’s unfeasible to hold participants made our extra community events in the same manner as We still wanted families and kids efforts worth it. before the pandemic. Engagement online outside and exploring their can be a difficult process and encouraging environment so we wanted activities Even though we could not see our participation becomes more intricate. that would promote outdoor community members directly, we exploration as well as provide virtual were elated to know that we provided a reprieve from the Upon joining the team at WRTC, my site options for those who couldn’t get monotony that most of us have partner Margret and I were faced with our outside. This collaboration effort been experiencing due to COVID first outreach challenge. Our annual resulted in the creation of salmon isolation. The winner from our community event, Salmon Gathering, educational videos, salmon scavenger salmon scavenger hunt gave us provides a space for families and students to hunt, a nature art contest, and “Find the most joy. We have been get together, enjoy the outdoors, and learn Sam the Salmon” picture hunts. informed by their parents that the about the wonders of salmon. This year we prize of a new outdoor science had to strategize differently and our one day Reflecting on our experience we exploration kit has inspired the event turned into Salmon Celebration realized that consistent posting and student to become an outdoor Month. WRTC outreach coordinator, Zack engagement with our Instagram and explorer. Moments like these Pattek, along with outreach coordinators Facebook followers was key to more remind us that the community Elizabeth Sandoval and Maya Williams of the participation throughout the month. bond is still there, just in another Trinity County Resource Conservation format. District collaborated to devise a plan.

Pictured: Maddy Brunt, Erin Phillips, and Emma Held along the Photo Credit: Erin Phillips

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 9 WHITE NOSE SYNDROME IN THE WEST BY: MARGRET PECK -SERVING AT THE WATERSHED RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER AT HAYFORK

We may think of bats only on Hallows Pd growth is temperature-dependent on Rapid detection of WNS and Eve, but these night-flying friends conditions consistently remaining less than successfulmobilization of the biological need our help year-round! As night 20℃. These temperatures are readily present community on the east coast has led to pollinators, bats have co-evolved with within caves and mines that bat colonies favor Pd being well-documented, yet no many plants humans rely on, and as habitat for hibernation. Hibernating bats conservation strategy has been employed without our winged friends you can are susceptible as their body temperature (2). With WNS still in the early stages of say goodbye to bananas, avocados, drops to ambient conditions of 1-6 ℃. contamination in the West, human and mangoes. Bats play an important Infection is most pronounced in wing and tail spread risk has been identified within the role in our watersheds due to their tissue, which in turn affects caver and recreation community (3). If ability to carry more pollen than thermoregulation, water balance, and you will be visiting mines or caves, or insects. They also transport pollen immune function. This results in a traveling outside your area, please keep over greater distances, making bats a physiological cascade effect which causes these nocturnal California residents safe high focus for conservation due to increased arousal frequency (as seen by by visiting whitenosesyndrome.org to increasing habitat fragmentation (4). emergence during hibernation periods), loss check an area for this deadly pathogen! Perhaps most importantly, for those of fat stores, starvation, and mortality (2). This will ensure they continue to thrive of us who spend time outdoors, they and perform pollination and other regulate insect populations such as BAT SPECIES IN NORTH functions our beautiful California mosquitos! AMERICA ARE IN CATASTROPHIC watersheds rely on. DECLINE DUE TO A PARASITIC

Bat species in North America are in FUNGAL PATHOGEN... (1) Frick, W. F. et al. Pathogen dynamics during invasion and catastrophic decline due to a parasitic establishment of white-nose syndrome explain mechanisms of host While bat populations in North America were persistence. Ecology 98, 624–631 (2017). fungal pathogen that causes an infection known as White Nose showing positive growth rates before WNS (2) Hoyt, J.R., Kilpatrick, A.M. & Langwig, K.E. Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats. Nat Rev Microbiol 19, 196–210 (2021). Syndrome (WNS) (3). Bats are was first observed in 2007, mortality rates of https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-020-00493-5 90-100% have resulted in over 7 million bats specifically at-risk from (3) Salleh, S., Cox-Witton, K., Salleh, Y. et al. Caver Knowledge and deaths in the US and multiple species Biosecurity Attitudes Towards White-Nose Syndrome and Implications Pseudogymnoascus destructans(Pd), for Global Spread. EcoHealth (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020- suffering local extinctions (1). WNS has 01510-y due to an overlap in desired spread westward at alarming rates, making (4)Theodore H. Fleming, Cullen Geiselman, W. John Kress, The evolution environmental conditions between Pd of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective, Annals of Botany, Volume large geographical range expansions through 104, Issue 6, November 2009, Pages 1017–1043, growth rates and bat life cycles. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp197 human contamination (3).

NOVEMBER FIELD OBSERVATIONS AT GEORGE GEARY BY: LAUREN ZARAGOZA -SERVING AT USFS ORLEANS On ancestral Karuk territory in Six Rivers National Forest, my location is part of the greater Klamath River Watershed. Two miles downriver, the Salmon River meets the Klamath. This confluence is marked by a mountain named A’uich which represents renewal and is the center of the Karuk world. November sun is beating down on my skin and warming my core. Deep down I know this window of warmth is limited as the sun will slowly descend past the mountains. Instantly I am reminded that winter is approaching and the Doug Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) I see in the distance will be coated with snow.

Eyes closed, I listen to the water as it flows past and it is no comparison to the onset of rapid flows as winter storms approach. Regardless of the impending storms and high flow events, this will be another year of unfortunate record lows for the Klamath River.

