HomeMy WebLinkAboutAshland Cr Stream Survey 2000
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(Bear Creek to Reeder Reservoir)
2000
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Asblaad Creek, Litbia Park
Prepared by
SISKIYOU RESEARCH GROUP
Greg Bennett
PO Box 2550
Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
541-601-8068
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As a service to the community, and with concern for the aquatic organisms residing in
Ashland Creek, the Ashland Ranger District and the Ashland Watershed Partnership came
together to organize a survey of Ashland Creek. Tioga Resources and Siskiyou Research Group,
under contract with the U.S. Forest Service, conducted this survey of Ashland Creek in August
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2000 to assess the condition of the stream channel, the riparian and aquatic habitats, and fish
populations. We followed a protocol developed and used by the Forest Service. Following is a
summary of our observations of Ashland Creek. A more quantitative and technical report of our
survey has been provided to the Ashland Ranger District office and is available upon request.
Ashland Creek is the centerpiece of the community. It is showcased in Lithia Park and
through downtown and ties the two together, providing a focal point for the community and a
slice of wildness through an urban setting. AsWand Creek is also a workhorse. It provides the
city with clean water, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and recreation. AsWand Creek carries away
wastewater and runoff from streets and parking lots. AsWand Creek also provides habitat to
aquatic and riparian dependent species like insects, fish, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, and
. small mammals. Clearly, the health of Ashland Creek is vitally important to the community.
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The AsWand Creek watershed extends from the old growth fir and hemlock forests of the
high Siskiyou crest to the parking lot of the wastewater treatment plant. To illustrate, cup and
join your hands with pinky fingers side by side and the tips of the ring fingers touching. This is
roughly the shape of the watershed. The tips of the tallest fingers are Mt. Ashland, McDonald
Peak, and Wagner Butte. The crease made at the base of your fingers on your right hand is the
West Fork of Ashland Creek and on your left hand the East Fork of Ashland Creek, and where
they come together at the base of your pinkies is Reeder Reservoir. The seam created by your
touching hands is AsWand Creek. Your curved fingers represent the steep and rugged upper
portion of the watershed and your pahns the flatter and gentler lower section. Our five-mile
survey covered the lower section of the watershed from the mouth of Ashland Creek to Reeder
Reservoir.
Ashland Creek Stream Survey 2000
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The geology of the watershed is largely comprised of a unique feature called the AsWand
Batholith, a very large and thick lens of volcanic magma that cooled slowly underground creating
large-crystalline rock commonly called granite. Over time the overlaying volcanic and
sedimentary rocks eroded away exposing the batholith to weathering and decomposition. Soil-
stabilizing vegetation is slow to grow in these easily erodable granitic soils. This contributes to
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the fragile nature of the watershed.
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Our survey methods followed a protocol designed to generate data that provide a basic
but detailed picture of the stream. We collected information on the aquatic habitats, the riparian
vegetation, and the abundance and distnbution offish. We began our survey by consulting a
topographic map that aided in dividing the length of AsWand Creek into three sections, or
reaches, which appeared to have distinct characteristics from each another. Each reach has a
similar theme of pool and riffle types, slope, volume of water, and valley type through which the
creek flows. The three reaches identified in AsWand Creek are:
~ Lower Reach - urban/residential reach (confluence with Bear Creek to the
Wmbum Way crossing);
~ Middle Reach - Lithia park reach (Wmburn Way crossing to the Granite Street
reservoir);
~ Upper Reach - wildland reach (Granite Street Reservoir to Reeder Reservoir).
The urban/residential reach flows through a wide valley, the Lithia Park reach flows through a
wide V-shape canyon with a flat valley floor, and the wildland reach flows through a narrow V-
shaped canyon.
Ashland Creek Strean Surwy 2000
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The foundation of the survey is in tJ?e identification and measurement of pool and rifile habitat
units. Every foot of Ashland Creek is categorized into these basic units. In addition, special case
habitats such as side channels, dry channels, braided channels, culverts, dams, chutes, and
waterfalls are identified separately. Collectively, all units are referred to as 'aquatic habitats' and
are measured for length, width, and maximum depth (or height in the case of dams and
waterfalls). Additionally, an estimate is made on the percent of sand, gravel, cobble, and boulders
that are present in each aquatic habitat. When the data is processed for the length of a reach, the
information reveals a great deal about the condition of the stream channel and the quality ofthe
aquatic habitats. For example, an average pool depth ofless than three feet combined with a high
percentage of sand and silt may indicate sedimentation and loss of pool habitat. Sedimentation is
the filling in of sand and silt between gravel and cobble, which may smother fish eggs and reduce
Ashland Creek Stream Survey 2000
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hiding cover for small fish and aquatic insects. This situation would require further investigation
at the watershed level to determine causes and solutions.
