KRIS edition Watershed Analysis for Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks Watershed Analysis For Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks Almanor Ranger District Lassen National Forest Prepared By The Watershed Analysis Team: Scott Armentrout Howard Brown Susan Chappell Mignon Everett-Brown JoAnn Fites Judy Forbes Melanie McFarland Jules Riley Ken Roby Anita Villalovos Roger Walden Diane Watts Michael R. Williams Watershed Analysis for Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks TABLE OF CONTENTS WATERSHED ANALYSIS SUMMARY................................... 1 I. Introduction .................................................................................................................1 II. Environmental Setting................................................................................................ 3 III. Historical Setting ...................................................................................................... 5 IV. Issues and Questions................................................................................................. 9 IV.1. Anadromous Fish (Populations and Habitats) ................................................ 11 IV.2. Native Fish Assemblages................................................................................. 14 IV.3. Late Seral Vegetation, Old Growth, Spotted Owls and other Old Growth Dependent Species.................................................................................................... 15 IV.4. Economic and Social Outputs......................................................................... 17 IV.5. Cultural and Heritage Resources .................................................................... 17 IV.6. Reductions in Aquatic-Dependent Herpetile Species Populations................. 18 IV.7. Eastern Tehama Deer Herd............................................................................. 19 IV.8. Changes in Vegetation and Fire Regime ........................................................ 19 IV.9. Changes in Flow Regime, Especially Baseflow............................................. 21 IV.10. Changes in Erosion Regime.......................................................................... 22 IV.11. Changes in Human Uses................................................................................ 25 IV.12. Changes in channel condition, and levels of nearstream disturbance ........... 26 IV.13. Soil Productivity ............................................................................................ 27 V. Recommendations.................................................................................................... 27 V.1. Long Term Strategy .......................................................................................... 28 V.2. Roadless Areas.................................................................................................. 28 V.3. Roads................................................................................................................. 28 V.4. Erosion Control................................................................................................. 29 V.5. Large Woody Debris (LWD) ............................................................................ 30 V.6. Heritage and Cultural Resources....................................................................... 30 V.7. Fire and Vegetation Management..................................................................... 31 V.8. Range Management........................................................................................... 31 V.9. Tehama Deer Herd............................................................................................ 31 V.10. Recreation ....................................................................................................... 31 V.11. Lands (exchange opportunities)...................................................................... 32 V.12. Additional Cooperative Efforts....................................................................... 32 V.13. Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas (RHCAs) ............................................. 32 V.14. Monitoring ...................................................................................................... 36 V.15. Riparian Management Objectives & Watershed Management Objectives.... 37 Acknowledgments......................................................................................................... 41 References Cited ........................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX A WATERSHED GEOLOGY ........................... A-1 REGIONAL SETTING .............................................................................................. A-1 LOCAL GEOLOGY................................................................................................... A-1 GEOMORPHOLOGY ................................................................................................ A-2 FEATURES UNIQUE TO THE MILL CREEK WATERSHED .............................. A-2 i Watershed Analysis for Mill, Deer, and Antelope Creeks APPENDIX B - SOILS.................................................................. B-3 Introduction................................................................................................................. B-3 DEER CREEK............................................................................................................ B-3 Current Conditions...................................................................................................... B-5 APPENDIX C - WILDLIFE ANALYSIS........................................ C-8 PART I: Introduction ................................................................................................. C-9 PART II: Species of Concern or at Risk.................................................................. C-11 PART III: Management Indicator Species............................................................... C-19 Other MIS ............................................................................................................. C-21 PART IV: Habitats of the analysis area................................................................... C-22 PART V: Conclusion ............................................................................................... C-24 SOURCES CITED.................................................................................................... C-24 APPENDIX D - AQUATIC SPECIES REPORT............................. D-1 CHARACTERIZATION ............................................................................................ D-1 Anadromous Salmonids.......................................................................................... D-2 Anadromous Habitat Character and Distribution ................................................... D-7 CURRENT AND REFERENCE CONDITIONS....................................................... D-8 Anadromous Fish Population Numbers, Range and Distribution........................... D-8 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... D-13 APPENDIX E -ANADROMOUS FISH HABITAT ......................... E-1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................E-1 UPSTREAM ADULT MIGRATION (timing)............................................................E-3 HABITAT CONDITIONS (upstream migration)........................................................E-5 HABITAT RANGE/DISTRIBUTION (Migration, holding and spawning) ...............E-6 HABITAT CONDITIONS.........................................................................................E-13 SPAWNING AND INTERGRAVEL HABITAT .....................................................E-20 JUVENILE REARING..............................................................................................E-22 OUTMIGRATION ....................................................................................................E-24 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................E-24 Personal Communications .....................................................................................E-27 Attachment 1 – spring-run migration timing .............................................................E-29 Attachment 2 – steelhead migration timing...............................................................E-30 Attachment 3 – spring-run migration timing .............................................................E-31 Attachment 4 – water exchange agreement ...............................................................E-32 Attachment 6 – habitat typing reaches.......................................................................E-35 APPENDIX F - RIPARIAN-DEPENDENT HERPETILES ............. F-1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................F-1 Recent Surveys.............................................................................................................F-2 Cascades Frog ..........................................................................................................F-3 Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog ..................................................................................F-4 Western Pond Turtle ................................................................................................F-5 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................F-6