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ISSN: 0363-2415 (Print) 1548-8446 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ufsh20

Distribution of Anadromous Fishes in the Upper River Watershed Prior to Hydropower Dams—A Synthesis of the Historical Evidence

John B. Hamilton , Gary L. Curtis , Scott M. Snedaker & David K. White

To cite this article: John B. Hamilton , Gary L. Curtis , Scott M. Snedaker & David K. White (2005) Distribution of Anadromous Fishes in the Upper Watershed Prior to Hydropower Dams—A Synthesis of the Historical Evidence, Fisheries, 30:4, 10-20, DOI: 10.1577/1548-8446(2005)30[10:DOAFIT]2.0.CO;2

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1577/1548-8446(2005)30[10:DOAFIT]2.0.CO;2

Published online: 09 Jan 2011.

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Download by: [Simon Fraser University] Date: 15 November 2016, At: 15:08 Distribution of Anadrornous Fishes in the Upper Klamath River Watershed Prior to Hydropower Darns A Synthesis of the Historical Evidence Knowledge of the historicaldistribution of anadromousfish is important to guide man- agement decisions regarding the Klamath River including ongoing restoration and regional recovery of coho salmon (Oncorhynchuskisutch). Using various sources,we determined the historical distribution of anadromous fish above Iron Gate Dam. Evidence for the largest, most utilized species, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha),was available from multiple sourcesand clearly showed that this species historicallymigrated upstream into tributaries of Upper Klamath . Available infor- mation indicatesthat the distribution of steelhead (Oncorhynchusmykiss) extended to the Klamath Upper Basinas well. Coho salmonand anadromouslamprey (Lampetra tri- dentata) likely were distributed upstream at least to the vicinity of Spencer Creek. A population of anadromoussockeye salmon (Oncorhynchusnerka) may have occurred historicallyabove Iron Gate Dam. Green sturgeon (Acipensermedirostris), chum salmon (Oncorhynchusketa), pink salmon (Oncorhynchusgorbuscha), coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchusdarki darkO, and eulachon (Thaleichthyspacificus) were restricted to the Klamath Riverwell below Iron Gate Dam. Thissynthesis of availablesources regard- ing the historical extent of these species' upstream distribution provides key information necessaryto guide management and habitat restoration efforts.

Introduction

John B. Hamilton Gary L. Curtis Gatschet'sstatement is that salmonascend the Klamath river twice a year, in June and again in autumn. This is in agreementwith my information,that the run comesin the middlefinger Scott M. Snedaker month[sic], May-June, and that the largefish run in the fall...They ascendall the rivers David K. White leadingfrom Klamath lake (savethe Woodriver, accord/ngto Bal/), goingas far up the Hamilton and Curtis are Spragueriver as Yainax,but are stoppedby the falls belowthe outletto Klamathmarsh. fisherybiologists at the U.S. •pier (1930) Fish and Wildlife Service Yreka Fish and Wildlife Parties comingin from Keno state that the run of salmonin the Klamath River this year is Office, Yreka, CA. Hamilton the heaviestit has [sic] ever known. There are millionsof the fish belowthe falls near Keno, can be contacted at and it is saidthat a man with a gaffcould easily land a hundredof the salmonin an hour,in [email protected]. fact theycould be caughtas fast as a man cou/dpull themin...There is a natural rockdam Snedakeris a fisherybiologist acrossthe river belowKeno, which it Is/c] is almostimpossible for the fish to get over.In with the U.S. Bureau of Land their effortto do so thousandsof fine salmonare sobruised and spottedby the rocksthat they Managementin Klamath becomeworthless. There is no spawningground until they reach the Upper Lake as the river Falls,OR. White is a hydraulic at thispoint is veryswift and rocky. engineer--fishpassage Frontpage article titled: specialistwith NOAA "Millions of Salmon Cannot ReachLake on Account Rocks(sic) in River at Keno" Fisheriesin Santa Rosa, CA. KlamathFalls Evening Herald (24 September1908)

The Klamath River watershedonce produced River systemat 650,000-1 million fish.These runs large runs of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchuscontributed to substantialcommercial, recreational, tshawytscha)and steelhead(Oncorhynchus roykiss) subsistence,and Tribal harvests (Snyder 1931; Lane and alsosupported significant runs of otheranadro- and Lane Associates1981; USDI 1985; USFWS mousfish, includingcoho salmon(Oncorhynchus 1991; Gresh et al. 2000). In particular,the Upper kisutch), green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris ), eula- KlamathRiver above Iron GateDam once supported chon (Thaleichthyspacificus), coastal cutthroat trout the spawningand rearingof largepopulations of (Oncorhynchusclarki clarki), and Pacific lamprey anadromoussalmon and steelhead(Lane and Lane (Lainpetratridentata). One estimate(Radtke, pers. Associates1981; FERC 1990). comm.cited in Greshet al. 2000)put the historical The first impassablebarrier to anadromousfish rangeof salmonabundance for the Klamath-Trinity on the mainstemKlamath River was Copco 1 Dam,