The area adjacent to the stream is known as the riparian zone. This zone is determined by
the presence of water and is naturally occupied by water-loving plants. For this survey, the
riparian zone width is defined as 100 feet from the stream channel. The vegetation growing
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within this area is known as riparian vegetation and is critical to the health of the creek. Healthy
riparian habitat will maintain water quality by shading the creek from the warming rays of the
summer sun. Further, large riparian trees provide extensive root systems that stabilize stream
banks against erosion and dampen the effect of floods. This process stores and releases water
slowly to provide for year-round flow. Large riparian trees eventually fall into the stream creating
instream woo~ or large woody material. Instream wood promotes pool formation, provides
cover for fish and other aquatic organisms, and traps and holds gravel that is used by spawning
fish for egg deposition. Our survey assessed the condition of the riparian zone for species and.
size of the dominant overstory and understory trees.
Perhaps the most elegant expression of a watershed is fish, specifically, anadromous fish.
Anadromous refers to fish that spend their adult lives in the ocean (mostly eating and avoiding
being eaten) then return to inland rivers and streams to reproduce and eventually die. Ashland
Creek does not contain the large runs of anadromous fish it once di~ but it does contain a small
run of steeJhead trout that return to spawn in the lower and middle reaches in late winter and early
spring. Our survey of the fish in Ashland Creek consisted of snorkeling randomly selected pools
and rifiles and counting steeJhead ofiSpring and resident rainbow and cutthroat trout.
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Channel Morphology
Our observations found most of Ashland Creek to be channelized (confined) by riprap
(armoring of the stream banks with large boulders or cement), culverts, roads, benns, and other
residential and agricultural practices which encroach upon the stream channel. Historically,
flooding of the lower reaches created many low gradient side channels and wetlands that provided
ideal aquatic habitat for fish. Channelization focuses water enerw during periods of high flows,
so instead of being able to spill out onto the adjacent floodplain the energy of the water is directed
Ashland Creek Stream SUNBy 2000
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downward to cut a deeper and straighter channel. This process reduces the quality and quantity
of pool habitat for fish.
Pools are important fish habitat for feeding, resting, and escaping predation. A high
frequency of deep pools is an indication of quality habitat. Compared to less altered streams,
Ashland Creek has fewer and shallower pools. We found that the number of pools has been
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reduced by channelization, and pools are filling in with coarse sand from the decomposed granite
of the watershed. The presence of roads, trails, hillslope erosion, urban and residential
development, and the sluicing of Reeder Reservoir appear to accelerate this process.
AsWand Creek also lacks instream woody material (fallen trees), which play an essential
role in the formation of deep pools and large spawning beds. Large woody material is nearly
absent in the surveyed section of AsWand Creek. Instream wood provides cover for fish from.
predation and can create side channels. Side channels are important habitats because of their
lower gradients and slower stream velocities compared to the main channel, and offer fish areas of
rest and refuge. Our survey found evidence that instream wood had been removed from the
channel. Removal of large woody material keeps culverts free of debris but robs Ashland Creek
of much needed structure. Our survey documented twelve culverts in Ashland Creek, all
currently free of debris. These culverts do not prohibit fish passage, but are contnouting to the
channelization and simplification of AsWand Creek.
Riparian Vegetation
Development and channelization has led to a considerable loss of riparian vegetation
throughout AsWand Creek. This loss is most apparent in the lower or urban/residential reach.
