Salmon Monitoring Overview California Sea Grant Russian River

Salmon Monitoring Overview California Sea Grant Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring Program @Sea. Grant. Salmon @Russian. River. Salmon

California Sea Grant (CSG) Unique partnership that unites resources across the state to create knowledge, products, and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of California

Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring Program Collect fisheries data to inform a wide array of stakeholders and policy makers to conserve resources for future generations

Partners § Public resource managers § Environmental consulting firms § Resource Conservation Districts § Private landowners § Non-governmental organizations § Educational institutions

Central California Coast (CCC) Coho Salmon CCC ESU Historic Early 2000 s

Adult Coho Salmon Returns to the Russian River 800 estimated observed 600 500 400 300 200 100 Return Winter Estimated annual adult hatchery coho salmon returns to the Russian River, return seasons 2000/01 -2018/19. Note that methods for estimating the number of returning adult coho salmon varied between years 9 /1 8 18 /1 20 17 7 /1 20 16 20 20 15 /1 6 5 /1 4 14 /1 20 13 3 20 /1 2 12 /1 20 11 1 /1 20 0 10 /1 20 9 09 /0 20 08 8 /0 20 7 07 /0 20 06 6 /0 20 5 05 /0 20 20 04 /0 4 3 03 /0 20 02 2 /0 20 01 20 00 /0 1 0 20 Number of Fish 700

Recovery Activities • Conservation hatchery program • Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program • Habitat enhancement projects • Water storage & conservation to improve streamflow • Russian River Water Resources Partnership

CSG Monitoring Goals • Evaluate effectiveness of recovery actions. • Identifying Bottlenecks. • Collect long term data sets to see trends. • Assist with Restoration Work: • Pre- and post- project monitoring • Identification of critical site locations

Redd surveys (CMP) • Timing of adult fish in tributaries • Distribution of adult fish and habitat preferences • Identify passage issues

Snorkeling surveys (CMP) • Document the presence and distribution of salmon and steelhead throughout the watershed

Downstream Migrant Trapping • smolt abundance and timing • over winter survival and growth rates • origin ratios, and provides and opportunity to tag wild born fish Joshua Asel

Habitat monitoring • Mapping available habitat during dry season • Stream discharge, dissolved oxygen, and temperature data • When and where do stream disconnections happen, what effects does this have on survival?

Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) Tags Joshua Asel

Atascadero Creek Green Valley Creek Smolt Trap Jonive Creek PIT antenna array

Redwood Creek Smolt Stocking Overview • 2017 • Fall release only • Only downstream antenna at Thomas Creek Ranch • 2018 • Fall release only • Installed antenna array in upper Jonive Creek • 2019 • Fall and Spring release

40 Jonive TCR GVC stage 30 4 20 10 2 0 0 Stage (inches) 50 12. 1 12. 8 12. 15 12. 22 12. 29 1. 5 1. 12 1. 19 1. 26 2. 2 2. 9 2. 16 2. 23 3. 2 3. 9 3. 16 3. 23 3. 30 4. 6 4. 13 4. 20 4. 27 5. 4 5. 11 5. 18 5. 25 6. 1 6. 8 6. 15 Unique PIT tag detections Smolt Movement Summary Juvenile Coho Emigration Timing: Redwood Creek Release 8 6

Landowner Access

Questions? Experience the journey of Russian River salmonids: Bit. ly/seagrantsalmon @Sea. Grant. Salmon @Russian. River. Salmon This work would not be possible without the support of our partners, including public resource agencies, non-profit organizations, and hundreds of private landowners who have graciously allowed us to access the streams that flow through their properties.