10 Fisheries I www.fisheries.org I vol 30 no 4 completedin 1918 (followedby Copco2 Dam in and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS). 1925and Iron Gate Dam in 1962;Figure 1). Priorto The statesof Oregonand also have signif- dam construction,anadromous fish runs accessed icant regulatoryauthorities and responsibilities spawning,incubation, and rearing habitat in about relatedto hydropowerrelicensing and the recovery 970 km (600 miles) of river and streamchannel of listedspecies. abovethe siteof Iron Gate Dam. This dam, at river Theseauthorities provide a basisfor restoration of kilometer307 (river mile 190; Photo l), is the cur- native anadromous fish to their historical habitats. rentlimit of upstreampassage. The LongRange Plan However,there have been persistentquestions for the Klamath River Basin Conservation Area regardingwhether anadromous fish occurred histori- FisheryRestoration Program (USFWS 1991)identi- cally above Iron Gate Dam. Thus, prior to fiedthe lackof passagebeyond Iron GateDam as a implementinganadromous fish restoration and the significantimpact to theKlamath River anadromous design of potentialfishways that wouldbe species fishery.At present,significant un-utilized anadro- specific,it is importantto evaluatethe evidence mousfish habitat exists upstream of Iron Gate Dam regardingwhich native anadromousspecies were (Fortuneet al. 1966;Chapman 1981; NRC 2003; presenthistorically above Iron Gate Dam and deter- Huntington 2004). The Klamath Hydroelectric minethe extentof theirupstream distribution. Projectoperating license expires in 2006 and the relicensingprocess is currentlyunder way. Methods

Need for Information on We summarizeexisting information regarding the Upstream Extent of both the recordedhistorical (tens to thousandsof Anadromous Fish Distribution years)presence and, more specifically, the upstream extent of the distribution Knowledgeof the presenceand the historical of native anadromousfish ": extentof the upstreamdistribution for anadromousin the Klamath River, specieson the Klamath River is importantfor basedupon photos, histor- restorationplanning and futuremanagement deci- ical documents, logical sion-making.Public Law 99-552, the KlamathRiver reasoning,and other avail- ' BasinFishery Resources Restoration Act (Klamath able information. A Act), wasadopted by Congress on 27 October1986, distinction was made for the purposeof authorizinga 20-year federal-state betweenpresence and the cooperativeKlamath River Basin Conservation extentof upstreamdistri- Area RestorationProgram for the rebuildingof the bution because,for some river'sfishery resources to optimallevels. Among species,there was clear othercharges, the KlamathAct directsthe Secretary evidencefor presencein of Interior to improveand restoreKlamath River general terms, but only habitatsand promote access to blockedhabitats, to vagueinformation on their farthestupstream distri- Photo 1. Iron Gate Dam has rehabilitateproblem watersheds, to reduce negative bution. When reliable information on the extent of nofish passage facilities. impactson fish and fishhabitats, and to improve upstreamdistribution was available, it wasimportant upstreamand downstreammigration by removing to includethis level of certaintyfor consideration obstaclesand providing facilities for avoidingobsta- duringrelicensing and anadromousfish restoration. cles. The presenceof speciesabove one dam, but not In additionto the KlamathAct, the Department another,has implications for relicensing. of the Interiorand the Departmentof Commerceare In thisarticle, references to the KlamathUpper authorizedto protectand restoreanadromous fish Basin include the Klamath River watershed andtheir habitats under several authorities including upstreamfrom and includingthe sectionof the the FederalPower Act (throughthe requirementof Klamath River known as . (Link River mandatoryfishway prescription under Section 18 of Dam, asshown in Figure1, is on thisshort reach of the act). Other authoritiesinclude the Endangered the mainstemKlamath River immediatelybelow SpeciesAct; federalTribal Trust responsibilities; UpperKlamath Lake). Pacific Coast Salmon Plan; Magnuson-Stevens FisheryConservation and Management Act (which Photos incorporatesdelineation of "essentialfish habitat"); Sikes Act, Title II; the Fish and Wildlife We reviewedhistorical photo collections of the CoordinationAct; the Wild and ScenicRivers Act; KlamathCounty Museumand KlamathHistorical the National Historic PreservationAct; Federal Societyfor documentationof anadromousfish above LandsProtection and ManagementAct; Northwest IronGate Dam. We assumedthat captionson pho- ForestPlan; and variouspolicies and initiativesof toscorrectly identified the taxa, locations, and dates. the U.S. Bureauof Land Management,U.S. Forest The photosused here were taken in the vicinityof Service,the National ParkService, NOAA Fisheries KlamathFalls and adjacent Link River.

