NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS T O F C E N O M M T M R E A R P C E E D FEBRUARY 2011 U N A I C T I E R D E M ST A AT E S OF HISTORICAL OCCURRENCE OF COHO SALMON (Oncorhynchus kisutch) IN STREAMS OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN REGION OF CALIFORNIA: RESPONSE TO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PETITION TO DELIST COHO SALMON SOUTH OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY Brian C. Spence Walter G. Duffy John Carlos Garza Bret C. Harvey Susan M. Sogard Laurie A. Weitkamp Thomas H. Williams and David A. Boughton NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-472 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), organized in 1970, has evolved into an agency that establishes national policies and manages and conserves our oceanic, coastal, and atmospheric resources. An organizational element within NOAA, the Office of Fisheries is responsible for fisheries policy and the direction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In addition to its formal publications, the NMFS uses the NOAA Technical Memorandum series to issue informal scientific and technical publications when complete formal review and editorial processing are not appropriate or feasible. Documents within this series, however, reflect sound professional work and may be referenced in the formal scientific and technical literature. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS This TM series is used for documentation and timely communication of preliminary results, interim reports, or special purpose information. The TMs have not received complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed editing. FEBRUARY 2011 HISTORICAL OCCURRENCE OF COHO SALMON (Oncorhynchus kisutch) IN STREAMS OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN REGION OF CALIFORNIA: RESPONSE TO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PETITION TO DELIST COHO SALMON SOUTH OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY Brian C. Spence1,Walter G. Duffy2, John Carlos Garza1, Bret C. Harvey3, Susan M. Sogard1, Laurie A. Weitkamp4, Thomas H. Williams1, and David A. Boughton1 1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries Ecology Division 110 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, California 95060 2 U.S. Geological Survey, California Cooperative Research Unit, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California 3 U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Arcata, California 4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Conservation Biology Program, Newport, Oregon NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-472 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Gary F. Locke, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere National Marine Fisheries Service Eric C. Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Executive summary....................................................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Central California Coast Coho Salmon listing history ......................................................... 1 1.2 Overview of petition to delist coho salmon south of San Francisco..................................... 2 1.3 Purpose of the BRT report .................................................................................................... 4 2. Original (1995) ESU boundary definition for CCC Coho Salmon............................................. 7 3. Biological organization and structure of salmon ESUs .............................................................. 9 3.1 Terms .................................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Demographic processes ...................................................................................................... 11 3.3 TRT findings on population structure and demographic processes in the CCC Coho Salmon ESU.............................................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Response to petition............................................................................................................ 14 4. Environmental template and history of the Santa Cruz Mountain region ................................ 19 4.1 Ecosystem characteristics in the Santa Cruz Mountains..................................................... 19 4.2 Environmental history of the Santa Cruz Mountains.......................................................... 25 4.3 Response to petition............................................................................................................ 30 5. History of artificial propagation and release of coho salmon in streams south of San Francisco ....................................................................................................................................................... 35 5.1 Coho salmon stocking history prior to 1906....................................................................... 35 5.2 Stocking of Baker Lake coho salmon: 1906–1910............................................................. 38 5.3 Stocking of coho salmon in Santa Cruz Mountain streams from 1911 to 1941 ................. 39 5.4 Post-1941 hatchery activities .............................................................................................. 41 5.5 Response to petition............................................................................................................ 43 Could coho salmon observed prior to 1906 have been the result of hatchery plantings?.... 43 Could the Baker Lake and subsequent introductions account for coho salmon populations that were present during the 1930s?..................................................................................... 44 6. Genetic data related to the southern boundary of CCC Coho Salmon ..................................... 49 6.1 Genetic datasets .................................................................................................................. 49 Bjorkstedt et al. (2005) ......................................................................................................... 49 Garza and Gilbert-Horvath, unpublished data..................................................................... 51 Garza et al. in prep ............................................................................................................... 52 Bucklin et al. 2007 ................................................................................................................ 53 Garza et al. unpublished....................................................................................................... 54 Pearse et al. in press............................................................................................................. 55 6.2 Summary of inference provided by genetic data ................................................................ 58 iii 6.3 Response to petition............................................................................................................ 59 7. Historical evidence of salmon in streams and rivers south of San Francisco........................... 61 7.1 Early explorations of coastal California fish faunas........................................................... 61 7.2 Taxonomy and nomenclature of Pacific salmonids in the 19th century.............................. 64 7.3 Knowledge of Pacific salmon life histories in the 19th century .......................................... 70 7.4 Evidence of anadromous salmonids in streams south of San Francisco Bay ..................... 71 Evidence prior to 1880.......................................................................................................... 71 The writings of Jordan and Gilbert, 1881–1894 .................................................................. 75 The 1895 Carmel River Expedition....................................................................................... 78 The writings of Jordan and Evermann, 1896–1908.............................................................. 78 Newspaper accounts of salmon in Santa Cruz Mountain streams........................................ 79 7.5 Response to petition............................................................................................................ 79 The writings of David Starr Jordan...................................................................................... 82 Newspaper accounts of Baker Lake coho salmon introduction............................................ 85 Conclusions........................................................................................................................... 86 8. Archaeological evidence for the presence of coho salmon in coastal California South of San Francisco Bay................................................................................................................................ 87 8.1 Review of archaeological evidence ...................................................................................