State of California The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME RESTORATION OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN TROUT IN THE SOUTH FORK KERN RIVER, KERN PLATEAU, TULARE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, 1966-2004, WITH REFERENCE TO GOLDEN TROUT CREEK By E. P. (Phil) Pister, Inland Deserts Region, Retired CALIFORNIA GOLDEN TROUT Central Region Administrative Report No. 2008-1 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................. 2 The Beginning..................................................................................................... 2 EARLY WARNINGS ....................................................................................................... 5 THE PLAN ...................................................................................................................... 6 WATERSHED RESTORATION ...................................................................................... 8 THE FIRST FISH BARRIER AND EARLY BROWN TROUT CONTROL....................... 8 1976 – THE MAJOR PROJECT BEGINS..................................................................... 10 TEMPLETON AND SCHAEFFER BARRIERS............................................................. 12 1977 -1979 – HOLDING THE LINE .............................................................................. 16 1980 -1983 – MAJOR CHEMICAL TREATMENTS AND BEGINNING OF MONITORING............................................................................................................... 18 1984 – 1994 – THE PROJECT CONTINUES, BUT OTHER PROBLEMS ARE ENCOUNTERED .......................................................................................................... 21 THE STRAWBERRY CONNECTION ........................................................................... 23 1995 – 2004 – RIPARIAN FENCING AND HABITAT ENHANCEMENT...................... 23 GOLDEN TROUT SYSTEMATICS ............................................................................... 24 GOLDEN TROUT AND SACRAMENTO SUCKERS.................................................... 26 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 26 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... 28 LITERATURE CITED.................................................................................................... 30 APPENDIX 1. Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring, Brown Trout Control Program, South Fork Kern River, Sept. 1976. Sally E. Stefferud .......... 33 APPENDIX 2. Brown Trout Control Program, South Fork Kern River, 1976. Marilyn Myers........................................................................................ 58 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page APPENDIX 3. Brown Trout Control Program, South Fork Kern River, 1977. Mignon Shumway................................................................................. .69 APPENDIX 4. Reintroduction of Golden Trout into South Fork Kern River below Tunnel Meadows, 1983. E. P. Pister........................................... 77 APPENDIX 5. Golden Trout Monitoring in Templeton and Ramshaw Meadows, 1984. Mignon Shumway ...................................................... 80 APPENDIX 6. Brown Trout Eradication Project, South Fork Kern River and Lower Portions of Tributaries between Templeton and Schaeffer Barriers, Tulare County, August 25-30, 1985. E. P. Pister .................... 86 APPENDIX 7. Brown Trout Eradication Project, South Fork Kern River and Lower Portions of Tributaries between Templeton and Schaeffer Barriers, Tulare County, September 14-18, 1987. Curtis Milliron ........................................................................................ 92 APPENDIX 8. Summary of Field Work and Studies, 1999-2004. Christy McGuire ....... 95 FIGURES AND TABLE Page FIGURE 1. Map of project area............................................................................................... 3 2. Howard Shainberg with large brown trout taken from SFKR near Tunnel Guard Station in September 1969. ....................................................................... 6 3. SFKR in Ramshaw Meadow during cattle grazing, September 1979 ................... 7 4. SFKR in Ramshaw Meadow during cattle grazing, September 1979 ................... 7 5. SFKR in Ramshaw Meadow after removal of cattle, September 2005 ................. 8 6. Forest Service crews armoring meadow erosion headcuts. October 1983........... 8 7. Ramshaw fish barrier. The willow conceals a ten-foot drop to the SFKR below, as indicated by the person (CDFG engineer Ted Van de Sande) standing in front of the fall. The barrier had not yet “sealed” to allow water to flow over the barrier to the stream below. September 1970 ............................ 9 iii FIGURES (continued) Page FIGURE 8. Tunnel, Ramshaw, and Templeton meadows, aerial view from northwest to southeast orientation: September 26, 1979....................................................... 11 9. INF biologist Jerry Stefferud standing atop temporary Templeton fish barrier, constructed in mid-1970s by INF. October 1977 ............................ 13 10. Decomposed granite accumulation above Templeton Barrier. October 1980 .... 13 11. CDFG biologist Darrell Wong electrofishing below Templeton gabion barrier completed in 1980. August 1985 ........................................................................ 14 12. Schaeffer Barrier showing gabion basket construction completed 1983. September 1983................................................................................................. 14 13. Helicopter lowering concrete stabilization blocks onto Templeton Barrier apron. October 1988. Photo courtesy of INF ...................................................... 15 14. Templeton concrete fish barrier when completed in 1996. October 1996.......... 16 15. Schaeffer Barrier showing collapsed center section, circa 1999. Photo by Christy McGuire................................................................................... 17 16. Schaeffer concrete fish barrier when completed in 2003. Photo courtesy of California Department of Water Resources ........................................................ 17 17. CDFG biologist Don Sada charging 55-gallon antimycin 24-hour siphon drip station SFKR at Tunnel Meadows. October 1977........................................ 18 18. Rotenone constant-flow drip station on SFKR in Ramshaw Meadow. September 1981................................................................................................. 19 19. Rotenone constant-flow drip station on Four Canyons Stringer. September 1981................................................................................................. 19 20. Restocking SFKR and tributaries by helicopter from Tunnel Meadow. September 1983. CDFG biologist Randy Benthin in right foreground ............... 20 21. CDFG biologist Darrell Wong restocking SFKR and tributaries by packstock. October 1981...................................................................................................... 20 TABLE 1. Chronology of South Fork Kern River Chemical Treatments................................. 10 iv RESTORATION OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN TROUT IN THE SOUTH FORK KERN RIVER, KERN PLATEAU, TULARE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, 1966-2004, WITH REFERENCE TO GOLDEN TROUT CREEK1 By E. P. (Phil) Pister From primal shores down ages dimly past You fled your salt tide for our rendezvous. What geologic eons nurtured you In utter isolation where, at last, You shed the steelhead, then the rainbow cast To match the sunset, don its aureate hue? Across your parr-mark shines the yellow spew Of clouds embroiled on mountains dim and vast. An errant soul, enamored of your spell, Beholds the ancient miracles in store Where meadowlands bear sun-reflecting dreams. By devious ways, in ages none can tell, I, too, migrated from a primal shore To win perfection in your golden streams. Ardis M. Walker ABSTRACT This paper describes a major recovery effort for California golden trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita, started in 1966 and still in progress, to remove an invasion of brown trout and hybrid goldenxrainbow that had invaded and spread throughout the South Fork Kern River drainage and nearly caused extinction of the California State Fish and namesake of Inyo National Forest’s Golden Trout Wilderness. The paper condenses and presents an historic and joint effort by the California Department of Fish and Game and Inyo National Forest involving construction of major fish barriers, application of piscicides to more that 100 miles of stream to remove invading fishes, restocking of native fishes, habitat restoration, and reduction of grazing levels and resting of grazing allotments to allow physical recovery of trout habitat. Continuing research by geneticists will allow us to better understand the golden trout resource and its future. The recovery effort almost certainly represents the most extensive such project ever undertaken for a fish, either freshwater or marine. 1 Central Region Administrative Report No. 2008-1. Submitted by E. P. (Phil) Pister, retired, 437 East South Street, Bishop, CA 93514. All photos by author unless otherwise indicated. Map (Figure 1) drawn by J. Erdman, CDFG. - 2 - BACKGROUND The story of evolution and management of California golden trout (Oncorhynchus