April 2005 I www.fisheries.org I Fisheries 11 Documents and Reports Personal Communications

We reviewedpublished and unpublished fisheries, We did not referencepersonal communications archeological,and ethnographic reports on thedistri- that includedquestionable identifications of species unlessthe communicationincluded other supporting bution and presenceof anadromousfish in the facts that would corroborate the identification of KlamathRiver watershed.For a givenreference we that species.For example,we discountedthe identi- generallycited only the farthestupstream occurrence fication of chumsalmon (Onctr;hynchus keta), coho of a speciesin the KlamathRiver and/or its tributaries. salmon, and steelheadtrout in the vicinity of When documentsidentified fish as only salmon,we AgencyLake and the WoodRiver, but includedthe reference to Chinook salmon becauseother informa- assumedthey wereChinook salmon. While ethno- tion communicated on the size of these fish graphic(Gatschet 1890; $pier 1930; Kroeberand supportedthat identification. Barrett 1960) and archaeological(Cressman et al. Personal communications cited in Lane and Lane 1956)sources are cited, other reports from these disci- Associates(1981) regarding the presenceof salmonin plinesmay well contain additional documentation not the Williamsonand Sprague rivers were very numer- specificallyreferenced in this paper.Fortune et al. ousand we recommend that interestedparties refer to (1966) referencednumerous articles from Klamath thiscitation. We did not reference these personal com- municationsindividually here. When personal Falls newspapersregarding historical accounts of communicationscited therein provided key informa- salmon above the current location of Iron Gate Dam. tion on presenceor farthestupstream distribution of a Of these,we haveincluded only one (KlamathFalls speciesnot citedelsewhere, we referencedLane and EveningHerald 1908). LaneAssociates (1981).

Figure 1. Extentof upstreamdistribution for anadromousfish in the KlamathRiver and tributariesbased upon references in Table1 (locationsfor citationsare approximate).

OE

&F

12 Fisheries I www. fisheries.org I vol 30 no4 Logical Reasoning Pacificlamprey extended above Iron Gate Dam. More detailed information on our evaluation of sourcesand ForPacific lamprey and coho salmon we combined the presenceand farthest upstream distribution is dis- existingevidence with logicalreasoning for a determi- cussedbelow. nationof the extentof upstreamdistribution of these speciesin the KlamathRiver watershed. This reason- Chinook Salmon ing waspartly based on the occurrenceof the same PresencesInformationcited here that provides specieseast of the CascadeRange in the Columbia evidencefor the presenceof Chinooksalmon above RiverBasin. While we believethis reasoning is valid, the current site of Iron Gate Dam includes 2 historical weacknowledge that it doesnot have the same level of photographs,14 documentsor reports,and 1 personal certaintyas photographs, documents, reports, or per- communication.Numerous other personal communi- sonalcommunications for a specificdetermination of cations, testimony, and newspaper articles the limit of upstreamdistribution. documentingthe presenceof Chinooksalmon are ref- erencedin Fortuneet al. (1966) and Lane and Lane Results and Discussion Associates(1981). We foundone reportthat stated there wasnot enoughinformation to concludethat Table 1 summarizes sources of evidence for the Chinook salmon accessedtributaries of Upper historical distribution of Chinook salmon, steel- Klamath Lake. head,coho salmon, and Pacific lamprey above Iron Chinooksalmon spawned in JennyCreek (Coots Gate Damon the KlamathRiver. Figure 1 isthe cor- 1962;Fortune et al. 1966) and Fall Creek (Walesand respondingmap showingthe locationscited for Coots 1954; Coots 1957; Coots 1962; Fortuneet al. eachspecies. 1966)prior to the constructionof Iron Gate Dam.An Evidencefor the largest,most utilizedspecies, interviewwith long-termresident of the area,W. G. Chinooksalmon, was available from the greatest vari- Hoover,provided information on largeconcentrations ety of sourcesand providedthe highestlevel of offall-runking salmon in ShovelCreek and on spawn- certainty.Less information was available for the other ingthat might have occurred near Shovel Creek in the three species.Nevertheless, there was substantial mainstemKlamath River (Coots 1965). Hoover also informationand reasoningto determinethat steel- noted that the river near the "Frame Ranch" was a head historicallymigrated to the KlamathUpper favoritesalmon spearing site and a potentialspawning

Basin and that the distribution of coho salmon and area(Coots 1965). Hoover was undoubtedly referring

Table 1. Documentationfor pre-impoundmentpresence and extentof upstreamdistribution for anadromousfish in the KlamathRiver above Iron Gate Dam

Source Species

Chinook(I) Steelhead(,) Coho (0) PacificLamprey (n) Photosofhistorical (A) Klamath Historical •resenceabove Iron! SocietyPhoto, Photo 2 (1860) GateDam (B)Klamath County Historical Society,Photo 3 (1891) (C)Gatschet (1890) (A)Wright (1954) (A)Coots (1957) (A) Coots (1957) (B) Coots (1957) (B) Coots(1962) (B) Kroeberand Barrett(1960) (D)Spier (1930) (C)Kroeber andBarrett (1960) (C)CDWR (1964) (E)Wales and Coots (1954) (D)Coots (1962) (D)NMFS (1997) (F)Cressman (1956) (E)King etal. (1977) (E)IMST (2003) (G)Coots (1957) (F)Fortune etal. (1966) (H) Kroeberand Barrett (1960) Documents/reports/(I)Coots (1962) (G)Lane and Lane Associates (1981) otherevidence (J)Coots (1965) (H)Nehlsen etaL (1991) (K)Fortune etal. (1966) (I) BLMetal. (1995) (L)Lane and Lane Associates (1981)(J) Thurow etaL (1997) (M)Nehlsenetal. (1991) (K)Moyle (2002) (N) BLM et al. (1995) (0) Thurowet aL (1997) (P) Moyle (2002)

Personal communications(Q) Scarbet (2004) (L)Maria (2003) (F)Bulfinch (2002) Logical reasoning X X

Italics= publishedliterature. Reference identification letters correspond to symbols(I, ,, O, and n) showingapproximate locations cited for each species(Figure 1).