Artwork By: Lauren Zaragoza CONTINUED ON PG. 9

WATERSHEDWATERSHEDSTEWARDSPROGRAM STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 1 0 FIELD OBSERVATIONS, ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: CONTINUED FROM PG. 10 KRISTIN HUNTER-THOMSON NOAA FISHERIES ECOLOGY DIVISION- Eyes open, I notice I am sitting between the INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES north- and south-facing slopes that the YEAR 13 Salmon River runs through. On the banks of INTERVIEWED BY:EMILY HUNTER the river live willows (Salix lasiolepis), non- SERVING AT WSP FORTUNA native Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus), alders (Alnus speciosum), and bay What was your WSP experience like? laurel (Laurus nobilis) known by the locals as "I had a really unique service with WSP. I was doing fisheries ‘pepperwood’. The north-facing slope features policy with the Institue for Fisheries Research based in San madrones (Arbutus menziesii). Above these is a Francisco. There was so much exposure to people and steep hillside of never-ending doug firs different projects which made it a really cool opportunity. (Pseudotsuga menziesii). On the south-facing Many of my colleagues were doing a lot of hands-on slope the madrones are more plentiful, mixed fieldwork [learning about bears and grow sites] while I was with alders, dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii) and doing more of the policy side of fisheries. I loved that I was oaks (Quercus speciosium), exposed bedrock, able to share what I was learning about fisheries and a drier environment. management, and my fellow Corpsmembers shared their experiences from the field."

REGARDLESS OF THE What have you been doing since WSP?

IMPENDING STORMS What are your current responsibilities and AND HIGH FLOW EVENTS, THIS WILL BE positions? ANOTHER YEAR OF "Right after WSP I got my M.S. in Conservation Fisheries UNFORTUNATE RECORD Biology. For my thesis, I went down in a submersible and LOWS FOR THE studied rockfish off of . I was able to take KLAMATH RIVER . what I learned during my time with WSP and directly apply it. After that, I helped build a fisheries education program This area is primarily made of ocean-floor for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. igneous and sedimentary rock, but as I look below me, I notice younger, lighter granitic About 10 years ago, I pivoted from curriculum development rock that has intruded. Beginning my inquiry to purse data literacy, science communication, and how to of the area’s geological history, I will learn that help science on a broader scale. Currently, I now run my some of the last glaciers in the Klamath own business that I started almost two years ago. I teach mountains flow into the river that I’ve snorkel- professional development, educational resource surveyed every ThursdayQUOTEFROMAN — these glaciers are development, education consulting, all-around data literacy, disappearing as a result of climateARTICLE change. and science literacy with teachers that teach in grades 3- college on how they can integrate real-world data into their teaching of science, social studies, and math. " The coming months will bring icy conditions as daylight grows shorter. Swimming through the Salmon River, I notice the water is more turbid. Algae particles float in the water column. I soon learn what it means to feel like I’m “flying.” Sitting on the bank, I recall that as I swim through this section, I’m greeted by hundreds of steelhead and the occasional chinook that discreetly sits where the rock wall meets the river bottom. A union of fast and slow-moving water creates a bubble curtain that protects these endangered species. Dreaming upstream, biological triggers will soon send them to their ancestral grounds. Pictured: Theo Claire- McKnown Photo Credit: Michael Gaines

WATERSHED STEWARDS PROGRAM PAGE 1 1 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT, CONTINUED FROM PG. 11 Was there one experience Contact Us that was especially WSP Region I Office memorable for you? 1455 Sandy Prairie Ct, Suite C

"Towards the end of my service, Fortuna, CA 95540 I was on a beach with my fellow (707) 725-8601 Corpsmembers and my site partner and I gathered some WSP Region II Office rocks and driftwood to explain PO Box 1380 to fellow WSP Corpsmembers San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 the crazy world of policy that we (805) 542-8641 had been immersed in. " [email protected] What is your favorite part Find out more about the of what you do now?

"At the moment, there's huge need program on our website: for helping our teachers figure out ccc.ca.gov/watershed-stewards- how to teach our kids how to make program/ sense of data. But I really enjoy Photo Credit: Kristin Hunter-Thomson working with and helping people. Which is every reason why I loved What advice would you give Our Mission being a Corpsmember with WSP current WSP Corpsmembers? The Watershed Stewards Program and that emphasis on helping and "Take every opportunity you can to (WSP) is dedicated to improving giving back to the community. talk to whoever is there. Ask them; watershed health by actively What job did they have? How did engaging in restoration science, civic I think science and data are sort they get it? What made them service, and community education of these "big black boxes", and interested in it? We were given so while empowering the next we sort of have this tendency to many opportunities to learn from so generation of environmental think that we aren't meant to many amazing people and I wish I stewards. understand science. Science is had networked more. I took what awesome and all around us. I seems like a really random walk to WSP Staff think data is really can be really get where I am today, but serving empowering. I'm totally on the with WSP was a really helpful and Program Manager: data-bias-bandwagon at the influential step along my path- and Zia Schatz moment. didn't even realize it at the time. I

wasn't the kind of person who knew Region I Program We have such a potential for data what 30 year career I wanted. And Coordinator: to be an equalizer and at the now that I've landed where I am, I'm Greg Poulton moment, it's continuing to be a like, maybe this is why! The job I Region II Program divider. I'm trying to do my part have now did not exist when I Coordinator: to help it be more of an equalizer graduated from college, or served at Jody Weseman and help empower people and WSP. I couldn't articulate what I Office Manager: energize them to make the most want to do, because it wasn't even a Robert Sataua of how data driven our society field yet. Being open to opportunities Office Assistant: is." and trusting your gut is key. " Trista Dowdy

WSP is administered by CaliforniaVolunteers, the Office of the Governor, and sponsored by AmeriCorps and the California Credits Department of Fish and Wildlife. Editor: This material is based upon work supported by AmeriCorps under Emily Hunter, District A Grant No 18ACHCA0010006. Opinions or points of view expressed in Team Leader this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, AmeriCorps.

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