Section 3: Past Inventory, Monitoring, and Research Activities in the Klamath Network Park Units

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Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP)

Figure 8: Aquatic Resources and Watershed Boundaries of Redwood National and State State Parks, California, NPS Klamath Network

General Summary of Past Activities: Redwood National and State Parks has monitored steam surface flow and sediment transport and deposition since 1972. The focus of these activities has been the long-term geomorphic and hydrologic monitoring of park unit freshwater lotic systems with emphasis on: (1) impacts due to human-related activities such as logging and road building; (2) water quality issues related to Clean Water Act section 303(d) impaired stream segments (i.e., Redwood Creek and Klamath River); (3) the impact of human-related activities on anadromous salmonids in park unit streams; and (4) the status of native amphibians in park unit lotic habitats. The status and trends of Redwoods marine ecosystems have been minimally examined. However, coastal and intertidal inventories are underway that are designed to assess, in part, human and invasive species impacts, offshore sediment budget, and potential impacts of perturbations such as oil spills to marine ecosystems.

Redwood National Park was established on October 2, 1968. It was designated a World Heritage Site on September 5, 1980, and a Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983. Redwood National Park joined three California State Parks (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park) as one cooperative management unit of the National Park Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation. In May 1994, Redwood National Park became Redwood National and State Parks (Figure 8), which contains approximately 45% of all remaining old-growth redwood forest in California. The parks are 42,701 ha (105,516 ac) in size arrayed along the Pacific Coast of northern California. The western boundary of Redwoods extends 0.4 km (0.25 mi) beyond the mean high tide line of the Pacific Ocean and the National Park Service has jurisdiction over the waters, intertidal lands, and submerged lands in this area. The coastal jurisdiction of state parklands extends 0.3 km (0.19 mi) west of the ordinary high-water mark of the Pacific Ocean. Elevations within the park range from below sea level to 996 m (3,268 ft).

The aquatic resources of Redwoods consist of over 60 km (36 mi) of marine coastal habitat and 547 km (340 mi) of USGS blue-line (first order) streams. Redwood Creek and its associated watersheds dominate the southern part of the park. The Klamath River is in the northern part of the park and the Klamath River estuary is the only part of the drainage contained within the park boundary. Redwood Creek supports a number of native salmonid species (i.e., cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarki], coho salmon [Oncorhynchus kisutch], steelhead [Oncorhynchus mykiss], and chinook salmon [Oncorhynchus tshawytscha]) that are monitored on an annual basis. Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), Klamath smallscale sucker (Catostomus rimiculus), and the tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) are threatened and endangered fish species that also are monitored on an annual basis within the park. The park also supports a number of additional threatened and endangered species (see Appendix E of the KLMN Phase I Report).

The Redwood National Park Act as amended in 1978 gave the Secretary of the Interior the authority to reduce the impacts of upstream sedimentation and to rehabilitate areas that have been subject to timber harvesting in the past. Due to the nature of Franciscan rocks, the steepness of many slopes, the amount of precipitation, and the exposure of soil and bedrock from intensive logging, stream erosion and sedimentation have had and continue to have a profound impact on Redwoods lotic resources. The lower 40% of Redwood Creek is within the park and the upper 60% is on private land that has been logged. As a result of past land use and flood events, Redwood Creek is currently 303(d) listed under the Clean Water Act due to excessive sediment and warm water temperatures.

Long-term geomorphic and hydrologic monitoring continues to be a priority on Redwood Creek and other creeks within Redwoods. Monitoring parameters include stream discharge, sediment transport, turbidity, temperature, channel stability, changes in pool and riffle distribution, pebble count and facies changes in streambed deposits. It may be difficult to determine the exact source of turbidity and sedimentation, but the primary sources appear to be the various impacts of logging roads inside and outside of the park. In cooperation with private landowners, park staff assists in surveying roads on private lands. Park staff also provides input to proposed Timber Harvest Plans in an attempt to minimize erosion. A project funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the differences in the duration of turbidity for small streams with different disturbance levels was recently completed.

Road restoration has been a major undertaking at the park. This effort has restored many of the old logging roads and reduced landslide activity in those areas. However, most roads open to visitor traffic are gravel and subject to erosion. Adequate maintenance and upgrading of road drainage structures, culverts and other road features are concerns. Redwoods coastal resources are largely unexamined and their condition is presently unknown. Redwoods and Humboldt State University are cooperatively conducting an inventory of coastline resources. The goal of the project is to assess the marine resources, including habitat type, vegetation types, and algal, invertebrate, and fish diversity along the park’s 36 miles of accessible coastline.

Horizon Report

No report is presently available.