April 2005 I www.fisheries.org I Fisheries 13 to the "Frain Ranch" reach of the Klamath River, fishing locations on the , the whichis immediatelyupstream of the Calderareach WilliamsonRiver, Upper Klamath Lake, and Spencer (Figure1). BLM et al. (1995) referredto accountsof Creek. These accounts made a distinction between fall-runsalmon in SpencerCreek and containeda salmonand trout. In manyinstances the interviews in phototaken prior to 1917showing a Chinooksalmon the documentprovided details on the weightsof fish caughtat the confluenceof SpencerCreek and the that indicatedthey could only be Chinooksalmon. Klamath River. One of the earliest references in Lane and Lane Two historicalphotographs document the pres- Associates(1981) isto the explorerFremont's visit to ence of Chinook salmon at Link River. The Klamath theoutlet of UpperKlamath Lake in Mayof 1846and County HistoricalSociety provided these photos, hisobservation of greatnumbers of salmoncoming up dated1860 and 1891,showing fishermen with their the river to the lake.Most likely thesewould have catchof salmonat Link River (Photos2 and3; Photo beenspring-run Chinook. Kroeber and Barrett (1960) 2 isdated 1860 but mayhave been taken later in the statedthat salmonran up the Klamath into the nineteenthcentury; Judith Hassen, Klamath County Klamathlakes and their tributaries.Gatschet (1890) Museum,pers. comm.). Fortune et al. (1966) andThurow et al.(1997) included the Klamath Upper reportedthat C. E. Bond,professor of fisheriesat Basinas within the rangeof Chinooksalmon at the OregonState University, examined a historicalphoto time of Europeansettlement. Nehlsen et al. (1991) of salmonidsfrom the KlamathUpper Basin and pos- andMoyle (2002) referred to historicaloccurrences of itively identifiedat least one fish as a Chinook fall, spring,and summer races of Chinooksalmon in salmon.We believethis photo may have been Photo the Sprague,Williamson, and Wood riversin the 3 becauseit was available to the author and is the best KlamathUpper Basin. Their accountsare similarto knownphoto from the KlamathUpper Basin with a thoseof Fortuneet al. (1966) and Lane and Lane "salmonfishing" caption. The otherthree fish shown Associates(1981) for the Spragueand Williamson in this photo are clearlysalmonids and likely were rivers.For the ,Nehlsen et al. (1991) and Chinook salmon as well. Moyle(2002) both state that Chinook salmon histor- In a footnote,Snyder (1931) referredto inter- icallyused this drainage.While one referencestates viewshe conductedwith fishermenand long-time thatsalmon did not go up the WoodRiver (cited in residentsof the KlamathLake region to learnof the Spier1930), an accountof Chinooksalmon harvest pastsalmon nms. He reportedthat "testimonywas (RobertScarber, former Klamath Agency Reservation

conflictingand the lackof abilityon the partof those resident,pets. comm., 2004) provides specific informa- offeringinformation to distinguishbetween even tionthat Chinook salmon occurred adjacent to andin troutand salmon was so evident, that no satisfactory the Wood River watershed.The Wood River has and opinioncould be formedas to whetherking salmon continuesto havesuitable water quality and physical ever entered Williamson River and the smaller tribu- habitatto supportanadromous salmonids. Without the taries of the lake. However,this may be, large presenceof fishpassage barriers, salmon undoubtedly numbersof salmonannually passed the pointwhere inhabited this watershed. CopcoDam is now located."No informationis pro- Both springand fall runs were reportedabove vided in Snyder(1931) regardingthe numberof Upper KlamathLake by Spier (1930) and Coots interviews or the effort made to interview fishermen (1962). Fortuneet al. (1966) providedreports and andlong-time residents. personalinterviews that indicatedthe SpragueRiver In contrast, we found numerous historical wasthe mostimportant salmon spawning stream, on accountsand fisheries reports referring to thepresence the basisof testimonyhe received.According to four of salmonin the tributariesto UpperKlamath Lake, peopleinterviewed by Fortuneet al. (1966),salmon in particular,the Williamsonand Spraguerivers. enteredthe WilliamsonRiver in autumn,possibly as Cressmanet al. (1956) reportedarcheological evi- earlyas August. One person interviewed provided the dence of salmon bones from the Kawumkan midden observationthat, aftersalmon passed Link River,it on the SpragueRiver (Figure 1), leadinghim to con- tookthem five or sixdays to maketheir way through cludethat salmonpassed the falls at the southend of KlamathLake before they reached the Williamson. Upper Klamath Lake. Lane and Lane Associates It ispossible that fall-run Chinook reached Upper (1981) providedmultiple accounts of the presenceof KlamathLake and beyond in onlywetter years. The anadromoussalmonids and fishingin Spragueand lowerKlamath River fall run (belowIron Gate Dam) Williamsonrivers. This reportwas done under con- isgenerally from August to October/Novemberwhen tract for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1980s. flowsand depths are often lowest for the year(Myers Interviews were included in Lane and Lane Associates et al. 1998).Successful fish passage through the high (1981) to ensurethat a recordof anadromousfish gradientCaldera reach for large-bodied,fall-run presenceand the fisheryon the Tribalreservation in Chinookmay have been problematic during certain theKlamath Upper Basin was maintained. In excerpts years.This low waterpassage difficuky was noted a from50 interviews,conducted in the 1940s,members shortdistance upstream at Kenoin the KlamathFalls of the Klamath Tribe and older non-Indian settlers in EveningHerald (1908). Spring-run Chinook salmon, the regionprovided accounts of numeroussalmon on the other hand,have a N-modal run distribution

