Scott River Riparian Restoration Analysis

Landowners and land managers in the Scott River Watershed have been proactively working to protect, restore and enhance the aquatic and riparian ecosystems for the past several decades. Concerns over the status of the Klamath River’s anadromous fisheries have been a major impetus to restoration efforts instream and in the riparian corridor. The Scott River provides spawning and rearing habitat for a significant population of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and steelhead trout (O. mykiss). The majority of anadromous habitat in the Scott River is within privately owned lands in the Scott Valley. The entire mainstem of the Scott River is privately owned for 38 miles (RM 57.1 to RM 19.1), as well as most of the lower reaches of the tributaries used by anadromous salmonids. Many of the landholders are small parcels which lack the financial resources to implement large scale restoration projects. This ownership pattern makes coordination and planning of effective restoration efforts complex and time consuming.

It is the goal of this analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of existing riparian protection and enhancement projects throughout the Scott Valley. This evaluation of previous effort is used to generate a series of recommended restoration and protection techniques that have worked in different areas of the watershed. Additionally, an evaluation of data pertaining to the current riparian condition, the distribution of target species and the potential for successful riparian recruitment has been performed to help prioritize future riparian restoration efforts.