Project Completion Report .or.us



Project Completion Report

Mid Coast Monitoring Project

OWEB Grant # 209-1047

Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District

Prepared By Christopher Wood and Mark Stone

PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT

MID COAST MONITORING PROJECT

OWEB GRANT# 209-1047

The Mid Coast Monitoring Project (MCMP) is a continuation of the work started by the Lincoln Hire the Fisher Program. Work has continued in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW), the Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District (LSWCD), the Mid Coast Watersheds Council (MCWC), the United States Forest Service (USFS), other agencies and private landowners in gathering Aquatic Habitat Inventories, Spring and Fall Chinook Salmon spawning survey data, Coho Salmon spawning survey data, Steelhead spawning survey data and Lamprey spawning data. Data is collected under ODFW and Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) protocols and is included is the ODFW data base. This information is available to all agencies and individuals involved in watershed enhancement activities and is part of the public record.

Public Outreach

Public outreach continues to be an important part of this project. Crew partnered with agencies, Watershed Basin Planning Groups and local schools, doing watershed presentations and demonstrating watershed function with the stream table provided by the Lincoln SWCD. For instance the stream table was presented at Earth Day at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and we gave a presentation on salmon life history and habitat needs on a field trip with Sea Grant Marine Investigations II Summer Camp.

MCWERP crew frequently uses their field knowledge to provide information and locations of stream sites to LSWCD and Mid Coast Watersheds Council staff. We also make our library of collected data available to all agencies, researchers and any other interested parties. The data is compiled in binders and organized so as to be readily accessible to anyone who might need it.

Occasionally, calls come into the LSWCD office from property owners about situations of concern on their property or other issues in the watershed. MCWERP crew fields some of these calls and tries to answer questions or connect people with the individuals or agency that can best assist them with their needs. The MCWERP crew takes advantage of every opportunity to talk with property owners and others in the watershed about salmon habitat, restoration and other watershed issues. From requests for permission for access for survey work, to visits with folks met during surveys, our work provides an excellent chance to answer questions and promote the importance of watershed restoration. We invite people to participate in the Watershed Council process, and give them information on who to contact for further information on restoration projects for their own property.

Aquatic Habitat Inventory

Sites for Aquatic Habitat Inventory (AQI) were chosen in a cooperative effort with ODFW and the Mid Coast Watersheds Council (MCWC). Selected sites were in places that had proposed or completed restoration activities.

This provides baseline data for long-term monitoring of projects and effectiveness monitoring of projects by documenting pre and post project habitat conditions. In addition to collecting AQI data, we also digitize and collate the data in preparation for analysis by ODFW staff at the Aquatic Inventory Project headquarters in Corvallis. Analyzed data is available in the Lincoln SWCD office and from ODFW where it is included in their database of the statewide Aquatic Inventory Project. Also, all AQI data is entered into the GIS data base. Digitized copies of the raw data are filed with ODFW and are at the Lincoln SWCD office.

This year’s effort was a continuation of monitoring the 2004 Helicopter Log Placements in the upper Yachats Basin. We did post project AQI surveys on Grass Cr, North Fork Yachats River and Williamson Creek. We also surveyed Ojalla Cr. and Scare Cr. on the Siletz as part of an effort to inventory habitat on the west side of the Siletz River downstream from the town of Siletz.

Aquatic Habitat Inventory Sites 10.3 mi

Yachats Basin

Grass Cr. 1.86 mi

North Fork Yachats 4.04 mi

Williamson Cr. 1.7 mi

Siletz Basin

Ojalla Cr. 1.4 mi

Scare Cr. 1.3 mi

Adult Spawning Surveys

Four different species of Salmonids were monitored by conducting adult spawning surveys. The surveys monitor status and trends in Salmonid populations.

Spring Chinook surveys start off the survey season in September and go until about mid October. These are conducted on the Alsea and Siletz Rivers by floating approximately 20 miles of the Alsea and 14.5 miles of the Siletz.