14 Fisheries I www.fisheries.org I vol _30no 4 that spreadsfrom April to August.The smallersized, stemchannels, and that the true farthest upstream dis- spring-runChinook (their average weight was 5 kgor tributionwas probably above the siteswhere these 11lbs. according to Snyder1931) encountered higher fisheriestook place. springflows and wouldhave been able to passthe Calderareach. However, salmon runs to the Klamath Steelhead UpperBasin undoubtedly had a fall-runcomponent as evidencedby the size of salmon harvested (up to 27 kg PresencesInformationcited here that provides or 60 pounds)and the timingof spawningnoted in evidencefor the presenceof steelheadabove the cur- rent site of Iron Gate Dam includes 11 documents or Lane and Lane Associates(1981). Extentof UpstreamDistribution The extentof reportsand 1 personalcommunication. Other personal upstreamdistribution we foundfor Chinooksalmon communicationsregarding steelhead above Iron Gate Dam are referenced in Lane and Lane Associates isshown in Figure1. Chinooksalmon utilized habitat in the SpragueRiver in the vicinityof Bly,, (1981).One reportstated there was not enoughinfor- mation to conclude that steelhead accessed the andfurther upstream. Fortune et al. (1966)reported that Chinook salmonspawned in the mainstem KlamathUpper Basin. SpragueRiver; upstream on the SouthFork of the BLM et al. (1995) includesa photocaptioned Spragueabove Bly to the headwaters;and on the "Fishingfor steelheadon SpencerCreek...around North Forkof the Spragueas well (Figure1). Lane 1900"from the photo collectionof the Anderson and Lane Associates(1981) providedseveral inde- Family,descendents of Hiram Spencer, an eadysettler pendenttestimonies that put the farthestupstream in the SpencerCreek area. Fortune et al. (1966)cited distributionof salmonfor the SpragueRiver in the a brochurefrom Southern Pacific Railroad, published vicinityof Bly,Oregon. It shouldbe noted that testi- in 1911, that referredspecifically to the harvestof monies from Tribal members in Lane and Lane steelheadat the mouthof ShovelCreek (Figure 1). Associates(1981) were oriented toward harvest of adult salmon,which was restrictedto within the reservationboundary, also located near Bly. Their Photo 2. reportcontained little informationon the extentof Link River anadromoussalmonids in the Sprague River salmon upstreamof the reservationboundary. For the "ishing" around WilliamsonRiver, both Spier(1930) and Laneand 1860. Site

LaneAssociates (1981) listedthe farthestupstream of present distributionof salmonas beingthe fallsbelow the Klamath outletto KlamathMarsh (Figure 1). Falls. We notethat accounts of Chinookharvest in gen- eral are basedupon fisheriesthat took place in locationsconvenient for harvest,primarily in main-

Photo 3. Gentlemen displaytheir catchwhile salmonfishing on the rapidsof LinkRiver, 1891.

