United States Department Proceedings of the Conference on Coastal of Agriculture Forest Service Watersheds: The Caspar Creek Story Pacific Southwest May 6, 1998 Ukiah, California Research Station General Technical Report PSW-GTR-168 Publisher: Pacific Southwest Research Station Albany, California Forest Service Mailing address: U.S. Department of Agriculture PO Box 245, Berkeley CA 94701-0245 (510) 559-6300 http://www.psw.fs.fed.us/ techpub.html June 1998 Abstract Ziemer, Robert R., technical coordinator. 1998. Proceedings of the conference on coastal watersheds: the Caspar Creek Story; 6 May 1998; Ukiah, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-168. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 149 p. l These proceedings report on 36 years of research at the Caspar Creek Experimental Watershed, Jackson Demonstration State Forest in northwestern California. The 16 papers include discussions of streamflow, sediment production and routing, stream channel condition, soil moisture and subsurface water, nutrient cycling, aquatic and riparian habitat, streamside buffers, cumulative effects, monitoring. A detailed annotated bibliography of 107 papers from Caspar Creek is included. Retrieval Terms: cumulative effects, nutrient, paired-watersheds, riparian, sediment, soil moisture, streamflow Arctostaphylos patula, insects, arthropods, California Technical Coordinator Robert R. Ziemer is Project Leader and Chief Research Hydrologist at the Station’s Redwood Sciences Laboratory, 1700 Bayview Drive, Arcata, CA 95521. Acknowledgments Since 1961, research at the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds, located on the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, has been a cooperative venture between the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station (Agreement 12-11-0215-19). Front cover: A view of the South Fork Caspar Creek gaging station (SFC), looking upstream from the fish ladder toward the weir. Photo by Norm Henry, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Back cover: A view of the tributary Dollard gaging station (DOL) in the North Fork of Caspar Creek, looking upstream at the Parshall flume. Photo by Norm Henry, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Proceedings of the Conference on Coastal Watersheds: The Caspar Creek Story May 6, 1998 Ukiah, California Robert R. Ziemer, Technical Coordinator Contents USDA Forest Service General Technical Preface . iii Report Overview of the Caspar Creek Watershed Study . 1 PSW-GTR-168 Norm Henry Why Caspar Creek—Then and Now . 11 June 1998 Raymond M. Rice Flooding and Stormflows. 15 Robert R. Ziemer Subsurface Drainage Processes and Management Impacts . 25 Elizabeth T. Keppeler and David Brown The Summer Flow and Water Yield Response to Timber Harvest . 35 Elizabeth T. Keppeler Effects of Forest Harvest on Stream-Water Quality and Nitrogen Cycling in the Caspar Creek Watershed . 45 Randy A. Dahlgren Evaluating the Impacts of Logging Activities on Erosion and Suspended Sediment Transport in the Caspar Creek Watersheds . 55 Jack Lewis Buffering the Buffer . 71 Leslie M. Reid and Sue Hilton Effects of Recent Logging on the Main Channel of North Fork Caspar Creek . 81 Thomas E. Lisle and Michael B. Napolitano Effects of Timber Harvest on Aquatic Vertebrates and Habitat in the North Fork Caspar Creek . 87 Rodney J. Nakamoto Persistence of Historical Logging Impacts on Channel Form in Mainstem North Fork Caspar Creek. 97 Michael B. Napolitano Logging Impacts of the 1970’s vs. the 1990’s in the Caspar Creek Watershed . 103 Peter H. Cafferata and Thomas E. Spittler Cumulative Watershed Effects: Caspar Creek and Beyond . 117 Leslie M. Reid Monitoring Watersheds and Streams. 129 Robert R. Ziemer Where Do We Go from Here? . 135 Raymond M. Rice Publications Related to Caspar Creek . 137 Ingrid Morken and Robert R. Ziemer Preface program for watershed research in California’s coniferous Game, designed the streamgaging weirs and fish ladders. Cement, Aforests below the snow zone was proposed in 1960 by Henry reinforcing steel, and aggregate were purchased by PSW, and the W. Anderson (Anderson 1960). On July 1, 1961, cooperative weirs were built by CDF in summer 1962. The North and South watershed management research in this lower conifer zone was Fork weirs began operation on October 1, 1962. started by the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Forest and The first agreement between PSW and CDF “providing for Range Experiment Station (now Pacific Southwest Research Station cooperation in the conduct of a program of watershed management to [PSW]), with formal cooperation of the State of California’s Division determine the effect of forest management upon streamflow, of Forestry (now Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [CDF]) sedimentation, fish, fish habitat, timber and other vegetative growth” and the Department of Water Resources. The Caspar Creek study, became effective January 12, 1962. This agreement (12-11-0215-19) formally described as “Study 2-1, a study of logging effects upon was amended with an annual work plan each year from 1962 to 1997. streamflow, sedimentation, fish life and fish habitat in the north In 1998, a new agreement was approved. coast redwood-Douglas-fir forest type Jackson State Forest, Fort The Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds, as they were Bragg, California,” was one of the first studies undertaken by PSW’s designated in 1962, consist of the 424-ha South Fork and 473-ha new Lower Conifer Research Unit. By October 1, 1961, bedrock North Fork. These two tributary basins are located in the headwaters stream gaging sites had been located in two tributaries of Caspar of the 2,167-ha Caspar Creek watershed, which discharges into the Creek, maximum (peak) stage and staff gages and five standard Pacific Ocean near the community of Caspar (fig. 1). Logging roads raingages had been installed, and weekly suspended sediment were built into the South Fork in 1967. The entire South Fork samples and stage heights had been collected (Hopkins and Bowden watershed was selectively harvested and tractor yarded; about one 1962). The California Department of Water Resources, working third in 1971, 1972, and 1973, respectively (Henry, these with PSW, CDF, and State of California Department of Fish and proceedings). In 1985, 13 additional streamgaging stations were Caspar Creek Watershed 39˚22'30" 89 North Fork 89 90 89 90 85 91 90 86 91 Hwy. 1 Hwy. 73 72 71 South Fork Watershed Boundary Kilometers Streams 0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 Roads 123˚45'00" Figure 1 — The Caspar Creek Experimental Watershed is located in northern California. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-168. 1998. v Preface Proceedings of the Conference on Coastal Watersheds: The Caspar Creek Story Ziemer constructed in the North Fork. The North Fork was clearcut logged in These Proceedings summarize 36 years of watershed research at large patches in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, and 1991 (figs. 1, 2). The Caspar Creek and include an annotated bibliography of the 107 subwatersheds of the North Fork and the 14 gaging stations, papers that report the details of studies conducted during this raingages, subsurface and piping sites, solar radiometer, and splash cooperative venture. Further information concerning the Caspar dam (fig. 2) are described in the papers that follow. Creek study can be found at the Redwood Sciences Laboratory Much of the data collected during this study’s 37 years are Internet site at http://www.rsl.psw.fs.fed.us available on CD-ROM from PSW’s Redwood Sciences Laboratory, at Arcata, California (Ziemer 1998). This data set and its earlier release are a valuable resource to researchers, educators, and References students around the world and are unique in detail and resolution. Anderson, H.W. 1960. Proposed program for watershed management research in These Proceedings are the written product of the Conference the lower conifer zone of California. Tech. Paper 46. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. on Coastal Watersheds: The Caspar Creek Story, Department of Agriculture; 21 p. organized by Bill Baxter (California Department of Forestry and Fire Hopkins, Walt; Bowden, Kenneth L. 1962. First progress report, 1961-1962, Protection), Liz Keppeler (Pacific Southwest Research Station), and cooperative watershed management in the lower conifer zone of California. Greg Giusti (University of California Extension). The Conference was Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest held May 6, 1998 at the Mendocino Community College in Ukiah, Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 10 p. California and was attended by about 400 persons. The next day, 75 Ziemer, R. 1998. Caspar Creek hydrologic and climatic data: 1963-1997. CD-ROM, individuals participated in a field trip through the North Fork of 545 MB. 1998 May. Arcata, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Fort Bragg, CA: California Caspar Creek. Attendance at both the Conference and the field trip Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. was limited by seating capacity, and a number of potential registrants were turned away because of lack of space. The number of attendees Robert R. Ziemer attests to the keen interest in the effects of forest practices on the Technical Coordinator hydrologic responses of forested watersheds. North Fork Caspar Creek J JOH MUN L KJE IVE LAN HEN K G GIB V Clear Cut C FLY