Coho Spawn Surveys are next starting at the end of October and lasting until the end of January. These surveys are ODFW Random and Supplemental surveys generated by the Oregon Adult Salmonid Inventory and Sampling Project (OASIS) in Corvallis. They are walking surveys and usually are about one mile long.

Chum Salmon are surveyed on Bear Cr. in the Siletz Basin. This survey starts in late October and continues until about the first of December.

The fourth specie surveyed is Steelhead. These surveys are also generated by the OASIS project at ODFW in Corvallis. In the past MCWERP crew has assisted ODFW in pioneering work in establishing a group of base line sites for steelhead spawn surveys. These surveys are repeated every year. Crew has also located, marked, and surveyed other various sites in the Mid-Coast area for an ongoing steelhead monitoring program. They have also assisted ODFW with some new field techniques for Spawning Surveys. Lamprey Eel surveys are conducted simultaneously with Steelhead surveys.

Before conducting any surveys, an extensive search is performed to contact and obtain permission from any landowners whose land we might cross during the completion of a survey. We do this by looking up property tax lots on ARC View in the GIS system or by going to the Lincoln County Court House and looking up the Tax lots in the county’s system. The landowner is personally contacted by phone by one of the surveyors. At that time we obtain verbal permission for access from the landowner and log the time and date permission was granted. If there are many landowners on one side of the survey and one owner on the other, (possibly a timber company), we will try to get all the smaller landowners possible and the one larger landowner, then we have the entire survey covered on one side or the other. If one landowner owns both sides of the stream then we must get their permission to go thru, or else we have to go around that segment so as not to trespass.

At that time we also inform the landowner that any information that is gathered while conducting a survey on their land is part of the public record. We also ask if the landowner would like copies of the data or the results of any analysis of surveys that have been conducted.

We are very careful to respect the rights of landowners and have full disclosure of any information collected. To date we have not had any problems with any landowners contacted and sometimes they number in the hundreds.

All surveys use ODFW OASIS protocols and all data is sent to ODFW in Corvallis and a copy is kept at the LSWCD office. All Salmon surveys are done every seven to ten days and the Steelhead surveys are done every ten to fourteen days.

The results of this year’s Chinook surveys were down from previous years but better than 2008. The Siletz basin had low numbers of Chinook but the Coho counts were good.

The Chum run on Bear Creek was below average but still sustainable.

The Chinook counts on the Alsea were up considerably from 2009. The Fall run came out to be an average year which was pretty good considering the drastic decline in numbers in 2008.

The Coho runs in the Mid Coast Basins were very good with the Beaver Cr system at Ona being the best stream of the ones that we surveyed. The Beaver Cr that comes into the Yaquina in tide water was also very good.

ODFW once again had serious cutbacks in their Steelhead Survey budget. As a result of this there were only four people surveying Steelhead in the Mid Coast area, two people from ODFW in Corvallis and the MCWERP crew. As a result of this the Mid Coast District Biologist requested that we do the standard Steelhead surveys and a few random surveys, and let the Corvallis crew do the rest of the random surveys.

The Steelhead run in 2010 was a bit different than most years. In February we had low water conditions. As a result there was a considerable amount of spawning activity for that time of year. Then we had a lot of high water conditions which resulted in delayed spawning in March and early April. Most of the spawning took place in late April and May. When all was said and done though, it turned out to be a better than average year with a lot of big fish.

Included as a supplement to this completion report are two attachments (A & B) containing graphs that show peak counts for Coho and actual counts for Steelhead in the streams that have been consistently surveyed every year from 1999 to the present. Both graph sets show population trends in the Mid Coast area.