April 2005 I www. fisheries.org I Fisheries 15 Extentof UpstreamDistribution The extentof In 1911,881 femalecoho were captured at the upstreamdistribution we foundfor steelheadis shown KlamathonRacks egg-taking facility about 8 kmdown- in Figure1. CaliforniaDepartment of Fishand Game streamfrom the currentIron Gate Dam site (CDFG (CDFG)files include records of steelheadspawning in 2002).Coho salmon are generally tributary spawners, CampCreek up to 1.6km (onemile) upstremnfrom andthe only sizable tributary between the Klamathon the Californiastate line, in at leastone Camp Creek Racksarea and Iron Gate Dam is BogusCreek. It is tributaryapproximately 0.8 km (0.5 mile)downstream unlikely that all thesespawning fish would have been fromthe Californiastate line, and in nearbyScotch destinedfor Bogus Creek and probable that a signifi- Creek(Dennis Maria, CDFG, pers.comm.). Wright cant portionof the returnwas destined for tributaries (1954)and King et al. (1977)also reported that steel- above the current site of Iron Gate Dam. NOAA headspawned in CampCreek prior to theconstruction Fisheries estimated that within the Klamath River of Iron Gate Dam. Basin, the constructionof Iron Gate Dam blocked Coots (1957, 1962) discussedsteelhead in Fall accessto approximately48 km (30 miles)of mainstem Creek.According to Puckettet al. (1966), steelhead habitat,about 8% of the historicalcoho salmon habitat werepresent as far upstreamas Link River,but their in the entireKlamath River Basin (NMFS 1997). presenceabove Upper Klamath Lake could not be doc- Extent of UpstreamDistribution The NOAA umented. However, Kroeber and Barrett (1960), Fisheriesesumate of the lossof approximately48 km Nehlsen et al. (1991), Lane and Lane Associates (30 miles)of mainstemcoho salmon habitat above Iron (1981),Thurow et al. (1997),and Moyle (2002) all GateDam would put the species' upper distribution in referto steelheadaccessing the Klamath Upper Basin. thevicinity of the J. C. Boylepowerhouse (Table 1 and Fortuneet al. (1966)states that due to thedifficulty in Figure1; NMFS 1997).Another report put the histori- cal occurrenceof coho salmonin the Klamath River as differentiatingsteelhead from large (or redbandtrout, Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus), accurate far upstreamas the mouthof LowerKlamath Lake (IMST 2003).However, the reportby Moyle(2002) informationon the historyof steelheadmigrations in statingthat cohosalmon once ascended the Klamath the KlamathUpper Basin was impossible to obtain. River and its tributariesat leastas far upstreamas However,Fortune et al. (1%6) alsostated that there KlamathFalls, Oregon, is an errorresulting from the wasenough agreement from interviewsconducted to author'simprecise use of zoogeographicboundaries derivesome general information. Included in thisgen- eral haformation were accounts of steelhead in the (PeterMoyle, University of CaliforniaDavis, pers. comm.).To the bestof his knowledge,there are no Wood,Sprague, and Williamson rivers. recordsof cohoin theKlamath Upper Basin. Generally,in watershedswhere both Chinook Given this information about the distribution of salmonand steelhead are present, the rangeof steel- cohosalmon in themainstem Klamath River, the fact headis the same if notgreater. The reportsabove, the thatcoho are generally tributary spawners, our knowl- overlappingdistribution for the two speciesin most edgeof theirrearing and spawning habitat, and the watersheds,and the fact that Chinook salmonwere characteristicsof variousKlamath River tributaries,we presentin theKlamath Upper Basin are substantial evi- concludethat coho salmon would have used Spencer dencethat steelhead were also present in tributariesto Creek,a medium-sized,low-gradient tributary, with UpperKlamath Lake. suitablespawning habitat. Side channel and beaver Coho Salmon pondareas in SpencerCreek would also have provided rearinghabitat for this species. Thus, we reason that the PresencesInformationcited here that providesfarthest upstream distribution of cohosalmon likely evidencefor the presenceof cohosalmon above the extendedat leastto thisvicinity. current site of Iron Gate Dam includesfive documents or reportsand onepersonal communication. Snyder Anadromous Pacific Lamprey (1931)stated that "[s]ilver salmon are said to migrate to Presence•We found two documents,but no theheadwaters of the Klamath to spawn.Nothing def- personalcommunications, that providedevidence initewas learned about them from this inquiry because for the presenceof Pacificlamprey above the cur- mostpeople are unable to distinguishthem." At the rentsite of Iron Gate Dam.Coots (1957) reported time, he saidthere waslittle interestin cohobecause that Lampetratridentata entered Fall Creek, which Chinooksalmon were so much larger and more abun- now flows into Iron Gate Reservoir. Literature refer- dant.Fortune et al. (1%6) didnot discusscoho salmon. encesto Pacificlamprey in the KlamathUpper However, Coots (1957, 1962) and the California Basinprior to the constructkinof downstreamdams Departmentof WaterResources (1964) reported that (Gilbert 1898; Evermannand Meek 1897) may cohosalmon spawned in FallCreek, which now flows have appliedto a resident,non-anadromous taxon into Iron Gate Reservoir. Prior to construction of Iron of uncertain systematic status (Stewart Reid, Gate Dmn,the confluenceof JennyCreek with the USFWS, pers. comm. 2004). Gilbert (1898) mainstem Klamath River was well known by fishing reporteda "young"specimen that measured26 cm guidesas one of the best places in theupper river to fish in length.Lampreys of thissize correspond with the forcoho (Table 1 andFigure 1; Kent Bulfinch, Klamath largerlamprey taxon still encounteredin Upper RiverBasin Task Force representative, pers. comm.). Klamath Lake, but are considerablysmaller than

