KRIS edition Lower-Middle Klamath Watershed Analysis United States Department of Agriculture Six Rivers National Forest Forest Service Orleans Ranger District Pacific Version 1.0 Southwest Region R5-MB-011 March 2003 Early Forest Service fire patrol plane. The first plane to land in Orleans, California circa 1920. This page intentionally left blank. Lower-Middle Klamath Watershed Analysis Version 1.0 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Six Rivers National Forest Orleans Ranger District Located within Humboldt County, Klamath Province, CA March 2003 Cover Photo: This photo was taken during a 4th of July celebration in the town of Orleans at the heart of the Lower-Middle Klamath Analysis area. In showing a group of Karuk elders and other townspeople posed in front of what was then the most modern piece of fire fighting equipment, it depicts several features related to the historical or reference condition of the Lower-Middle Klamath area. Within the photo are individuals who likely knew the time before Europeans arrived in Orleans and who witnessed the start of the modern fire suppression era. For Additional Information Contact: Six Rivers National Forest 1330 Bayshore Way Eureka, CA 95501 707-442-1721 Text (TTY) 707-442-1721 Voice http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sixrivers The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (“Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (Voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call 202- 720-5964 (Voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. List of Preparers LIST OF PREPARERS INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS TEAM: Bill Heitler, District Ranger Tony Hacking, Wildlife Biologist and Team Leader LeRoy Cyr, Fisheries Biologist Gene Graber, Recreation Planner Jennie Heberly, Transportation Planner Kathy Heffner McClellan, Social Analyst Carolyn Cook, Hydrologist Lisa Hoover, Botanist Tom Jimerson, Ecologist Kathy Barger-McCovey, Archaeologist Stan Pfister, Fire and Fuels Specialist Lucy Salazar, Fire and Fuels Specialist, Air Coordinator Mark Smith, Geologist Kirk Terrill, Timber Planner Alfredo Zarate, Recreation Planner Ken Wright, Forest Analyst / GIS Specialist Bud Zangger, Transportation Planner WITH ASSISTANCE FROM: Tara Collins, Botany Biological Technician Pat Britton, Botany Biological Technician George Albert, GIS Specialist / Cartographer Bob Hemus, Recreation Technician Steve Robinson, Fisheries Technician Corrine Black, Hydrologist Laura Fay, Americorps Intern Eric Zoellner, GIS Intern WRITER/EDITORS: Tony Hacking, Wildlife Biologist Tom Leskiw, Hydrology Technician Sean Thomas, GIS Data Steward Lower-Middle Klamath Watershed Analysis i This page intentionally left blank. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF PREPARERS ..............................................................................................................i TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................xi INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................1 Watershed Analysis Overview............................................................................................1 Purpose..............................................................................................................................1 Factors Driving this Watershed Analysis............................................................................1 Document Organization ......................................................................................................2 Step 1 – Characterization...................................................................................................2 Step 2 – Issues and Key Questions: ..................................................................................2 Step 3 – Current Conditions...............................................................................................2 Step 4 – Reference Conditions ..........................................................................................2 Step 5 – Interpretation........................................................................................................3 Step 6 – Recommendations...............................................................................................3 An Iterative Process ............................................................................................................3 1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ANALYSIS AREA ..........................................................1-1 Watershed Setting ............................................................................................................1-1 Geography ......................................................................................................................1-1 Climate ............................................................................................................................1-1 Geology...........................................................................................................................1-2 Management Areas.........................................................................................................1-2 Vegetation and Fire ..........................................................................................................1-5 Vegetation Management .................................................................................................1-5 Vegetation Composition ..................................................................................................1-6 Sensitive, Rare and Survey and Manage Plant Species.................................................1-9 Noxious Weeds .............................................................................................................1-10 Riparian-Dependent Plant Species ...............................................................................1-10 Forest Products.............................................................................................................1-11 Timber Harvest ..........................................................................................................1-11 Vegetative Special Forest Products ..........................................................................1-11 Fire ................................................................................................................................1-11 Fire/Fuels Management.............................................................................................1-12 Water Quality and Fisheries ..........................................................................................1-13 Hydrologic Regime........................................................................................................1-13 Watershed Management...............................................................................................1-14 Aquatic Conservation Strategy ..................................................................................1-14 Wild and Scenic Designation.....................................................................................1-14 Fisheries Management..................................................................................................1-14 Endangered Species Act ...........................................................................................1-19 Threatened and Endangered Fish.............................................................................1-19 Forest Service Sensitive Fish ....................................................................................1-19 Magnuson-Stevens Act .............................................................................................1-20 Klamath Act ...............................................................................................................1-20 Terrestrial Wildlife Species............................................................................................1-21 Wildlife Management.....................................................................................................1-21 Threatened and Endangered Wildlife ........................................................................1-21 Lower-Middle Klamath Watershed Analysis iii Table of Contents Forest Service Sensitive Wildlife ...............................................................................1-22 Survey and Manage Species.....................................................................................1-22 Cavity-Nesting Birds and Bat Roosts ........................................................................1-23 Management Indicator Species .................................................................................1-23