Fisheries Studies

1) Redwood Creek:

a. Invertebrate drift and juvenile salmonid habitat of the Redwood Creek watershed: 1981

b. Downstream migration, growth and condition of juvenile fall chinook salmon in Redwood Creek, Humboldt County, California: 1985

c. Juvenile salmonid habitat of the Redwood Creek basin, Humboldt County, California: 1988

d. Fish food habits and their interrelationships in lower Redwood Creek, Humboldt County, California: 1987

e. Fish food habits in the Redwood Creek estuary: 1990

f. Redwood Creek basin coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) summary reports: 1994

g. Redwood Creek basin fisheries summary: 1980-1994

h. Redwood Creek basin spawning and carcass surveys and annual reports: 1991-1992, 1993-1994, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2002-2003

i. Redwood Creek estuary flood history, sedimentation and implications for aquatic habitat: 1983

j. Redwood Creek estuary monitoring and management: 1990, 1993, 1997-1999, 2002, 2003

k. Redwood Creek fish and amphibian distribution data [collection]

l. Redwood Creek summer steelhead trout survey: 1991, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2002

2) Prairie Creek

a. Effects of fine sediment on salmonid redds in Prairie Creek, a tributary of Redwood Creek, Humboldt County, California: 1991

b. Smolt production from Prairie Creek Hatchery juvenile coho reared in an Arcata wastewater-seawater pond: October 1992-May 1993

c. Prairie Creek salmon restoration: 1992-1993

d. Anadromous salmonid escapement and downstream migration studies in Prairie Creek, California: 1995-1996

e. Prairie Creek salmon redd composition, escapement and migration studies, Humboldt County, California: 1996-1997

f. Effects of sediments from the Redwood National Park bypass project (CALTRANS) on anadromous salmonids in Prairie Creek State Park: 1995-1998

g. Effects of sedimentation on incubating coho salmon, (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Prairie Creek, California: 1998

h. Prairie Creek: Survival, growth and movement of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) over-wintering in alcoves, backwaters, and main channel pools: 2001

i. Abundance and survival rates of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Prairie Creek: 2002

3) Klamath River

a. Klamath River chinook salmon: use of radio telemetry to study adult upriver migration: 1982

b. Klamath River estuary: utilization by juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): 1986

c. Assessment of fish habitat types within the Klamath River estuary: annual performance report: 1992

d. Assessing the effects of moderately elevated fine sediment levels on stream fish assemblages: 2000

4) Coyote Creek Spring Pond brook trout removal: 1999, 2001, 2002

5) Fish habitat inventory for lower Lost Man Creek: 1990

6) Habitat utilization by 1987 and 1988 cohorts of chinook salmon from emergence to out-migration in Hurdygurdy Creek, California

7) Mill Creek monitoring program: juvenile salmonid monitoring on the east and west branches of Mill Creek: 1994

8) Smith River adult fish survey: 1997

9) Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation inventory of reservation waters, fish rearing feasibility study and a review of the history and status of anadromous fishery resources of the Klamath River Basin: 1979

10) Effects of large organic debris on channel morphology and process, and anadromous fish habitat in steep, montane coastal redwood environments: 1980

11) Large organic debris and anadromous fish habitat in the coastal redwood environment: the hydrologic system: 1983

12) Fish distribution survey reports: FY2000, FY2001, FY2002

13) Spawning survey results: 1983-1990

14) Tidewater goby surveys and reports: 1997, 1998, 2002

Beneficial Water Uses

Table 10 shows the beneficial uses of water in Redwoods as identified by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB).

Table 10: Beneficial Uses of Water Within Redwood National and State Parks (NCRWQCB)

Wildlife Monitoring

1) Redwood Creek estuary salmonid monitoring for adult spawning and juveniles

2) Redwood Creek monitoring for deformed amphibians

3) Marine mammal carcass monitoring (ongoing)

4) Marbled murrelet, snowy plover and brown pelican monitoring

Resource Management Water Quality Concerns

1) Freshwater

A) Effects of adjacent land use, in particular, logging on water quality

B) Water quality issues related to Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) impaired stream segments (i.e., Redwood Creek sedimentation/siltation and temperature, and Klamath River nutrients and temperature)

C) Water quality of Redwood Creek watershed related to sediment transport trends, water and suspended-sediment discharge, and water chemistry and aquatic biology

D) Impacts of recreational catch and release fishing on threatened salmonid species Note: a full discussion of the CWA Section 303(d) listing and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program process can be found at the following EPA web site: http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/

2) Marine

A) Completion of coastal and intertidal inventories including assessments of human impacts, invasive species, offshore sediment budget and potential hazards such as oil spills

B) Compliance of near- and offshore water quality with State Water Quality Control Board standards

C) The impact of river flow output (e.g., Klamath River plume) on coastal habitat, productivity, and water chemistry

D) The potential presence of contaminants in the near- and offshore waters

E) Lack of complete inventories from most marine habitats (Table 11)

Table 11: Marine Inventory Needs at Redwood National and State Parks

See Attachment I for RNSP watershed monitoring, water quality, and fisheries inventory, monitoring and research study references.