16 Fisheries I www. fisheries.org I vol 30 no 4 anadromousadults in the Klamath River (Kan 1975; Lorion et al. Sockeyesalmon require a lakefor rearing.The onlypotential lake 2000). The current lampreytaxon in Upper Klamath Lake was rearinghabitat in the KlamathRiver system accessible to anadro- recognizedas a distinctsubspecies of L. tr/dentataby Kan (1975) mousfish would have been Upper Klamath Lake, Lower Klamath in hisunpublished dissertation, and as "non-anadromous" L. tr/- Lake,or BuckLake (in the upperreaches of SpencerCreek before dentam in Lotion et al. (2000) due to the lack of a formal beingdrained, Figure 1). LowerKlamath Lake wasprobably too systematicrevision of the Klamath lampreys.Mitochondrial shallowto providesuitable rearing habitat for sockeyesalmon, DNA analysishas shown no evidenceof contemporaryanadro- but someauthors (Fry 1973; Behnke1987) believethat a small mousPacific lamprey populations in the KlamathUpper Basin or run of sockeyemay have occurredto UpperKlamath Lake, until SpencerCreek (Lorion et al. 2000;Margaret Docker, Great eliminatedby dams.However, Snyder (1931) reportedthat no Institutefor EnvironmentalResearch, pers. comm. 2004). evidencesubstantiated the statementof Jordanand Evermann This taxGnomic confusion would have made it difficult to dis- (1896) that sockeyesalmon occur in the Klamath River, and tinguish anadromousPacific lamprey from resident taxa. Moyle (2002) statedthat individualanadromous sockeye found in However,anadromous Pacific lampreycurrently occur through- streamssouth of the Columbiasystem are probably non-spawning out the mainstemand principaltributaries of the lowerKlamath straysor kokanee(the landlockedform of sockeye)that went out River and fish fauna are generallyconsidered to be similar to sea.At any rate, if anadromoussockeye were present histori- throughoutthe mainstemKlamath River upstreamto Spencer cally,they havebeen extirpated. Creek. Historically,there were no physicalbarriers that would It is notablethat kokaneesalmon currently are observedin haveprevented anadromous lampreys from migrating above Iron Upper Klamath Lake (Logan and Markle 1993), especiallyin Gate Dam (StewartReid, USFWS, pers.comm.). springson the west side of the lake (Bill Tinniswood,ODFW, Extent of Upstream Distribution--Kroeber and Barrett pers.comm.). These are believedto be fish that have drifted (1960) reportedthat Pacificlamprey ascended to the Klamath downstreamfrom the FourMile Lake population,introduced in Lakes, based on the accounts of Native Americans (Table 1, the 1950sor before(Bill Tinniswood,ODFW, pers.comm.; Roger Figure 1). While the difficulty in distinguishinganadromous Smith, ODFW, pers.comm.). Pacificlamprey from Klamath Upper Basin resident lamprey taxa Green Sturgeon To the bestof our knowledgethere is no bringsthis account into question,we notethat the historicaldis- evidencefor the distributionof nativesturgeon above the current tributionof Pacificlamprey in the Columbiaand Snake rivers was locationof Iron Gate Dam. ChuckTracy (ODFW, pers.comm.) coincident wherever salmon occurred(Simpson and Wallace statedthat the upstreamlimit of distributionappears to be Ishi- 1978). Wydoskiand Whitney (2003) statedthat Pacificlampreys Pishi Falls (near the confluenceof the Klamath River and the occurlong distancesinland in the Columbiaand Yakimariver SalmonRiver) on the KlamathRiver. Moyle (2002) mentioneda greensturgeon spawning site in the KlamathRiver approximately

systems.Pacific lamprey still migratewell upstreamto at leastthe SnakeRiver (ChristopherClaire, IdahoDepartment of Fishand Game, pers. comm.) and Idaho's Clearwater River drainage (Cochnauerand Claire 2002). Current limits to the distribution of Pacificlampreys in the ColumbiaRiver systemare at Chief JosephDam on the mainstemColumbia and Hells CanyonDam on the Snake River (Close et al. 1995). Both of thesedams are well over 800 km (500 miles) upstreamfrom the ocean and Pacificlamprey distribution may have extended further upstream prior to the constructionof thesedams, which have no fish pas- sagefacilities. On the , Pacific lampreywere historicallyable to passupstream at WillametteFalls with winter steelheadand Chinook salmon(USDI 2003). The extent of Pacific lampreymigrations in other coastal rivers,their generalcongruence with anadromoussalmonid dis- tributions,the historicalabsence of lampreypassage barriers in the mainstemKlamath River, and the homogeneityof the lower Klamath River fish fauna throughoutthe mainstemKlamath upstreamto SpencerCreek suggest that, historically,anadromous Pacificlamprey would likely have migrated up the KlamathRiver pastwhere Iron Gate Dam nowexists and that their upstreamdis- tributionextended to at leastSpencer Creek. Other Anadromous Species SockeyeSalmon-- There issome evidence that a run of sock- eye salmonmay have occurredin the KlamathRiver abovethe current location of Iron Gate Dam. The southernmost distribu- tion of sockeye(Oncorhynchus nerka) in North America is recordedas the Klamath River (Jordanand Evermann1896; Scott and Crossman1973). Cobb (1930) reportedthat 20 sock- eye were taken in the Klamath River in the autumnof 1915.