The lower reach contains a narrow and fragmented strip of small hardwoods, such as, ash, alders,
cottonwoods, willows, and big leaf maples. The urban and residential development and
agricultural fields have eliminated most of the mature hardwoods and conifers. This strip provides
some shade but lacks the structure and size to adequately protect the stream banks from erosion
or provide the channel with large pieces of wood. The riparian vegetation in the middle reach
consists of hardwood species of big leafmaple, alder, madrone, oak, ash, and cottonwood, and
conifer species of Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and incense cedar. The riparian zone in the upper
reach, while improved in comparison to the lower and middle reaches, has been affected by the
Ashland Creek Stream SUI'\'eY 2000
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removal of vegetation and increased erosion potential from road development, trails, and stream
bank annoring for flood control. The middle and upper reaches contain considerably less
development in the riparian zone and can be managed for riparian protection and recovery. The
establishment of vegetation in the riprap-annored areas would contribute to stream bank
protection and enhance the riparian zone while keeping the boulders in place.
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Fish and Other Wildlife
While surveying Ashland Creek through Lithia Park several people asked what we were
doing. We briefly explained our survey and many people were surprised to leamoffish in
Ashland Creek. We would, injest, offer the mask and snorkel for them to use and we're
surprised on several occasions when our offer was accepted. WIth enthusiasm they took the mask
and snorkel and collapsed to hands and knees to see inside Ashland Creek. They would emerge
streariring with water and smiling with secret knowledge gained from first hand experience.
There are indeed fish in Ashland Creek! We saw colorful rainbow trout, quick and
secretive cutthroat trout, bottom-hugging sculpin, and pugnacious steelhead. Missing, however,
are the sleek silver salmo~ or coho, and the local leviathans, the Chinook. In past times all were
present, and allegedly in large numbers. Changes in the greater Bear Creek watershed have
reduced and even eliminated some stocks of salmon. Our results show the presence of steelhead,
rainbow, and cutthroat in small numbers in the lower reach of Ashland Creek. As the aquatic
habitat and water quality improves in the middle reach we saw higher numbers of these fish
speCies.
We also observed fish-eating species such as pacific giant AAl~m~nders, belted kingfishers,
great blue herons, and green-backed herons. Presence of these fish predators is an indication of
healthier aquatic and riparian habitats.
Steelhead are blocked from the upper reach by the Granite Street Reservoir, making
Ashland Creek a resident trout stream - primarily cutthroat - for the remainder of the reach.
According to surveys conducted by the Forest Service, there is a moderate population of
cutthroat and rainbow trout above Reeder Reservoir in the East and West Forks of Ashland
Creek.
Ashland Creek Strea'n Survey 2000
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Water Quality
While this survey was not specifically for water quality, we did note several situations
affecting water quality. The highest water temperature recorded was 72<>P coming from a pipe
delivering treated effluent from the wastewater treatment plant. This inflow was estimated to
contribute 70010 of the flow of Ashland Creek below this point. Water temperature above 65~;'
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has been shown to depress young salmon development. We noted several screen-less water
diversions that were removing up to fifty percent of the stream flow and unknown nwnbers of
smaIl fish. Nine of thirteen tributaries to Ashland Creek consisted of pipes delivering water from
unknown origins. Flood control projects-ongoing during our survey-along Calle Guanajuato
and in Lithia Park, were raising turbidity levels. We found trash, broken glass, and discarded tires
in the urban/residential reach. The stream segment between Hosler Dam and the drinking water
treatment plant was nearly dry as a result of water diversion for municipal supply and power
generation. While not flowing into Ashland Creek at the time of our survey, the upper and lower
duck ponds are clearly a potential source of degraded water for Ashland Creek. Improving the
water quality of Ashland Creek would greatly benefit the aquatic organisms of Ashland Creek and
Bear Creek.
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From Reeder Reservoir to the confluence with Bear Creek, Ashland Creek flows through
forest, park, and city. The highest quality riparian and aquatic habitats are found in the areas of
least development. Correspondingly, fish densities and wildlife diversity are greater in these
natural areas. Urban and residential development and infrastructure have channelized Ashland
Creek and reduced riparian and aquatic habitat complexity. Sedimentation and lack of instream
woody material further simplify the aquatic habitats. Additionally, the water quality of Ashland
Creek is degraded, resulting from warm water input, water diversions, turbidity, and non-point
sources of pollution. Nevertheless, Ashland Creek still supports aquatic and terrestrial wildlife
and is regarded as a treasure to the community. Careful management and restoration of Ashland
Creek can improve some of the lost complexity, and aquatic and riparian environment of Ashland
Creek for all to enjoy.
Ashland Creek Strean Surwy 2000
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