Spring Chinook Survey 2009

Total 34.5 mi

Alsea River 20.0 mi

Siletz River 14.5 mi

Coho Adult Spawn Surveys 2009-2010

Total 16 mi

Siletz River

Drift Creek upper 1.00 mi

Drift Creek Lower 0.96 mi

Bear Creek 0.50 mi

Yaquina River

Beaver Creek 1.00 mi

Bear Cr (Big Elk) 1.00 mi

Yachats River

South Fork Upper 0.33 mi

South Fork Lower 1.00 mi

South Fork trib A .75 mi

School Fork 1.65 mi

Ocean Outfall

*North Beaver 8mi to 9mi 1.00 mi

North Beaver 9mi to 10mi 0.50 mi

North Beaver trib G to H .40 mi

South Beaver Cr 1.50 mi

Big Cr 0.83 mi

Devil’s Lake

Rock Creek lower 1.02 mi

Rock Creek upper 0.95 mi

Alsea Basin

Drift Cr 1.5 mi.

* Standard Survey that was to be discontinued. We did this one at the request of ODFW’S Mid Coast District Biologist.

Steelhead Surveys 2010

16.8 mi

Alsea River Basin

*Drift Creek 1.50 mi

*Fall Creek Upper 0.82 mi

*Fall Creek Middle 0.49 mi

*Fall Creek Lower 1.30 mi

Salmon River

*Trout Creek 1.00 mi

*Hatchery 0.25 mi

Deer-Prairie 1.10 mi

Siletz River

*Drift Creek upper 1.00 mi

*Drift Creek Lower 0.96 mi

*Cedar Cr 1.50 mi.

*Euchre Cr 1.00 mi.

Yachats River

*Mainstem Float 8.00 mi.

*South Fork Lower 1.00 mi

*North Fork 1.00 mi

Ocean Outfall

*North Beaver 8mi to 9mi 1.22 mi

*North Beaver 9mi to 10mi 0.96 mi

Elkhorn .90 mi

* Standard Surveys done at the request of ODFW’S Mid Coast District Biologist.

Volunteer Effort

Unfortunately we did not have any volunteers to help in the completion of this project. Due to the nature of the survey work and the training required to carry out the surveys volunteer effort could not be used.

Participants Assisting in Completion of the Project

Many landowners both industrial and private contributed to our effort to complete this project. Some of the industrial timber companies that allowed us to survey on their lands include Plum Creek, Green Diamond, Forest Capital Partners, Weyerhauser, Starker Forests, Elk Horn Forestry and others. Permission to access Industrial Timber lands is critical to the execution of many of our spawning surveys and Aquatic Habitat Inventories. Without a good working relationship with industrial timber companies it would be nearly impossible to complete this project.

Also the number of private landowners that allow us access to their lands is quite large. Almost every survey that we do has one or more private landowners. Without their cooperation our project would be impossible to complete. Many of the Coho and Steelhead surveys have parts of them on private property and part on industrial timber property or State or Federal lands. Without the cooperation of all effected parties our data could not be accurate or complete.

Several agencies assisted us in the completion of this project. ODFW was a huge contributor to this project. They supplied training updates, AQI analysis, project coordination with spawn surveys, some survey supplies and expert advice for our many consultations. Some of the other participating agencies and organizations are as follows:

United States Forest Service, National Resources Conservation Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Department of Environmental Quality, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University and Mid Coast Watersheds Council.

Information for Evaluating Strengths and Weaknesses

It is critical in this type of project to have good relationships with landowners. Do not trespass. Always get permission before entering private property. When asking for permission to access private property always offer to share collected data and inform landowners that data collected on their property becomes part of the public record. Also communicate with project partners. Make sure you aren’t telling the landowner one thing while some other agency person is telling the landowner something else. Be sensitive to the landowner’s needs and questions. You are the direct link between some landowners and other agencies. Building a trusting relationship is extremely important.

Make sure that data collection protocols are consistent with widely accepted methods. Communicate regularly with the designers of the protocol and stay updated with any changes and upgrades. Methods and protocols can change from year to year. Make sure that efforts aren’t being duplicated. Attending annual training sessions is also very important.

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