April 2005 I www. fisheries.org I Fisheries 17 208 km (129 miles)below Iron Gate Dam. Sturgeonare known location of Iron Gate Dam. The distribution of chum salmon is to spawnin the SalmonRiver, a tributaryto the lowerKlamath generallylimited to lower river reaches(Scott and Crossman River, which flows into the Klamath River about 201 km (124 1973).Small runs of thisspecies still maintainthemselves in the miles)below Iron Gate Dam.Kroeber and Barrett (1960) put the lowerKlamath River (Moyle 2002). upstream-mostdistribution of sturgeonin the samevicinity. In somehistorical accounts there are references to dogsalmon While somegreen sturgeon may presentlymigrate beyond the in the Upper KlamathRiver Basin.Dog salmonis a commonref- confluenceof the Salmonand Klamath rivers, they are the excep- erence used for chum salmon in the Pacific Northwest and tion ratherthan the rule (TomShaw, USFWS, pers.comm.). Alaska.However, the commonname dog salmon was also applied Gilbert(1898) reported that green sturgeon were not observed to Chinook salmonin the Klamath River in early accounts in Upper Klamath Lake. The currentsmall population of stur- (Snyder1931; Lane and Lane Associates1981). Hence,there geon in Upper KlamathLake is derivedfrom white sturgeon mayhave been confusion as to the upstreamdistribution of chum salmon in the Klamath River. (Acipensertransmontanus) introduced in 1956 (ODFW 1997). Eulachon To the bestof our knowledgethere is no evidence Pink Salmon--Tothe bestof our knowledgethere is no evi- of the distribution of eulachon above the current location of Iron dence for the distributionof pink salmon (Onchorynchus gorbuscha)above the currentlocation of Iron Gate Dam.The dis- Gate Dam. Eulachonare usuallyrestricted to spawningin lower tributionof pink salmonis generally limited to lowerriver reaches river reaches(Scott and Crossman1973). Accountsof (Scottand Crossman1973). Small numbers of pink salmonhave Tribal elders indicate that eulachon utilized the lower Klamath beenreported in the lowerKlamath River (Moyle 2002). Riverfor spawning at leastas far upstreamas 40 km (rivermile 25; Larsonand Belchik1998). Historically abundant, they maynow Conclusions be extirpatedin the KlamathRiver (Larsonand Belchik1998). Cutthroat Trout--Typically,coastal cutthroat do not occur more than about 160 km (100 miles) from the coast (Behnke We found numeroussources of informationregarding the occurrenceof Chinook salmon, steelhead,coho salmon, and 1992).There areno accountsof cutthroatin the KlamathUpper Pacificlamprey above the currentlocation of Iron Gate Dam on Basin.Considering the multiple life historystrategies cutthroat the KlamathRiver. We are not awareof anycredible reports that exhibit,had they been present above Iron Gate Dam historically, thesespecies did not migratebeyond this point. For Chinook there wouldlikely be residentpopulations in the upperbasin or salmonand steelhead, we found one report for each species stating other tributaries above the dam. there was not enough informationto say definitivelythey Chum Salmon To the bestof our knowledgethere is no evi- migratedinto the KlamathUpper Basin.In contrast,we found dence for the distributionof chum salmon,above the current

severallines of evidencethat clearly showed that Chinook salmon historicallymigrated to the KlamathUpper Basin. A determina- tion of the upstreamextent of distributionfor steelhead,coho salmon,and Pacificlamprey was more difficult. However, avail- able documentation indicates that steelhead accessedhabitat in the tributariesof Upper KlamathLake as well. Pacificlamprey probablyaccessed habitat upstream at leastto SpencerCreek and possiblybeyond, as did cohosalmon. There is limitedevidence that a smallrun of sockeyesalmon may have accessedhabitat in UpperKlamath Lake or BuckLake. Green sturgeon distribution extendedupstream to the vicinityof the SalmonRiver in the mid- KlamathRiver portionof the watershed.Chum salmon,pink salmon,eulachon, and cutthroat trout were limited to the lower Klamath River, well belowthe currentlocation of Iron Gate Dam. This documentationresolves a great deal of the uncertainty regardingwhich species were present above Iron Gate Dam and the extent of their upstreamdistribution, both key to realizing fisheriesrestoration opportunities. •

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the followingwho providedconstructive comments,review, and/or contributions•WillliamBettenberg, MistyBradford, Greg Bryant, Mark Buettner,Tim Canaday,Emily Castro, Phil Detrich, David Diamond, Kurt Drefiak, Larry Dunsmoor,Steve Edmondson,Sharon Ellis, John Engbring, CharleenGavette, Judith Hassen, Akimi King, the Klamath County HistoricalSociety, the KlamathCounty Museum,Ron Larson, Willa Nehlsen,Jenny Peterson, Mark Pisano,Jim Whelan,Jack Williams,and four anonymous reviewers.

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20 F•sheries I www. fisheries.org I vol 30 no 4